Sussex to Stonehenge road trip itinerary - What do you think?

Posted by jani_travels (US) on 02/27/24 08:49 PM

Hi all! This is my first time posting here! My husband and I will be traveling to England at the end of April for 7 days.
We are staying in London for 4 days and will head to Sussex for the next 3 days. Our main goal is to see Bodiam Castle, Arundel Castle and Stonehenge.

This is the plan so far:
Day 1: Take the train from London to Robertsbridge, rent a car and drive to Bodiam Castle.
After the castle, we might go to a vineyard or make our way to Brighton. We could stay the night in Brighton or continue to Arundel and stay in Amberley Castle.
Day 2: Go to Arundel Castle, then drive to South Downs national park and end the day in Salisbury.
Day 3: Drive to Stonehenge in the morning and then head to Heathrow for our flight home in the afternoon.

Please let me know if this is a good plan and if we need more time to see other things on the way.
Thanks!!
Update: The flight home is at 4pm. Thanks for the replies, I appreciate your feedback. I'm thinking maybe we won't drive all the way to Salisbury and try to fit Stonehenge as a day trip earlier in our itinerary. Will take a train back to London after Arundel Castle.

Posted by isn31c

Lake District, England

02/27/24 09:07 PM

5748 posts

Is there anywhere you can rent a car from at Robertsbridge?

I would have assumed Tunbridge Wells or Hastings were the nearest.

I assume you have timed Day 3 that you can physically get back ready to check in at Heathrow 3 hours before your flight. It is something like 1 1/2 hours from Stonehenge to Heathrow then time to off rent the car.

So you probably need to leave Stonehenge 5 hours before flight time.

If you are arriving at the end of May then this drive may well coincide with the early May public holiday when quite a lot of people will be on the roads.

Posted by JC

Portsmouth

02/28/24 08:44 AM

5262 posts

Day 2: Your drive through South Downs National Park. Is there a particular route you plan to take? Anywhere in particular you would like to visit? Or is it a means to get from Arundel to Salisbury?

I'm assuming that you'll want some time to explore Salisbury not least the magnificent cathedral. Bear in mind that the cathedral closes at 16:30 and whilst it is impressive to view from outside it's well worth a visit inside if only to view the Magna Carta on display.

How much time do you intend to allot to Arundel Castle? The grounds, gardens and keep open at 10:00 however the castle rooms do not open until 12:00 so you could be there until early afternoon which doesn't give you much time to get to Salisbury if you want to visit the cathedral. The fastest route from Arundel to Salisbury is via the A27 and M27, Google offers a drive time of 1hr 25 minutes which is wildly optimistic. The roads around Salisbury are notorious for gridlock and the A27 and M27 have their fair share of traffic woes. The route via the national park takes longer, again an optimistic 2hrs and will pass through Winchester which can also be congested. Granted, the route through the NP is a lot more attractive than the A27 and M27 but it all boils down to time and what you want to achieve.

As has previously been stated you need to keep in mind your departure flight. What time does it leave? It is possible to visit Stonehenge within 2 hours, a lot depends on your interest in the site and the Neolithic period in general. The site opens at 09:30 so if you left at 11:30 and assuming traffic works in your favour you could be at Heathrow in the early afternoon however without knowing what time you flight is it's not possible to advise if your plan is reccomended or not.

Posted by Katheryne

Chattanooga, TN USA

02/28/24 04:55 PM

565 posts

Ok I will play devils advocate.
Have you driven in England before? Dropped off a rental car at Heathrow? Navigated Heathrow for an outbound international flight? There is no way I would attempt day 3 unless you are comfortable missing your flight. There are too many things that could go wrong.