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London & Beyond for Art+

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Hello.
It's time to plan another trip. This time London and beyond in the spring. My timing includes the weekend after Easter and I'd like to avoid crowds so I can thoroughly enjoy the artwork on display and various sites. Yes, tourist centers! I have up to 13 nights.
My main interests are fine art, architecture, beautiful photo opportunities and cultural experiences. I enjoy taking photos. Good food and drink never hurt!

My preliminary wish list (based on RS London & England guides) includes:
London - 6 nites?
Oxford (Ashmoleum Museum+) - 2 nites?
Bath - 2 nights?
Salisbury - 3 nights, include Stonehenge and Avebury?
I fly in and out of LHR, though I don't have tickets yet.

Questions:
Do the number of nights seem right? I can easily spend a day in a great art museum with no regrets! And enjoy walking all over.
What order of towns makes the most sense? I'll rely on trains and buses - or taxi/Uber when needed.
I've read that Bath could be a base for Salisbury and Stonehenge. Am I better using one base or dividing the time? I don't want to waste time travelling. I prefer direct routes without station changes. I could take group tours.

I thank you in advance for any ideas and suggestions.
Lee

Posted by
10619 posts

Lee, I think the number of nights you have is good. I'm glad you're allotting enough time to London as it is huge and there is so much to see and do there. And definitely two nights in Oxford as it is wonderful. And I'm so glad that you have the Ashmolean Museum on your list because that is just an incredible museum.

It's definitely easy to get to Stonehenge from Bath. It's only an hour away by public transportation or you could do one of the Mad Max tours or another tour to visit there. I'm not sure about Salisbury so I'll let someone else answer that. It's been decades since I've been to Salisbury and back then I had a car.

In terms of the order of destinations, one thing you might consider is saving Oxford for the end, as you can get a direct bus from Oxford to Heathrow Airport, which means that you don't have to go back to London proper, change trains and go through all of that extra time-consuming shuffle. It's called the Airline Bus, and it leaves from the Gloucester Green bus station, which is near the city center, and takes about 90 minutes to get to Heathrow. There are a number of them that depart throughout the day so you never have any problem finding one. The cost for one way is £25. They store your luggage below the bus, and you can pay on board using tap and pay. Then just sit back and have a nice relaxing drive to LHR. 😊

So when you book your flight, if you decide to do this, think about the fact that you will be coming from Oxford and try to get a flight leaving in the early-to-mid-afternoon if possible. If you can't, there are a number of airport hotels at Heathrow, some of which are very reasonably priced. You could still have the bus take you to LHR, spend the night and then get on your flight in the early morning.

ETA: One other thing; you could just reverse that as well if that works out better. For example, head to Oxford using the Airline Bus from Heathrow. Stay there at first and then head to Bath and use that as the base to get to Stonehenge and possibly Salisbury. Then take the train to London and spend your last days in London. It depends on whether you want your city excitement at the beginning or the end of your trip. 😊

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