Which other towns in South England—-no car

What about Winchester? The famous cathedral looks beautiful.

https://www.visit-hampshire.co.uk/explore/cities/winchester

We have not been there yet, but it is one the list for next time. The tourist office mailed me a nice little brochure, including some nice walks on the South Downs.

Chichester on the West Sussex/Hampshire border - beautiful cathedral, nearby Fishbourne Roman Palace, picturesque Bosham Harbour with its church some of which dates back to Saxon times.

We were in Southern England in March. Used 8 day senior Southern England train pass out of month. Trains were excellent and convent except for transfers in London with were bit of hassle. Went to Rye, Cambridge, Oxford, Cottswalds (Morten Marsh) Bath , and day trip to Brighton from London. All accessible by train. Highly recommend GoCottswalds Tours from M&M train station. Took bus from Moreton Marsh to Stratford Avon. All were fantastic. Were able to stay within two or three blocks of train station at each. Visited 10 Fantastic gardens near all locations.

Have you been to Oxford? A bit closer than Cambridge. (I enjoy both!)

Great suggestions above!

It isn't clear to me - were these day trips from London that the OP was looking for, or overnights??

Thank you all for all these great suggestions.
We will be moving around on trains and buses and staying in each town. Now I think we will do a day trip from Salisbury to Winchester, and we will do a day trip from Wells to Glastonbury.
We will have 5 days in London at the end of the trip.

I have been to Oxford but it was 45 years ago.

Does Chichester have an old town center.
It seems like it is a big town but if we could walk around the old part of town, see the church, and also see the Roman Palace without needing to spend much time in a modern area, that would be interesting for us.

Oxford may be more convenient than Cambridge. Some changes in 45 years! My first trip was about 40 years ago with the most recent visit last fall. Colleges were familiar but the Ashmolean was something wonderfully transformed.

As kzeiss notes, several of your potentials are quite easy from London. I don't know if using London for a few extra days as a base might be easier than changing hotels? You'll figure it out as you lay out the itinerary, I'm sure! Have fun planning!

Oh - I hope this doesn't happen to you, but I ran into train strikes and weekend train works that changed my plans during my last visit, fall of 2022. I wouldn't say I felt totally disrupted because there were multiple good options for touring, but I was glad I wasn't "set in stone" for some of the visits that I decided were easier to save for the next trip. I was operating out of London as a base.

If you haven't visited Windsor, consider that also from London.

Kzeiss, your trip sounds fantastic. We would like to visit gardens, too.
We will stay in Windsor the night before a flight from Heathrow since it seems convenient and close.

Think about getting the Two Travel Together rail card for 30 pounds total not each. You can book your tickets without having the actual card in hand…just purchase it on-line or at the train station just before your journey. Good for one year from purchase date. There are a few time restrictions but we ended up way ahead of our investment this year when we booked five trains trips and one Thames cruise.

We enjoyed Winchester for 2 nights and Canterbury for 2 nights last summer. Loved both cathedral towns. Easy train access. Day trip from Winchester was Portsmouth to see the Mary Rose ship (one hour by train) and a day trip from Canterbury was the seaside town of Whitstable (15 minutes by bus). You could also train to Dover easily from Canterbury.

I recently read there is bus access to Wells from Bath if that would be more convenient for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQnWRxAcwa4&t=112s
The YouTube link is a walk around Chichester.

I wouldn't consider Chichester as having a large old center, as say Canterbury. But I've enjoyed the town. I based myself there to spend time at the Weald and Downland Museum. Which if anyone is a fan of the tv show The Repair Shop, it's filmed at Weald & Downland. I happened to be visiting there when they were working on series 3. My interest was in the preserved 15th to 17th century Sussex and Kent houses and the weekend of charcoal making. https://www.wealddown.co.uk/

The Roman museum has been mentioned. From Chichester I used the train to get to Portsmouth Harbour and visit the Mary Rose Museum and eventually back to Portsmouth to take the ferry to France.

Going back again in late October and each time I have stayed I've stated at accommodations at 4 Canon Lane. One of the accommodations operated by the Chichester Cathedral -- https://www.chichestercathedral.org.uk/accommodation

The Two Together train ticket sounds great and easy to use so thanks so much for mentioning it. Our first train will be from Heathrow to Salisbury, we think, so would we buy those tickets at Heathrow along with our first tickets to Salisbury?

You won't be catching a train from Heathrow to Salisbury.

Although you could go into London and back out again I guess you mean you are catching the rail air coach from Heathrow to Woking then the train at Woking.

As your time of arrival is an imponderable, just buy your ticket on arrival at Woking, at £32.70 each before railcard discount.

It's not worth the risk of buying a time specific cheaper advance ticket at £12.30 each before railcard discount.

Second Chichester and towns in East and West Sussex along the Southern railway lines. http://www.railrover.org/pages/southern-daysave.html

Chichester canal is the setting of some masterpieces of Turner.

Public buses are decent on the Southern coast.

You should look into the rail rovers, such as the Thames branches rover

http://www.railrover.org/pages/thames-branches-day-ranger.html

They bring you to Henley-on-Thames Marlow and Cobham etc.

Some ideas here.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/exploring-england-outside-of-london#bottom

Rye is an easy to reach and pleasant place for a day. It has a generally cosy village feel.

Cambridge is very nice as is nearby Ely

Thank you VAP for the video of Chichester. It was really informative. I hadn’t thought of looking on YouTube for travel planning but it was great.
Also thanks for the accommodation link!

Just for clarification: The Two Together Railcard is not a ticket; it is one of several discount cards you can purchase for train travel in the UK. It has your two photos on it, so be prepared for that if you want to buy it at the train station (not at Heathrow). You can apply the discount to tickets bought online or at the station.

The simplest option for you is probably to get the digital version on your phones in advance of the trip.

https://www.twotogether-railcard.co.uk/

Thank you isn31c for clarifying the train verses bus from Heathrow to Salisbury.
So do I buy the two together online the day of travel? then when I get to the airport go to the main bus station for the airbus to Woking? then buy the train tickets while on the bus to Woking?
I took the bus from Heathrow to Bath in May so is it the same bus station?
Thanks everyone so much. All the info is very helpful!

Thank you Lola! Does the two together cover just train travel?

Two together is a railcard, so yes, primarily.

Railcard holders can also enjoy discount in the Plus bus tickets, which you can buy in combination with rail tickets.

You really want to buy the Two Together Pass digitally at home before coming, you can't buy at Heathrow and you don't want to be lining up at Woking or Basingstoke when you arrive.
Then either buy your train tickets on your phone while on the bus or at Woking/Basingstoke.

I mention Basingstoke because since this post first arose a brand new rail air link to Basingstoke station has been announced. Basingstoke is closer to Salisbury than Woking but this bus is faster than to Woking. It is called Flightline # 730/731- https://images.reading-buses.co.uk/downloads/730-731-web_0.pdf

The service starts on 21 August and is £1 each way until 3 September, then £20 single/£25 return within 1 month. Just pay on the bus.

Thanks for your replies!
Do I get either the Woking bus or the Basingstoke bus at the same bus terminal (is it the same spot we got the Bath bus?)
We will get the Two together which only effects the train ticket purchase, not the bus ticket purchase?

Yes, it is a rail card, not for buses, so I was surprised I could use it on our Greenwich to Westminster ferry. We could have purchased the digital one just before we left the US but personally, I wanted a hard copy not one on my phone. We each had a leftover passport photo from our renewal the year before so the picture part was going to be easy. We purchased our card at the Waterloo train station the day we arrived for our first use the following day with tickets I had purchased at home indicating I'd have the card by the time we traveled.

It took about 20 minutes from waiting in line to completing our transaction, but we enjoyed our interaction with the rail office clerk and then person who stood behind us in line we both recognized from somewhere. We struck up a conversation with him and then realized (with his help!) he had starred in a TV series we had watched called The Good Fight.

I hope we can get back to the UK again before the pass expires mid-July 2024!

P.S. In 2022, we spent two days in Winchester and two days in Canterbury. We loved both, but given a choice for a day trip, I'd recommend Winchester. Loved the main street with restaurants and shops. Walked by Jane Austen's home. Saw the Round Table in the remains of the castle. Enjoyed the cathedral and a few other churches. Really nice vibe.

Do I get either the Woking bus or the Basingstoke bus at the same bus terminal (is it the same spot we got the Bath bus?) We will get the Two together which only effects the train ticket purchase, not the bus ticket purchase?

1. If you use the Woking rail air coach and buy it as a through fare to Salisbury (ie not the coach to Woking as a stand alone fare) then you get the 2T discount on the entire fare.

2. The bus to Bath you only get at the Central Bus Station.

The Woking Coach has a new timetable since 20 August 2023- it is now half hourly to Woking (and hourly on the extension from Woking to Guildford). So to Woking it has doubled in frequency.
That no longer uses the Central Bus Station but stops at each of Terminals 2, 3 and 5 (not 4)-
T2 Stops 11 and 12
T3 Stops 7 and 8
T5 Stop 11

The Bus to Basingstoke only stops at Terminal 5 (Stop 15)- for the pedants just one early morning departure at 0420 starts at the Central Bus Station.