Please sign in to post.

Trip from London to Highclere Castle

There is a group of 8 of us that have tickets to visit Highclere castle on Thursday September 3rd for the morning which means starting our tour by 1pm. I am looking for the most efficient way to get there and back to London. I understand that there is a train from Paddington Station to Newbury that takes approx. 50 minutes and then one can get a $25? cab out to the castle. Has anyone use this method? Can anyone speak to this? Or any other suggestions?

The Highclere site also mentions a National Express Coach from Victoria. Anyone try this route?

Also any recommendations for a hotel by the Paddingtion station in the 120-140 dollar range? I have been on the booking sites and looking recommendations. We actually need 4 rooms.

Thanks!

Posted by
244 posts

We actually will be there the same day! But, I am confused, morning tickets are for 10:30 -1:00. But you say 1:00. We actually are coming in from the Cotswolds then dropping our rental car at Heathrow. Then to London. Have you considered renting a car with a large group? Hope to see you at Highclere! So excited!!

Posted by
39 posts

Hi pfresh3,

It is my understanding that if you have morning tickets that you can start your tour between 10:30-1pm. We will try to get there by 11am but have some wiggle room. We thought we were going to be able to visit Highclere on Saturday the 5th on our way to Bath but Highclere is not open on Fridays and Saturday. Most likely we will take the train out and back for we will spend another 1 1/2 days in London and do not want a rental car in London. Funny we have tickets the same day and time. It's looks like we are likely to haved gotten them for they go fast!

Posted by
231 posts

Have a look at the Darlington Hyde Park. V close to Paddington and one of the nicer hotels yet not terribly expensive in the area.

Posted by
250 posts

I went to Highclere in 2013 and absolutely loved it. I went there on the train, and then I got a taxi (a guy mentioned in the Rick Steves book...but you may want to reserve one in advance as it's a fairly small station-but they probably get a lot of tourists I'm just not sure.).

Anyway, my guess is that your ticket time is for the house itself-but the garden areas are wonderful to walk around in, and you can get tea and scones. I spent a good part of the day there. I got there right when it opened, and I left I think about 3. There's a separate exhibit downstairs on Lord Carnarvon and king tut. I thought it was very interesting.

So you can verify with the Highclere folks, but I would definitely think about getting there early to do a bit of walking around if you have time.

Have a great time! It was a highlight of my trip!