We are joining the RS 14 day tour of England which starts in Bath on July 20. We are planning to fly round-trip into London Heathrow, arriving 7 AM on July 17. We are looking for recommendations for an itinerary to see sites in southern England and working our way to Bath by midday of July 20 to begin the tour. We are considering Dover, Beachy Head, Brighton or Portsmouth. We prefer to use public transportation but will consider renting a car. There will be 4 adult experienced travelers. Recommendations appreciated including areas I have not referenced here. Thank you!
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
566 posts
Maybe take a look at the RS Best of Southern England tour for some ideas:
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/england/southern-england
Posted by
OP
9 posts
Thank you for your reply. I have been studying that itinerary to get some ideas. I was wondering if anyone had tried to do a quick trip like I am considering so we could see a bit of Southern England wedged between arriving in London and then traveling to Bath.
Posted by
Buckinghamshire
214 posts
Where are you thinking of staying on the 17th and where will you keep your bags?
I’d be tempted to stay in London, near Paddington. Then on the 18th and 19th, you could do day trips to Oxford and Windsor both by train from Paddington and then on the 20th get the train (again from Paddington) to Bath.
If you do plan to go to Windsor, check which days the castle is open. Also, in Windsor, it’s worth walking over the bridge to Eton. I’m not sure if you can look round the famous school, although it probably won’t have pupils there in mid July.
Posted by
Providence, RI
32 posts
Hello,
You could very easily take the train from Heathrow to St. Pancras International then it is a short train ride to Dover. There are taxis right outside the train station. The castle is amazing! You could overnight in Dover on 7/17 then rent a car to work your way to Portsmouth. By renting a car, you'd be able to work your way west along the coast with stops in Rye, Hastings, Brighton and finish in Portsmouth. Once you are in Portsmouth, drop the car and train to Bath.
Enjoy!!
Posted by
OP
9 posts
BillS719, thank you. I agree, that is a great plan for staying in London. We did get to go to most of that itinerary when we were in London a few years ago. We thoroughly enjoyed it!
We are leaning towards renting a car to give us more options and it will provide a place to store our bags.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
Hello Nancy,
Thank you for this suggested itinerary. Renting a car would give us so many more options. We are leaning towards that plan. Thanks again!
Posted by
Buckinghamshire
214 posts
Regarding Nancy’s plan, my view is that Hastings isn’t very attractive. The ruined abbey at Battle about 7 miles from Hastings (I think) is worth a visit but the town not so much.
Brighton is worth seeing - particularly the Pavilion - but the council is run by the Green Party. So, parking is expensive and beware of 20 mph speed limits as you get closer to the centre. The bus-only lanes are enforced by cameras and have different periods of validity, so you need to be careful of them too.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
8504 posts
By renting a car, you'd be able to work your way west along the coast with stops in Rye, Hastings, Brighton and finish in Portsmouth.
Definitely stop in Rye! I have not been there yet, but it's high on my list for my next trip.