Stonehenge, Bath, Cotswolds & Stratford-Premium Tours- food Recommendations

Shelly no ones suggestions are likely to be that useful because as pointed out, this tour will not allow you much time to find a restaurant sit down and eat a meal.. so best bet will be eating what you can when you can. I do note it includes scones and tea or some such thing,, probably cause people end up starving on this tour otherwise, lol.. As suggested, packing a snack can save you some time looking for food .I really think you will just have to find something as you are walking along to and from the bus meeting point.. I do note this tour does not include a visit to the Baths in Bath and that is so very sad in my opinion, since seeing ancient Roman ruins is so incredible.. I strongly suggest you skip the shopping in Bath and visit the Baths even though you will have to pay an separate admission cost.. its really what Bath is all about when you think about it,, not shops! You can get through easily in an hour or less if you have to... no idea how short these stops will be .. but I think you may be surprised.. I never knew that under the Baths there were the ancient ruins myself till I visited Bath.. so it was an eye opener for me personally, I mean we all sort of know the Roman Empire was all over the place but its hard to imagine they spread all the way to the UK.

Shelley I've never heard of that company - I don't believe. 11 hours seems like a longish push to me, as you acknowledge. It looks like the stopping places are at the Stones, in Bath (for shopping, I notice), and Stratford (at the one location). It looks to me like the Cotswolds part is a drive through. Driving a car the quickest way, no allowance for traffic, would take me about: Last London hotel pickup to Stonehenge, about an hour and 3/4. Stonehenge to Bath, one hour. Bath to Stratford upon Avon, 2 hours. Stratford upon Avon to the first drop off in London (using Westminster near Hyde Park both ways), 2 hours.
Now, coaches aren't allowed to drive as fast as me, and there will some traffic somewhere, and probably toilet stops once an hour so add at least another hour on the coach; and don't forget driving within the towns and cities themselves. So how long on the bus out of your 11 hours? Figure at least 7 and a half and probably 8 and a half hours. 2 1/2 hours for everything else, including the scones and champagne; the shopping, the walking around the Stones. I'd pack a snack. I can't see how suggesting a place to eat would help.

Yes, probably good advice. I had read on Trip Advisor that you are not allowed to eat on the bus so we can pack a lunch and eat when we can.
I do think we'd like to check out the Bath's somehow. We know it will be quick stops but we will still see more than, yet another day in London. That was the idea. :)

The problem isn't getting out of London, it is that the particular tour you are choosing drives in one day well over 300 miles on British roads. You will be drawing a huge triangle and trying to "see" 4 divergent places. If you want more time on the ground, there are tours (I've never taken one, I hasten to say) which go to fewer places in the day. I do realize that there is a strong desire to "see it all", and if that's what you want from the day I have no issue with that. But, that's what you will be doing - seeing it through the window of a large coach for the vast great part of the day. I bet that 11 hours in some people will be seeing it through their eyelids; that would be a waste.

As mentioned. We are Aware!! We know it's going to be a long day and have planned our days out accordingly. We know what we are getting into. I didn't ask if the Tour was a good idea...etc, etc. I asked if Anyone else had taken the tour and if they could recommend a nice place to eat in Bath. Anyone else?

Shelly I think I have suggested this to you before ,, and I will do so again,, you want a lot of different opinions, so I urge you to also look at the forums on tripadvisor.com ... google "London tripadivor.com forums" .. This is a GREAT forum, but there limitations.

Shelley, If you're going to pack a lunch (like you mentioned), you might want to sit out on the grass at the Royal Crescent in Bath and enjoy a picnic. Otherwise I don't know if you can get nice, reasonable and quick all in one place. The Pump Room is nice and located right by the Baths, but it's pricey and I don't know how "quick" it is. There are plenty of fast food places in Bath, but I wouldn't call them nice. If I were doing this all day jaunt, I'd pack the lunch to be sure of getting something to eat, see the Baths and then enjoy my picnic.

I've telephoned the tour operator who has told me that you will likely have "from around an hour to as much as 90 minutes" in Bath, "depending on circumstances". So that sounds like a brief stop at a fast food place would work, it doesn't sound like enough time for a full sit down meal. I couldn't find out exactly where in Bath the coach parks up. I didn't get from your OP that you were asking specifically about Bath.

An hour is not very much time if your bus parks in a less central area.. I think fast food is your best bet,, no I don't mean McDonalds. etc.. lol you can pop into a bakery or such and grab a sandwich.

There is a West Cornwall Pasty shop that is close to the Baths, in a pedestrianized area. It is fast food, but you could take it with you while walking and at least it isn't McDonalds.

Great idea Olivia. I'd forgotten about that shop. If you don't have time to walk, Shelley, you could sit in the square by the pasty shop (the Baths and Abbey are there) and listen to the busker if they're any good.

Sorry Nigel. Your correct. I didn't say lunch in Bath. Thankyou Leslie & Olivia. Sounds like you've been there. The Pastry shop sounds good too. & a picnic spot too. Options. I like that. Thanks

Note that Olivia and Leslie weren't referring to a pastry shop. A pasty is a type of a hand held hot pie, usually with meat and veg inside. It was developed for miners in the Cornish tin mines when they could take the pasty down the mine with them and eat it by holding the turned over pastry "handle" with their dirty hands. A link to the West Cornwall Pasty website is at http://www.westcornwallpasty.co.uk/ where you can see the menu and photographs, and get the address of their stores. I'm happy with that company because I usually get indigestion after eating other pasties but I never do with West Cornwall ones. You can often find them in larger train stations too.

Among the worst English inventions ever, contributing substantially to the End of Empire: brussel sprouts, green peas, pasties.

:) But the southern neighbor at least turned the pasty into a burrito which is marginally palatable. And we invented canned whoop-arse and gifted it to you at Yorktown.