Train travel between London and Bath

Rick, No, it is not necessary to reserve in advance. But it is highly advisable, as it is a lot cheaper to buy the tickets in advance.

You can buy tickets at the rail company website here: https://www.gwr.com/
And you can get a seat reservation as part of the booking.

There is no senior discount as such, you need to buy a special senior railcard first, and that will only give you a saving if you make many trips.

Regarding train travel,

the absolute best website for information on train travel in Europe and the UK is Seat61.com

The man who started it was a hobbyist at first, it's now a hugely popular and reviewed site with info on travel and links to buy tickets. His "what to expect on an Irish ferry" video was amazingly helpful to me!

I use him for logistics whenever I travel....

Susan
Expat in Waterville

To add to the above – the cheapest tickets are called Advance – they tie you to a particular train but are a bargain compared to walk-up fares. They go on sale about 12 weeks before your date of travel.

Where did you see a senior discount? National Rail companies in the U.K. offer “adult” tickets, not Senior as a separate fare category. To get a senior discount, you must each buy a Senior Railcard, which is around £30 each. You would be better off with a Two Together railcard, but only if you ate doing lots of train travel.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/17.aspx

I suggest you play with the National Rail website to see what types of tickets are offered and when. Note that February is not on offer yet, but some trains in late a January show off-peak fares of £33 each, not bad.

Thanks to all of you. Your replies have been quite helpful.

Rick Halpern

You might also consider taking a motor coach (bus) [www.nationalexpress.com] from Heathrow near Terminals 2,3. We traveled to/from Bath via bus in October and found it to be much cheaper and less hassle that taking the train. We got on the bus at Heathrow and didn't get off until 2.25 hours later in Bath. It's not as roomy as the train would be, but you don't have to wheel your luggage off then back onto another train and risk missing your connection if there is a delay.
We had golf clubs in a large carry-case and didn't have any problem or pay any extra for taking them.
Just a suggestion.

We used the coach bus from m heathrow to Bath in Sept. This was after a long flt from SFO.
We liked it very well. It was a direct route, comfortable and not crowded. We also used the train from Bath to Paddington station, comfortable.
If you’re wanting to wait to buy tickets until your there you will pay more.

I can also vouch for the bus (coach) for Heathrow to Bath. Prices are so much better than the train, and as was said earlier, no need to get yourself to the train station first.

I don't see anything here from the OP asking about Heathrow. He wants to go from London to Bath by train, which seems to be the right way to do it.

Thanks for the advice about taking the National Express bus from Heathrow. That applies to my situation.

And thanks also for the clarifying remarks about the senior discount. I found that whole subject a little confusing at first. It makes sense that they'd make you get an ID card first though it doesn't seem as valuable for tourists as it is for locals.

Jeff

In the UK the wording you are looking for regarding a senior discount is the "concessions" price. Usually goes into effect at age 60.

My daughter and her friend took the coach bus from Victoria Station in London, out to Bath. They liked it.