Visiting London from 9/06-9/19--Best Way To See Longleat and Bath?

I don't have any advice about Longleat as I've not visited there. I do see on their website there is train service from Bath.
https://www.longleat.co.uk/visitor-info/find-us

For Bath, since you have a nice number of days, I'd suggest staying overnight if you can get reasonable hotels at this juncture. If you want to do Longleat from there perhaps 2 nights which would give you a full day to do Longleat plus 2 half days for Bath. I love Bath and have spent as many as 5 nights at a time there! So much to see! I usually take the train from London Paddington Station to Bath Spa which is the name of the station.

A couple of years ago I planned my time in Bath to coincide with the Jane Austen Festival and enjoyed seeing all the participants dressed up in their period costumes. It looks like this year it is Sept 8-17 so that might (or might not) impact the ability to find hotel nights.

http://www.janeaustenfestivalbath.co.uk/2017-programme/

Look at www.nationalrail.uk for information on trains.

Hi Pam,

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond and for your great tips. It sounds like Bath is readily accessible via train from London, so we may just take the train. I knew that the Jane Austin festival was going on during our time in England, and it would be nice to see that, if the crowds aren't too overwhelming. I wish Longleat had easier access. Would it be too costly for us to rent a car from Heathrow airport? That way we would be free to set up our own schedule and include both places without the transportation worries. I have to admit that I'm a bit unnerved about driving on the opposite side of the road and those turnabouts I've seen, but if it's not very hard, I would probably give it a go.

I appreciate your help....Robin

Longleat is virtually impossible by public transport. Most people go by car so they can drive through the safari park without getting eaten by lions.

I'm guessing you want to see the house and gardens at Longleat not the animals. Do not take a rental car into the safari park, cars get damaged and you get the bill. They do have a bus that tours the zone and saves you the risk.

If you are already in London why rent a car from Heathrow? It's a long way out and will cost at least £12 each for the round trip from London by Underground (more by other methods). But beware of renting from an office within the central Congestion Zone (or taking a car into it), there are daily charges for driving there, if you don't pay on time these becomes fines, they get sent to the rental company who add a service charge and bill your card! The easiest option would be an office west of the zone. And if driving on the correct side of the road and dealing with roundabouts scares you, bear in mind 95% cars in UK have manual gearboxes, if you need an automatic it will cost more.

ONLY use the nationalrail link for train times, the line is being upgraded and the work is reaching a critical point, schedules are being altered especially at weekends. Check for the specific day you want to travel, don't assume the Tuesday will be like Wednesday will be like Thursday. The times at nationalrail will be correct for the question asked, other sites maybe using the annual plan. Train fares will be expensive if you buy one way tickets before travelling, try to buy in advance, if you can't do that buy a round trip ticket. And avoid travelling in the London morning peak.

You can find out more information about rail fares here:>https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/how-to-save-money-on-railfares-not-pre-book

". I have to admit that I'm a bit unnerved about driving on the opposite side of the road and those turnabouts"

Turnabouts?? Do you mean roundabouts:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Diu1k_5H45k