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Thoughts on Castle Cary vs Bath for train to London?

Posted by (SE Washington, USA) on

We will be staying in Wells for a week in December. My son will be with us for a few days then will head to London on Friday, December 11. The host of the country house in Wells told me of the Castle Cary train option (about 15 minutes closer to Wells) to London, albeit, not as many trains available.

We probably could get to Castle Cary for the 9:43 train. I'm presuming the train station is small and easy to find. I don't know that we could count on getting to Bath for the same departure time because country house breakfast is not served until 8 am. My son does not have a firm time to be in London, but I think noon is a fair target.

Other than whether or not we want to spend time in Bath on that day, what else should we consider regarding a departure choice?

Thanks

Posted by
2260 posts

Castle Cary station is really nice now. The owners of the Newt hotel and estate (extremely wealthy South Africans) have done it up and opened a restaurant called The Creamery as it’s the nearest station to their very posh hotel. Might be interesting.

Posted by
2116 posts

Assuming that you just want to get back to London, Castle Cary is going to be far easier than Bath. The station is about 12 miles away and it's a small place so there should be no issues with traffic, unlike Bath.

I can't see a 9.43 train on 11th December though. There is an 8.44, which I assume is too early and a 10.27, which would be easy, getting you to Paddington at 12.06.

Posted by
860 posts

Thanks, Johnew, that's what I was thinking about the traffic and easy of getting to the station. I thought I'd put the date in for the trains, but it must have slipped back to the other date.

Posted by
37330 posts

Helen, Thanks for the info on the Newt.

I see their underwriting (advertising by another name) on posh sports like Wimbledon, etc., and quietly wondered what it is. Too lazy to hunt it up.

Astonishing that a single one-off hotel would have the cash for such underwriting...

Posted by
2260 posts

Nigel the owners are billionaires. They are buying up a lot of land and hospitality businesses in the area. The Newt gardens are open to the public and the amount of money that has been spent there is incredible. Well worth visiting but entry is by annual pass only at around £80pp.

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