Train from BathSpa to Edinburgh

Go to Bristol and pick up a direct Cross Country train from there.

Thanks. I looked at that route but the fare going via Bristol/Birmingham is £354 more than going via London.

Play around with booking two separate Advance tickets: Bath to Paddington, then Kings Cross to Edinburgh. You might find it works out cheaper than booking one ticket from Bath to Edinburgh.

The Kings Cross to Edinburgh tickets go on sale 24 weeks before your travel date; Bath to Paddington 12 weeks.

You can book both tickets through any one of the train operators’ websites e.g. https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/

50 minutes would be fine for me.

Then again I would use the Tube for that connection. Easy, just 5 stops on the Hammersmith and City Line or Circle Line which will be around 15 minutes. 10 minutes to find your train at Kings Cross, 5 to get to the Tube at Paddington. Half an hour all-in leaves you 20 minutes fudge time.

I'm never sure how a taxi will do with traffic. The Tube is generally fairly reliable, certainly within Zone 1.

If you get a through ticket via London it will have a cross symbol in the route area which means that it includes one trip on the Tube connecting the two long distance trains. If you split the fare Bath Spa - Paddington, Kings Cross - Edinburgh it won't. Try it both ways.

Try splitting the Bristol ticket three ways. Bath Spa - Bristol Temple Meads, then Bristol Temple Meads - Birmingham New Street, and finally Birmingham New Street - Edinburgh Waverley. Or even staying on the Cross Country train all the way from Bristol Temple Meads to York and then York to Edinburgh Waverley.

You will have to do the maths, but you should be able to do better with Advance (capital A) tickets on the route avoiding London.

Thanks Ramblin'On, I did not think about doing it that way and the National Rail site would not show me the London->Edinburgh tickets this far out. Went ahead and booked the London->Edinburgh tickets on the Virgin East Coast site, under £20 each so we are good to go and not much lost if something changes. I've got a reminder flagged on my calendar for 12 weeks for the Bath->London tickets.

I can give us enough time between trains to go in to the British Library. I can sit with the bags in the outside terrace area (weather permitting of course) while they go look at the treasures room.

editing to add: Ooops, sorry Nigel, just saw your post. I did not look at breaking the Bristol/Birmingham/Edinburgh tickets up to see if they would be cheaper.

GWR is selling Advances already up to 18 May, so June may not be far away.

Pam, We took the same back to back tours and took a private car service from Heathrow to Canterbury. It didn't cost that much more than the train for two of us, and with three of you it may be an even better deal. In addition to the money aspect, after a long flight, some jet lag, perhaps not being familiar with the area, there will be nothing better than having your private driver meet you inside the terminal and whisk you to your hotel in Canterbury. We later took a private car from Bath to the Bristol airport and flew Easy Jet to Edinburgh. It was actually cheaper (and much faster) than any train routing we could find. Easy Jet has a ONE piece carry on rule, but for a few bucks more you can have a carry on, a personal bag, and priority seating. Let us know if you need specifics on the car services we used.

Thanks Marco, I'll keep looking.

Thanks TC. We will be in London for 5 nights before the tour so we'll be good with the train.

Any advice on either tour? We'll be to Canterbury a night ahead of the Villages tour and will stay over in Bath for 3 more nights. I wasn't sure how much time you actually spend in Canterbury Cathedral so thought I might want to spend some time there ahead of the tour. I've got us booked on a Mad Max tour of the Cotswolds on one of those days as that was what one person of our travel group wanted to do. I've been to Bath a number of times so I've got some things in mind to fill our 2 full days there.

We've got an extra night in front of the Scotland tour and 3 extra nights in Edinburgh after. I want to see Rosslyn Chapel on one of those days and probably the Botanic Garden, Holyrood House and possibly the Royal Yacht Brittania

With the tour we spent at least an hour and a half in the Canterbury Cathedral, but we also spent another hour before the tour just wandering about on our own. Canterbury itself is a great town to just walk about and explore. There is a place for lunch called "The Foundry" that is a small brewery that has a special deal with lunch. You get small samples of five different libations.

Addendum: In Edinburgh we discovered a place many years ago and have had a number of memorable meals there. It is Maison Bleue at 36 Victoria St. which is off George IV Bridge St. which is just off High St. (The Royal Mile) close to the castle. Go to googlemaps.com, type in the address, and you'll be able to locate it easily. You can use the street view to "walk" to it before leaving home. You can't miss the bleue façade. We've never had a problem being seated at lunch, but dinner reservations are advised. Small place, same ownership for years, and excellent food.

Thanks TC!