England Itenerary questions

First: You mean Portsmouth, not Plymouth. Don't accidentally head off on a train to the wrong place!

Second: I think any of the orders you mention could work, but assuming you're flying into and out of Heathrow, you might want to do Bath either first or last. National Express runs coaches (buses) directly between Bath and Heathrow that make the trip pretty convenient.

Third, an English double bed is indeed pretty small, so unless the hotel specifies otherwise, assume that that's what you're going to get. You could look into "twin" rooms that have separate single beds - that's what my parents did, and they're about your size.

Thanks. I corrected it to show the correct city. :)

Portsmouth should be doable as a day trip from London. The train trip takes between 1 1/2 and 2 hours each way, depending on the route, and the historic dockyard is right next to the Portsmouth Harbour train station. (Be sure to go to Portsmouth Harbour, not Portsmouth & Southsea, which is farther away.) But I haven't been there, so there may be some logistical hassle that I'm unaware of.

If you're willing to buy advance tickets for specific trains, I think you're better off doing that than getting a rail pass. (I think that's what you were asking about - a rail card, such as the "two together" card, gives you a discount on individual rail fares, but you still have to buy the point-to-point tickets. The two together card costs 30 pounds and gives you a 1/3 discount on rail fares, except for trips leaving before 9:30 on weekdays. Depending on your schedule, that might work out to a good deal for you.)

Yes, come to Portsmouth! The new Mary Rose museum is fantastic, HMS Victory is as impressive as ever along with HMS Warrior plus the Naval museum and the harbour boat tour. It's worth looking on Groupon as they often have discounted tickets for the Historic Dockyard (http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk). Visiting via train from London couldn't be easier, there are two options: the fastest (although only by 20 minutes) is Waterloo to The Hard (Portsmouth) whilst the cheaper and more scenic route is Victoria to The Hard (this route can often be significantly cheaper). From The Hard it's a 2 minute walk to the gates of the historic dockyard whilst in the other direction you have the shopping and restaurant area of Gunwharf Quays (https://gunwharf-quays.com) which also hosts the Spinnaker Tower (https://www.spinnakertower.co.uk).

As for the beds, I'm a similar size to you and I would be uncomfortable sharing a double with anyone else. Typically we stay in Marriott's in the UK and there are always two doubles in a room if you haven't booked a King. B&B's and smaller hotels are likely to have just one bed if advertised as a double so it's worth checking out how many beds a room offers.

Excellent advice above but just to emphasise that what we Portmuthians call The Hard is known by the train company as Portsmouth Harbour station.

Also you'll want a king-sized bed - which is actually smaller than an American king-sized but it's the biggest you'll get.

A UK king bed is about the size of an American queen. There's also such a thing as a "superking," which is closer to an American king. I don't know how often they show up in hotels though.