UK Trip - Some questions

Bath on foot http://www.bathguides.org.uk/ but London (& probably Paris too & maybe Liverpool) by open bus - Warwick & Stratford might be a bit out of the way given your schedule

 

Bath:
- Roman baths, both the museum (very good) and the actual baths you can go in (think you need to pre book).
- cathedral is good;
- back of the cathedral ish, there are "private gardens" cost about £1 to go into, nice to grab some sandwiches and go in for lunch as its by the river
- row boat along the Avon
- If you have a car drop by the Classic Motor Hub up by Cirencester. Give them a call first. Been up for their cars and coffee, great place / cars and off the beaten track so you will see back roads in the Cotswolds, ie get lost!!!.
- Bristol is also worth a visit and the harbour side in particular, SS Great Britain, M Shed, etc. (Train is easiest between Bath and Bristol. About 20 minute walk from Bristol train station to harbour side.)
- Stonehenge is nearer Bath than London so do it on your way, assuming your driving
- Thruxton circuit is near Stonehenge so might be worth seeing what's on there.
- Also if you are driving, if you have time stop off at Castle Coombe on your way to Bath. Not the race track, I don't think anything is happening much when you are here, but the little village. Very pretty, very much "on the tourist trail"; Hotel does tea and scones on the lawn. If you want real quaint, The Old Rectory Tea Room, a friend runs it. You need to pre book but you wont be disappointed.
- this Sunday 19th, Wilton House near Salisbury is there Supercar Cars cars and coffee. Hopefully popping along, other commitments aside.

London:
- a zillion museums.
- But if you are driving around, Brooklands Museum is worth a visit.
- There is the Italian festival at Brands Hatch on the 19th August.

As you can tell Bath is near me. If you are near Bath, (I don't go in, driving/parking are "fun") drop me a line for a pint; I'm only one village from Castle Coombe. If you want any ideas for hotels in the area / pubs let me know, I'll see if I can help.

Enjoy your trip. I hope some of the above is of use; and say hi to Ontario for me. (I grew up in Ottawa!)

 

Oh my god, trains? I do hope you realise our railways were built in Victorian times, and they are still operated as though she is still on the throne? Trains here are rubbish, dirty, slow and inefficient. They may get you where you want to go, but it can be extremely stressful and an awful introduction to the UK. There are several stations out of action at the moment - it’s summer, when people want to get places right, so perfect timing to switch off half the network! There are also, I believe, strikes taking place at one or two stations just to help out

That said, enjoy yourselves, and if you are in the west of England and need any help, advice or anything at all, PM me and I’ll help, or send someone to help if necessary!

 

You'll be fine on trains for what you want to do. Commuting is a different issue.

Stonehenge will be pretty hard to access by train though; Windsor has its own station and Brooklands is right next to Weybridge station if you wanted to go there.

Warwick is quite close to Stratford on Avon although it might be a push to do both in the same day.

Although the UK is a small country, there is a lot here; a lot of history and a lot to see and do. And being relatively crowded, small distances can take longer to travel than you might be used to.

 

There are a number of excursion companies from Bath that do Stonehenge, Castle Coombe etc etc. I don't know any directly, but see them about all the time so google. hotel concierge will be your friend.

All else fails, just get yourself a taxi for the day. Not as expensive at it may sound; I might know somebody if you get stuck.

Hope you got your flight.

 

Unfortunately Oxford is a pig for driving to/from and around. Some classic bicycle rentals is the way to enjoy it