Please provide some feedback and guidance

Hi, Ruth, it sounds like a lovely trip, and logistically makes perfect sense.

With regards to the Airline bus, it is very reliable and there are buses that leave every 20 minutes from the Gloucester Green bus station in Oxford to LHR, so even if something goes wrong with one (which is unlikely), you can catch another one 20 minutes later.

I would definitely allow extra time, and agree that you should take an early morning bus. The bus itself takes 90 minutes, so that, coupled with your need to get to the airport by 10:30, would mandate a departure of no later than 8 am, in my opinion. That gets you there by around 9:30, which gives you an hour of leeway.

Your Bath Salisbury plan is good but I’d definitely go for at least 3 nights giving you 2 full days. 1 day to take the local shuttle out to the stones and 1 day for Bath. You’d have half a day or so on arrival for Salisbury Cathedral and could do Evensong that day if that service is of interest. You’d also have half a day or so on the day you leave if you get an afternoon train.

Your plan makes sense. I’d also suggest at least 3 nights in Salisbury.

You could also consider starting your trip in Oxford and taking the Oxford Airline on arrival. You might want to check Oxford hotel prices and availability for both the start and end of your trip to see if it makes a difference. Hotels prices tend to be high and in short supply in Oxford.

I've never visited Salisbury, and so I cannot criticize the plan. I wonder, though, about choosing it over Bristol as a headquarters from which you'd visit Bath, as Bristol is much closer. Bristol is a terrific city in its own right, and it is a great hub from which to visit Bath and Cardiff.

Just another idea. You seem to have a great trip coming up!

The thing about Bristol is that it's not as convenient for Stonehenge. There is a shuttle bus run by the local bus company that leaves from several locations in Salisbury including the train station and the city center that is so easy to do. The train journey from Bristol to Salisbury is about 1h12-1h20m.

I am thinking we'll move to Salisbury for 2-3 nights and use that as a base for Bath and Stonehenge. Our last 2 nights we'll take the train to Oxford and spend time there before using the "airline" bus to go from Oxford to LHR.

I definitely agree with most of the posters above--3 nights in Salisbury for sure. As Pam said, take the Stonehenge Bus out from town to Stonehenge and its terrific museum.
Spend some time walking around in Salisbury. See Salisbury Cathedral.

I would then take the train to Bath and spend two nights. Bath has a lot to see; Bath Abbey, the Roman Baths and the Pump Room, the Holburne Art Museum, the Royal Crescent, and a lot more. I think you might find more to interest you in Bath than you think. Lovely architecture....a great place to take walks and look around. The City Of Bath has free guided walks by residents.....inquire at the Tourist Information Center.
There are lots of great restaurants in Bath and good shopping/browsing.

Where to "steal" the extra two nights to spend in Bath? I suggest taking them off of the London portion of your trip. Sure there's tons to see in London, but you will still have plenty of time there I believe.

Your plan to end up in Oxford is great.
Don't miss the Covered Market and the Ashmolean Museum.
Mardee has given you all the information you need about the bus to Heathrow, so you can be confident about using that.

The thing about Bristol is that it's not as convenient for Stonehenge.

Ah, fair point. I've never had any interest in visiting Stonehenge. But I understand that's unusual; for most people it seems to be essential.

I'm going to suggest something different.

Instead of spending those extra nights in Salisbury, spend them in Bath. From Bath, you could spend the day in Salisbury/Stonehenge. You could do this on your own or take a one day tour, such as Madmax Tours.

There is a lot to see in Bath including trips into the Cotswolds. This will allow you to spend your time in Oxford in Oxford itself as the city has much to see. And you could include a day trip to Blenheim Castle.

The bus from Oxford to Heathrow is reliable but I wouldn't cut it too close. Traffic/Accidents do occur.

For a long time, I hesitated going to Stonehenge. And then I was taken there. Between the site and the museum, I found it very interesting.

First of all, thanks to all of you who took the time to respond. Lots of great information. I looked over my tentative schedule and see that on Saturday we have a 10:00 tour of Parliament. I was thinking we could wrap up anything in London that we may have missed after that tour and then head to Salisbury that night. (I would verify train schedules). That would give us the 3 nights in Salisbury. And I definitely plan on Evensong at the cathedral. I am a "church groupie"!

I will consider adding an overnight stay in Bath though the hour train ride to/from Salisbury doesn't seem unmanageable and with 3 full days I would think that we could manage to see at least a good part of Bath and Salisbury/Stonehenge. I've been to Stonehenge and have to admit, it was more impressive than I thought it would be but my husband would like to see it. I figure if we do the early morning bus there, it would leave a good part of the day to either spend in Salisbury or travel to Bath.

I will also revisit our London schedule to see if there is a day I could spare. I've allowed a lot of time (whole days in fact) to see the British Museum and another for the V&A. I realize even a whole day won't cover everything but definitely will cover what we can handle before burnout. There may be days I can combine activities. I've also thought about visiting, as a day trip, somewhere near the Dover Cliffs. My London itinerary consists of a day at the Warner Studios Harry Potter show (I know, we're old but love Harry), a day seeing several smaller museums/War Rooms and the museums and Parliament as mentioned. There is free time but we are the kind of travelers that enjoy having time to wander. Those are often, to us at least, the most memorable.

Any further advice is more than welcome...and thanks again for all the feedback.

Ohhh, if you are a "church groupie" Salisbury Cathedral Evensong is a must do and I don't even believe in "must-do's"!! If you are on FB, follow them in case there are some interesting things going on the days you plan to be there. I also have signed up for their newsletter even though I don't have a trip planned there in the foreseeable future, lol.

Do plan to visit the cathedral in the daylight as well and take one of the free tours. There are so many cool things here...one of my favorites is a sculpted head in one of the side chapels that reminds me of Fabio. Remember him? He was an 80's male model with flowing locks who posed for covers on bodice rippers! In the Chapter House where the Magna Carta is on display there are also awesome carvings including one guy who looks like he has Bell's palsy (a paralysis of one side of the face).

https://www.facebook.com/salisburycathedral

https://www.rossbridge.com.au/blog/a-narrative-frieze-in-the-chapter-house-of-salisbury-cathedral-and-more-gargoyles

You will probably also want to work in a visit to St Thomas in Salisbury which was the church built for the workers who were building the cathedral. They have a really unusual and fairly rare Doom painting featuring Heaven and Hell. IF you have binoculars be sure to have them with you to look closely.

https://stthomassalisbury.co.uk/welcome-to-st-thomass-church-salisbury/visit-us/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Thomas%27s_Church,_Salisbury

Siiiigh.....this is way TMI, isn't it?

have you got those Harry Potter tickets? They are like hens' teeth

Thank you Pam for all the excellent suggestions for viewing various churches and finding events within. I definitely will visit St. Thomas in Salisbury.

Also, thanks for the heads up regarding the Harry Potter tickets. You are right, they go fast but thankfully, I was able to book during our stay at mid-afternoon (which hopefully gets us back before it's too dark to navigate).

Things are getting settled with where we will be and when...next step, lodging. Yikes! Will be reviewing a lot of the forum questions/suggestions/responses.

Thanks again...what a wonderful group this is.