Staying in Bath: How to get to Stonehenge at night and then back to Bath

Go to http://www.nationalrail.co.uk and look up the schedule from Bath to Salisbury. When you find the train you want, click on it and it will take you to the train operating company to buy your tickets.

I can't help with information on cabs in Salisbury.

My question--where are you flying in from that morning?

You will be reliant on taxis between Stonehenge and Salisbury at these times. There are trains going late enough.

As it’s your first day and you’re likely to be tired, have you thought about using the private hire car again for this trip? It will be more expensive but will cut down on travelling time substantially. It’s a 1hr drive or train ride, but obviously with the train you also need to walk to the station, and get a taxi.

The train from Bath to Salisbury is not really the issue - as you have found, getting to Stonehenge is very difficult. The last bus out of Salisbury is 1611, and the last one back is 1638.

That means a taxi - and one that you can either wholly rely on to return, or that you are willing to pay to sit and wait. You'll find one at Salisbury but whether you will easily sort one out to get back is another matter. There's nothing there aside from Stonehenge.

The Bath Spa to Salisbury train leaves/arrives at 1805/1906, then 1838/1934. So you really need the 1805. Coming back you need the 2142 Salisbury to Bath Spa - and the next is 2211.

These train routes have some great advance fares.

That all said, personally that taxi link to Stonehenge is too risky for me - I would consider hiring a car for 24 hours. It will be cheaper.

I've always thought it poor that English Heritage happily sell very early and late tickets but don't ensure there is a bus connection.

We are flying in from the US on July 6

Thank you for the information. I can look into a private car service. Does anyone have a recommendation? Our hotel has not been very helpful.

It’s a real bugbear of mine that English Heritage and the National Trust bang on about the environment and sustainability but most of their sites are not accessible without a car and they seem to have no interest in doing anything about it.

I'm not sure how often you have traveled to Europe, however, I'm concerned about all you have planned this first day. Most travelers crash by 8 or 9 PM that first day but you will be traveling, by train, between two cities.

Is there any way you could move your visit to Stonehenge to another day?

Your plan would be far more easily done if you:

canceled only your first night in Bath with that hotel,
had the car service take you from the airport to Salisbury,
booked a hotel room for one night in Salisbury.

Then you could

drop your bags at your hotel,
take a walk around town to ward off jet lag,
take a taxi to Stonehenge and back to your hotel. Your Salisbury hotel will have a recommended taxi service, I'm sure.

The following morning, you could have a nice breakfast, then train to Bath.

sunset at Salisbury on 6 July is at 21:23 so it won't be dark.

Just be sure you aren't looking at things through your eyelids after flying into Heathrow at 6:40.

I would definitely see about changing your Stonehenge visit to another day. Not only your a long day with jet lag being a real possibility. Also, travel delays like your flight from the USA arriving late or even being cancelled.