Using Bath as a Base

Two weeks is a long time for Bath. What I mean by that is, you may run out of days trips to take from there without there being a long travel time getting to where you intend to visit. We used it as our base for 5 days a number of years ago, but we had a car. From there we visited Stonehenge and Salisbury, Wells and Glastonbury, Cardiff and Tintern Abbey, a number of Cotswolds villages, and Chedder gorge. Bath itself is only worth a day or two. Maybe consider splitting it into 2 bases from which to take day trips. Very near Blenheim palace (across the A4095 road) is the Parish church of Saint Martin in Bladon where Churchill is buried. From Leicester, if you like WWII spots is Bletchley Park at Milton Keynes. It may be further away than you want to travel.

Rick has some hiking suggestions for the Cotswolds in the Great Britain book.

Moreton-in-Marsh is the only Cotswold village with rail service, but there are buses to many other little spots.

There's lots to see in Oxford, including a couple of really good museums. It's over an hour from Bath but only just over half an hour from Moreton-in-Marsh.

Thanks. Will mull that over. We don't mind slow paced, relaxed days where we might just walk around Bath's environs and get out into the countryside or just stroll around parks and gardens. We don't like to be constantly on the move. However, will look into an additional home base for those first 2 weeks. It's overwhelming to think of all the choices! We do appreciate the comments because they certainly give us points we hadn't considered.

Actually, I can (and have) spent at least 3 days in Bath and there are things I haven't gotten to!

In addition to what you've listed:

• Prior Park Landscape Garden especially if you are interested in Palladian architecture ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prior_Park_Landscape_Garden and https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/prior-park-landscape-garden). Pretty steep hill up and you enter the garden up the hill and walk down thru it.

• There is a Bath skyline walk but I usually travel solo and had seen that wayfinding is not easy sometimes and I was timid to do it on my own. (https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bath-skyline/trails/bath-skyline-walk )

• Kennet and Avon canal path (https://visitbath.co.uk/things-to-do/kennet-and-avon-canal-path-p1991423 )

• American Museum in Britain with a free shuttle from the Parade Ground area. https://americanmuseum.org/

• Botanical Gardens (haven't done this)

• Parade Gardens (entry fee allows you to use one of the lawn chairs. Since I was by myself I didn't do the chair because I was thinking I might need someone to help heave me out of it! Entry is inexpensive - maybe 1.50£ Sometimes there is a band concert on Sunday afternoon )

• Of course Roman Baths and Pump Room, the Royal Crescent, the Circus (Georgian housing terrace), Fashion Museum, Assembly Rooms, Gravel Walk, #1 Royal Crescent (a museum), Georgian Garden (off Gravel Walk). Try to do a guided walk as well. I did a private one instead of the free Mayor's one. You may be in time for the Jane Austen Festival which has lots of people walking around Bath in Regency dress - no impact at all on number of visitors as Bath is crowded any way. Anyway, there may be a specialty JA walk during your stay.

• The Holburne Museum - I caught a terrific special exhibition there a couple of years ago on Canaletto which was excellent so check to see what's on there

• Jane Austen Centre is awful - expensive admission and they have nothing of Jane's there and she never lived in this house. So there!

• Victoria Art Gallery was not much but the day I went there was a large school group there so that had an impact - it's just a few rooms.

• Several years ago I did a MadMax full day tour to Stonehenge, Avebury, Lacock and Castle Combe which was good. I'd recommend the company, in fact I've got myself, brother, SIL and her sis booked for a Cotswold tour in June when we are there.

Having said all of that, I would consider spending a few nights in Salisbury and doing the local bus out to the stones and stopping at Old Sarum on the way back. Nice museum on the Salisbury Cathedral Close plus of course the Cathedral

Thank you for all the suggestions! Yes, I was looking at the Prior Park Gardens and we definitely want to do the Bath Skyline Walk, The Avon/Kennet Canal walk, cycling or walking to Bradford-on-Avon, and all the other stuff you mentioned. But, definitely, lots of local walking and countryside exploring - again, weather permitting. Will look into Salisbury. A big thank you!

I would definitely take a day trip by train (about 1 hour - hourly) to Cardiff. >http://www.visitcardiff.com
http://www.cardiffcastle.com; http://www.mermaidquay.co.uk

So, you could see Cardiff Castle & the city centre plus a trip to the waterfront (Bay) - which is 1 mile S of the city centre. However, 3 other castles are within about 7 miles of Cardiff city centre. To the north - Castell Coch & Caerphilly Castle and to the west, St.Fagans Castle & Museum of Welsh Life, So, you may like to consider actually staying in Cardiff for some of the time to cover these. Also, local mini bus tours operate from Cardiff to places of interest further out.
.http://cadw.gov.wales/daysout/castell-coch/?lang=en
http://cadw.gov.wales/daysout/caerphilly-castle/?lang=en (Wonderful medieval castle - town is a dump)!
https://museum.wales/stfagans/
http://www.wherewhenwales.com
www.seewales.com
http://www.visitwales.com

I would also take the train to Salisbury and then shuttle bus to Stonehenge. On returning to Salisbury - visit the Cathedral before catching the train back to Bath.

Trains> www.nationalrail.co.uk
Rail routes > http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/routemaps/nationalrailnetworkmap.pdf

I agree with the recommendation to spend 2 nights in Cardiff to see St. Fagan's(one of my favorite places in UK) and Caerphilly Castle-all reachable by public transportation. There are also things to see in Cardiff that we didn't have time to see.

We stayed three nights in Bath at the Brooks Guesthouse. One full day to see Bath, the other to visit Wells and Glastonberry.

We visited South Wales and came back to England to Chipping Campden as a base for the Cotswolds. I think you should consider dividing up your time between the two for use as a base. Chipping Campden is very close to Stratford Upon Avon, Blenheim Palace and Oxford, as well as the Cotswold villages and cities.

Here is my review of our driving tour of Wales and England from last October.
28 days in Britain and Celebrity Eclipse home
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599139

Any suggestions for a rainy day in and around Leicester as far as stately homes, cathedrals, and places of historical interest?
A few thoughts

New Walk Museum. Seems at a casual glance to be your typical standard local museum (Egyptology, Dinosaurs, dusty cases of stuffed animals etc) but has an interesting personal collection of Picasso ceramics donated by Richard Attenborough, and a world-class collection of German expressionist art.
New Walk: One of the earliest streets specifically laid out for pedestrians only and is the case to this day, the occasional errant cyclist breaking the law notwithstanding. Many of the buildings along the Walk are Regency, now many for business.
St Mary de Castro church Geoffrey Chaucer is thought to have been married here and Henry VI was definitely knighted. The castle itself next door has what is considered to be "the oldest surviving aisled and bay-divided hall in Europe", although at present this is rarely open to the public.
Newarke Houses Museum: the museum of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment, and incorporates a range of exhibits illustrating post-medieval and contemporary Leicester. It occupies two buildings: Wyggeston's Chantry House (built circa 1511), and Skeffington House (built in the seventeenth century). Also close to the 15th century Magazine Gateway, the last surviving bit of the old town walls.

Five medieval churches remain standing in the city centre; besides St Martins's Cathedral and St Mary de Castro there is St Nicholas’, St Margaret’s (just outside the old town walls) and All Saints (closed). One which is lost is the Church of the Annunciation where Richard III's body was on public display. Nothing survived the dissolution of the monasteries except part of the crypt now situated inside the Hawthorn Building of the De Montfort University. This is now open to the public as part of the museum of DMU (until recently it was a computer laboratory!).

Other museums include Abbey Pumping Station Museum of Science and Technology, the National Space Centre, and the National Gas Museum, which is more interesting than it sounds (honestly).

Thank you James, Cala, Geova, and Marco! What fantastic ideas. We will definitely do at least a day trip to Cardiff Castle. Wonderful suggestion! Will consider Cardiff as a secondary base in order to see the other castles mentioned. If you have a recommendation for a place to stay in Cardiff that may be close to public transportation, please let me know. Salisbury is also on the day trip list. Chipping Camden as a base might not be practical for us since we will be reliant upon trains, buses, and taxis. Would like to see it, though, for sure. Marco, what great ideas for Leicester. Your list, along with our Richard III itinerary, give us plenty to do for 3 days, come rain or shine. The St. Mary de Castro church looks very interesting. I read a bit about it in "England's Thousand Best Churches" some time ago. Shame about the spire needing to be demolished due to safety reasons. I hope enough money is raised to replace it.

If you read the link in my earlier post, you will see we stayed downtown in Cardiff, walking distance from the rail station at the Sandringham Hotel
21 St Mary Street, Cardiff, CF10 1PL, GB Phone: +442920232161

Rick has some positive comments about the redeveloped waterfront area in Cardiff in the Great Britain guide, so I checked it out last year when I day-tripped in from Bristol. It's a perfectly pleasant, lively place, really quite nice, but I think it's skippable unless you have a child to entertain. I'd have preferred more time walking around the older part of the city.

Yes, thank you for that tip about the waterfront. We would prefer walking around historical sites as well, but will keep the waterfront in mind. Thanks to everyone who gave such great, detailed information and even posted links. So helpful!

Cardiff Bus - do not give change - so if you do visit and use them - make sure you have plenty of coins. (It is Cardiff Bus number 6 every 10 minutes that links the city with the bay).

Within 4 minutes walk of the central station are these hotels > Sleeperz / Clayton. (Nearby bars can be noisy - though you won’t hear them from inside).
About 8 minutes walk E of the Central station is Radisson-blu.
These hotels are about a 15 minute walk from the Central station but Queen Street station is nearer - so you could buy a through ticket from Bath and simple wait on platform 6 at Central for the next train to Queen Street. Premier Inn (on Churchill Way - reckoned to offer great accommodation at value prices), Jury’s Inn (Park Place), Park Plaza (Greyfriars Road). Also consider the Hilton - which is about a 15 minute walk north from Central station - near the Castle.

If you want value accommodation in the Bay area, consider Travelodge or if upmarket - St.David’s Hotel & Spa.
Check out the reviews of the hotels.

From Bath, trains go every other hour to the seaside town of Weymouth. It takes 2 hours as these are slow trains going through the countryside calling at numerous small places. Pay on the day is £18.60 return. Now, I would not rave about Weymouth but it is OK - just about. (The route is the same as that to Salisbury - as far as Westbury). https://www.visit-dorset.com/explore/towns/weymouth
So, something to maybe consider?

Thank you so much, James. The detailed information you gave is so helpful. Still considering this as a second base. Regardless, a big thank you for suggesting the day trip to the castle. We didn't know anything about it and, when we looked at the website, we decided it's a must-see! Thanks VERY much again.

The seaside could be a bit deserted at the end of September!

I forgot to mention that the Cathedral in Cardiff is at Llandaff = 2 miles NW of the centre. (Use bus if interested).https://www.llandaffcathedral.org.uk
http://www.cardiffcastle.com/welsh-banquets/