Lots of great information on this forum!
We will be traveling by train for three weeks in September. I have a rough itinerary worked out but I’m looking for a bit of feedback. Right now I have: London 7 days, Bath 5, Chester 3, York 4 back to London for 3 more nights before we fly home. We plan on taking a few day trips to Oxford, Stratford upon Avon, Cotswolds, Avebury, Winchester and Liverpool. Perhaps a coastal location as well. But we don’t intend to rush around madly to see everything. This trip will be all about enjoying the beauty and history of England.
If anyone has any thoughts on the lengths of these stays either too short or too long, I would appreciate feed back. Also I have read that SuA is touristy but we wouldn’t miss it. Should we carve out a couple of days from any stay in the itinerary to dedicate to SuA or any other destination?
Cheers, B
Posted by
2599 posts
Consider taking 2 nights off Bath and adding Cardiff - which is just over 1 hour by direct train from Cardiff. (Visit St.Fagans Castle & Museum just west of the city and Caerphilly Castle just to the north). Also check out Cardiff Castle.
Traveline.info for local bus routes.
Another advantage of adding Cardiff is that it has direct trains to Chester and the route through the Welsh/English borders is quite scenic. When in Chester, be sure to take a train ride to Conwy and the nearby seaside town of Llandudno.
Stratford-upon-Avon is down a dead end branch line and Avebury is not easy to reach by public transport
Don't forget that you can get about a third off most fares by having a Railcard. Advance book specific trains to get the cheapest fares.
Posted by
Yorkshire
1344 posts
Hi B -
You can access the coast from York. It should be possible to get to Whitby by rail and there will be a bus service to link to the likes of Staithes and Robin Hood’s Bay which are the quaint fishing/smuggling villages. Runswick Bay too although it’s a tad more touristy. Scarborough and Filey are also accessible by train but they are faded memories now of what they used to be and not worth the effort in my view (I was in Filey a couple of weeks back).
Avebury I once walked into from The Ridgeway National Trail and was able to get a (potentially infrequent) bus to Swindon to connect to the rail network to go north and home. It was a long time ago so I would check if that is still available. (Google and the likes of Rome to Rio are your friends here!).
Stratford upon Avon I found underwhelming but if you are interested in Shakespeare it’s probably compulsory. That said, while in London I would go to a performance at The Globe (book ahead, if you can, first row of seats behind the ‘groundlings’ and hire cushions and backrest!). If the Globe is closed - it’s seasonal as it’s open to the elements so not open all year - then check out what’s on at the tiny Wanamaker Theatre adjoining The Globe. It’s a Jacobean theatre recreation, seats maybe two hundred maximum and is lit by candles and it’s huge fun!
The Cotswolds covers a large area, (100 miles between Chipping Campden and Bath on The Cotswolds Way National Trail) and is poorly served by rail and public transport so an organised tour is most likely your only option to get an idea of the area. I believe Mad Max Tours run from Bath.
Have a great trip!
Ian