Day trip from London to Bath, worth it? Other comments on plans?

Yes, using most of a day going to Bath is worthwile. But be warned, you will leave wanting more. I think the rest of your plan looks super.

Bath is a nice day trip. There are other places to consider also. Windsor makes a nice 1/2 day trip (or whole day if you tour the castle)- if you plan on doing the theatre it is a good morning activity. Canterbury is also a nice day trip and I have enjoyed it more than Bath. Cardiff Wales is a great day trip if you like shopping. There are some neat markets and stores! Winchester is also a good day trip. You can also get a good taste of Stratford-upon-Avon in a day, but will want to go back again.

Kathy, It reads like you want to go to Bath and I'm sure you're already aware of your other options. It's lovely there...have a good time.

Thank you all for the feedback. I guess the last poster got it right...I really do want to go to Bath. Just like I had to convince my English friends to take me Stonehenge last time I visited. They couldn't get why I wanted to see a bunch of rocks over something else (like Windsor). But I thought Stonehenge was cool. Maybe I just needed the validation (funny - we humans)!

Bath is a wonderful day trip from London. You only
regret will be having only one day and wanting more.

If I only had a day in Bath, I'd go to the Roman baths and walk to the Royal Crescent by way of the Circus. If I had time left, I'd visit the Abbey. I would skip the Costume Museum altogether.

Bath is great. I am not sure one day is enough! My wife, s coustume historian, spent a day at the costume museum! Roman Baths are a must see. For a good overview of the town, take one of the FREE city guide torus.

Tom

Thank you all for the ideas. I like the idea of a free tour, considering how much the London portion of our trip is costing!! I know there won't be enough time in Bath, London or even UK for that matter, but it's what we have. I've been a Roman history buff since high school, and I want my daughter to get some sense of the vast history of the area!

Kathy,

You appear to be a history buff. If so, use part of Friday a.m. to go to the war museum -- the underground bunkers from which much of WWII was waged. In Bath, walk aroung behind the Royal Cresent -- you will be amazed at the difference in the front and back. Hope this helps.

The underground bunkers are definitely on my list as well!

I loved Bath, and I loved the Costume Museum,, skip it , no way.
In London both my teen sons loved the Tower of London, the Beefeater tour there is very good( included) and seeing the Crown Jewels is fun if a bit of a hassle( waiting in line etc) .
We also really like the British Royal Musuem.

I have not been but keep hearing good things about the Victoria and Albert Museum also.

Kathy, You will love Bath. One day is enough to see most of the sites. Of course you will wish you had more time, but you'll be glad you did it. The Roman Baths are the best. The abbey is also nice. Other than that I would take the time to walk around. It is a beautiful city. Have a wonderful time!

Kathy...I would suggest a day trip by rail to Windsor to tour the beautiful town along with Windsor Castle. You could then go to Evensong at St Georges Chapel, a really wonderful day!!

Bath is a great day trip. Last time I went, the train had a "cheap day return." Meaning that you go out early in the morning when people are coming into London to work. Then, you return to the city when the workers are going out of the city. I also went down to Wells from Bath.

Enjoy!
AL

We just got back from England and had 2 full days in Bath. One sweet surprise was our last minute decision to take a MadMax tour. They have a Stonehenge, Avesbury, Lalock, & Castle Coombs tour which we took or a Cotswold tour. The tour guide was local and very informative and personable. We had the right amount of time in each location. The group was max'd at 16 and we were in a small Mercedes bus which made traveling more comfortable than the big buses. I'd take the train to Bath and you can easily walk to where the bus picks up at 8:30am. Their link is http://www.madmax.abel.co.uk/. Next time we will do the Cotswold tour.

We also enjoyed the Roman Baths and Bath is a beautiful city that you can spend a lot of time relaxing and seeing many historical sights. We picked up lunch at a Marks & Spencer and walked to the park with the chairs that Rick Steves shows in his video on Bath. It was relaxing with the lawn chair looking over the water and narrow boats.

As for Churchill War Museum was informative and the Imperial War Museum was great. We went not sure if we could fit these in to our short stay of 3 days in London, but I'm so glad we did. Our family thought it was so worth it. We were traveling with 3 kids. Have a fun trip!

All - Thank you so much for the great suggestions! We did go to Bath as my friend bought us round trip tickets. It was a good day, but there were so many things we ended up not having time to do in London. I've now been there 3 times and haven't been to any museums or the Churchill War rooms, which I must do in the future!!! Bath was nice....not as exciting as I had hoped, but it was a nice town and a good day. We also went to the Fashion museum in Bath (aka "costume museum") that my daughter really got a kick out of. So for us, the trip was worth it.