London Side Trip to Windsor, Stonehenge, and Bath

Very easy day trip via train from London to Windsor, train leaves you right by the castle. Can't tell you about Stonehenge and Bath as we rented car but someone else can tell you about tours out of London, I think one of the tours is called Mad Max. Enjoy.

Hi Hugh, you could take an early morning train from Paddington Station to Windsor. Arrange to rent a car from Avis in Windsor then return the car in Windsor. Edit~I think the only way you could do it in a day on your own with no tour involved would be to rent a car. There are some good tour companies that you could use and wouldn't have to worry about driving.

Windsor: Very near London. Very easy day trip. Bath: Do it by train from Paddington Station. Leave early, come back after dinner. About a 90-minute trip. Buses are slower. The station at Bath is a few blocks from the center of town. An easy walk that takes you through a shopping and business district that itself is worth a visit. Stonehenge: It's outside Salisbury in the middle of nowhere, by more than a few miles. Take a train from Paddington to Salisbury, and a tour bus out to Stonehenge and back. You will either want to stay for hours or leave after ten minutes. Salisbury, and its cathedral, are, frankly, worth more time than Stonehenge. The thing about buses: Cheaper than trains, but significantly slower.

Hugh, while I'm thinking of it, places in the UK repay a bit of research before you get there. Heading out in the "general direction" of where you want to go usually works. But, for example, you can often find yourself walking along some boring busy street while a a much more interesting street is just a few blocks over. Remember, almost every town and village in the UK is much older than the U.S. Things are not necessarily where you might expect them to be.

Actually, we were wondering if it was possible to do all three in one day on our own, since we saw that many expensive tours go to all three in one day. I guess we are also looking to find suggestions for the best side trips from London. We have three days in London and thought that we would spend two in the city and spend one doing a side-trip. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

The OP is asking for opinions on whether they should attempt Windsor, Stonehenge, and Bath as a day trip from London in one day. None of the above posts address that.
What do you think?

We have always used Gray Line day tours. We used them for tours within London and to Stonhenge, Bath and to Windsor. They are based here in the U.S. They either have you meet the tour bus at Victoria Station or pick you up near your hotel. We have used them in Canada, Boston, New York, Bruges, Rome, Paris, London, Austrailia, etc. They are a very reputable tour company. You can find them on-line. Elaine

I also believe that all three together in one day is attempting too much. Even if an organized tour "can" do them, I'm not sure they ought to. 1. There is enough in Bath to make it worth the full day on its own. For some people there is more than enough for one day. 2. Paraphrasing Rick Steves, Stonehenge is one of those "must see" places that afterwards you wonder why (or regret that) you made the effort. I'm glad I saw it, but was underwhelmed. I imagine my disappointment would've been even greater if I had cut short time at Windsor or in Bath in order to do it. 3. You have only three days in London. Is it your first visit there? If so, I'm willing to bet you'll want more time to see all London offers. An extra day there is worth five Baths or ten Stonehenges, especially if you're already paying the hefty cost of sleeping in London anyway. My two cents. Happy travels.

Hugh, I agree with Matt. If this is your first visit to London, even if you spend all 3 days there, you'll still only scratch the surface. But if you really want to do a day trip, I think Windsor, Stonehenge, and Bath in one day is way too much. On our last trip, we took our two adult children with us, and my daughter just had to see Stonehenge. So we booked a one-day bus tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Salisbury (but the morning of the tour the company changed the Salisbury stop to Cambridge). We spent most of our alloted time at Windsor Castle just getting through security - Stonehenge was very underwhelming, even for my "mystical" daughter - and the stop at Cambridge was disappointing since I really was looking forward to seeing Salisbury Cathedral. On our London trip this fall, we're planning on returning to Windsor by train to see everything we missed at the castle, as well as the town itself. We're also planning a day-trip to Hampton Court, getting there by train and then taking a Thames River Cruise back to London. Have fun.

To answer Kent's question, and the OP, my 3 suggestions are: 1) Don't. The reason bus tours work is that they know exactly where they are going, exactly where to park, they deliver a specific thing in a very specific way, in other words - what they deem as "seeing" the two large towns and circle of rocks - and they move large groups of people in a very controlled way. Unless you know much of what they know it will be very difficult for you to replicate it, certainly not in the same time frame. 2) As said by others, the three choices for doing it by your selves - and that is what I would do if I were doing it - are bus, car, or train. If going to Bath, train is best. If going to Stonehenge, car is best. If going to Windsor, train is best - you absolutely do not want a car there. I remember clearly trying to park for over an hour one year. 3) A difficulty then arises in how to tie all this together. Its easy enough to get to Bath, and you can work out what you would like to see there in half a day (needs much more time but if that's it - that's it - its certainly the largest of the 3. Windsor to Bath is 2 hours with 2 changes (one only 7 minutes) on the train, or 2 hours and 100 miles by car. Bath to Stonehenge is an hour in the car for the 35 miles. You will need 15 minutes to several hours depending on your preferences. Do you then want to drive back to London or back to Bath? Or do you want a slow bus there and back?

All in one day. No! you will just be wasting your time, tons of driving with minimla results and a very frustrated driver. Stonehenge and Bath are doable as a long one day trip by car (if you must squeeze them into one day). Depends what you want to see of Bath- quick cathedral and Roman Baths. The drive back in the late afternoon/evening is long and can be very frustraring getting quite clogged as you get close tp london I would suggest two days with an overnight in Bath. First day- Salisbury (cathedral is wonderful), Stonehenge and Avebury. Second day- Bath and drive back to London. (or Stonehenge, Avebury, Bath, Salisbury). Windsor is very convenient by train from Paddington. No traffic problems or concerns. Parking is tight (they do have some small busy public parking lots). Half day plus lunch works nicely

Thanks everybody! We've decided to see how much we are enjoying London and possibly just do a half day train trip to Windsor

I think you have made a wise decision. Windsor makes a great 1/2 to full day (the castle is my favorite and there is some good shopping there, too). For future reference you might find this article helpful http://www.aaacarolinas.com/Magazine/2008/Jan-Feb/britain.htm?zip=28105&stateprov=nc&city=matthews