Glastonbury and Wells trips from Bath in January

Remember Salisbury Cathedral is closed for tourists in the morning as there are services. It is only open 12.30-3pm on a Sunday.

The Roman Baths will take about a couple oi hours as there is lots to see. Don't forget there is Bath Abbey (although it isn't as big as Saliusbury Cathedral....) Don't miss the ladder of Angels climbibng up the west front (and some falling off....)

Wells is very much well worth visiting and the Abbey is superb. Along with the Bishop's Palace and a walk around the town, this makes a really good day out. You can do it by bus from Bath - its a 30 minutes service and takes about 100 minutes... (although you may need to get a taxi back after Evensong.)

Views of Glastonbury vary - some love it , other people reckon it is an over rated tourist trap....

Don’t forget to allocate some time to spend in Bath itself. There’s more to see there than in either Wells or Glastonbury, which are both quite small.

Glastonbury is definitely not to everyone’s taste but it isn’t really a tourist trap. The town attracts people who believe in alternative ideas and lifestyles because there are meant to be powerful ley lines running through it and the Tor is mystical in some way (not an expert…).

We have visited all the places that you mentioned in your post.

We stayed in Bath for three nights at the Brooks Guesthouse, a great B&B.
We did a day trip from Bath to Glastonbury and Wells, also stopping by a scenic gorge. The cathedral at Wells was great. Glastonbury was good, but just a bit overrated. The area was scenic, but there is not much left of the Abby.

We also stayed in Chipping Camden at the Volunteer Inn, which was great. We had a rental car and explored the Cotswolds for two full days. Also, did great day trips to Oxford, Blenheim Palace and Stratford Upon Avon. Loved Stratford Upon Avon.

On another trip, we visited Salisbury and loved the wonderful cathedral.

Stonehenge is good for a visit, and you can easily do on a day trip from London. We did it the same day we visited Salisbury.

Not to miss in Salisbury cathedral is one of the four remaining copies of the original version of Magna Carta.

Sunday January 5th - Arriving in the morning via train. Maybe just hang around Bath, go to the "Baths" maybe take train to Salisbury to see the Cathedral?

This is too much for one day, in my opinion.

You would be better off doing your time in Bath, then taking the train (short ride) to Salisbury to stay for two or three nights.
Stonehenge (which you mention wanting to see on Jan. 6) is right outside Salisbury. You take the Stonehenge bus out from the train station or the center of town (near the Visitors Center) to visit Stonehenge while staying in Salisbury. The same bus brings you back to town after you get your fill at Stonehenge.

On the way back to town on this bus ride, the bus stops at Old Sarum. You may hop off to see this and hop back on the bus later if you wish.

You will want to see Salisbury Cathedral. (As mentioned just above, by BillS719) It's a magnificent piece of architecture. Salisbury is a fabulous medieval small town; worth walking around to pick out the old buildings. This you won't get in Bath; its buildings are mainly Georgian.

For some reason I am stuck on going to Cotswolds....We could also potentially do Cotswold from Oxford.

YES to going to the Cotswolds from Oxford. It's easy. From Oxford, you take the train a short distance to Moreton-in-Marsh, a lovely Cotswolds town. Catch the Go Cotswolds tour from Moreton. You will get a good taste/sampler of the Cotswolds in this day tour.
https://www.gocotswolds.co.uk/product/cotswolds-in-a-day/

I wouldn't try to do everything from Bath. However, a trip to Glastonbury and Wells from Bath IS a good way to do that. There are coaches (buses) that leave from Bath and go to these places. However, we will have to wait until one of our experts (isn31c, Stuart) chimes in here, as he is the one in the know about coach or bus schedules.

I would enjoy Bath fully while you are there, then move on to Salisbury for 2 to 3 nights, then move on to Oxford for 3 or 4 nights. I have not looked at any of your other threads/postings, so I don't know what your full schedule is.

If you wanted to add more of the Cotswolds, I would consider hopping off the Go Cotswolds tour at the very end and staying a night or two in Bourton-on-the-Water, a beautiful village where pretty Cotswold stone bridges cross the crystal waters of the River Windrush.

If you're wanting to add more in the northern Cotswolds, you might consider a night or two in Stratford-Upon-Avon and also in Warwick, with its mighty Warwick Castle.

We spent several hours visiting Wells Cathedral, the Bishop’s Palace and Vicar’s Close and it was truly beautiful but our trip was on a lovely spring day . We also happened to stumble on an antique car show, but the cathedral et al. were beautiful and interesting. We drove on to Glastonbury because he wanted to see the Tor that figured in a book he’d read. The town itself was mobbed and we drove through looking for parking and found none but didn’t regret missing magic crystals and strange shops. The Abbey ruins themselves were, well, pretty ruined and we chose to skip the admission price and we gave them a pass. With the car we did go to 14C Nunney Castle which we found interesting. Safe travels. YMMV

Re- Rebecca's comment. I saw this and decided to do a 'nem com' as you said you wanted to do Wells and Glastonbury with a driver, rather than by public transport, and I didn't want to get into trouble for suggesting otherwise.

The thing is that from Bath to Glastonbury you have to go to Wells first, then change bus for Glastonbury, then come back on yourself for Wells.
To me the answer would be a quick frequent train ride from Bath to Bristol Temple Meads, bus up from Temple Meads (it does stop there, having started at the Bus and Coach Station), time in Glastonbury, thence on to Wells and then the bus back to Bath. However in January the days are very short. The sun will be creeping up about 8am and saying goodbye by 4pm, so the bus journey back to Bath will be in darkness- missing all the scenery, having gone round in a big circle.
If it's a nice morning and there's been a frost, the views can be sublime at sunrise.
What I would suggest is -
Option A-
Train to Bristol-
Bus 376 at 0845 or 0949 from Temple Meads to Glastonbury- arrive 1012 or 1115- these buses will be showing their destination as Yeovil (or 375 at 0914 arrive 1040, showing destination Bridgwater, or 374 at 0809 or 1020 arriving at 0937 or 1147, showing destination Taunton)
3 hours in Glastonbury-
Buses Glastonbury to Wells leave at-
about 20 past each hour (#376) for the 20 minute ride-
1212, 1352 and 1527 (#373)- a local bus
about 55 past each hour (#374 or 375)
so essentially every half hour and a few extras (the exact times vary by a few minutes, but that's the theme)
then time at Wells Cathedral before Evensong and to explore the town.
Evensong takes around one hour,
Wells depart 1831, route #174, arrive Bath 2001 (this is the last bus of the day to Bath, later ones run the other way to Bristol at 1854, 1931, 2006, 2109 and 2210, all calling at Temple Meads)
Option B-
Bath depart 0845 (and hourly thereafter). #173 Wells arrive 1011, or 0910 (and hourly thereafter) #174 arrive 1049 - time in Wells, then the 1/2 hourly bus to Glastonbury, time there then back to Wells and finally the 1831 bus back to Bath.

Either way buy a First Bus West of England paper Day Ticket on the 1st bus for £7 or just Tap on Tap Off with your credit card on each bus and the day will be capped out at £7.

And for the terminology, these are what we call buses not coaches. They are public buses which stop everywhere. The bus makes 50+ stops from Bristol to Glastonbury which is why it takes so long.