Southampton to Bath

[Cruzinram]

Is the train from Southampton Central Station our best option to go from Southampton to Bath and return to Southampton? Doing a T/A from FLL to Southampton and plan on spending a few days in Bath/Cotswolds and return to Southampton to board QM 2 to NYC.

[John Bull]

Yes, absolutely.

Direct service hourly or better (more limited on sundays), journey time about 90 minutes.

Southampton central station is no worse than a £10 taxi ride from any cruise terminal, Bath Spa station is at the bottom end of the historic city centre.

 

Return train tickets cost £32.40 and you can take any direct service.

You can save a few pounds by getting cheap advance tickets (available from about 6 weeks out) but you are restricted to the train time that you selected. That saves a lot of money on some routes, but on this route the saving is only about £7 so probably not worth the grief.

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

For the Cotswolds you'll need a tour or a rented car from Bath. 

Google "coach tours from Bath UK" and check TripAdvisor for other options from Bath.

 

Or of course you could rent a car from Southampton. 

That would allow you to spend time at places like the New Forest, Salisbury, Stonehenge, Lacock etc between Southampton & Bath

 

JB 

[Cruzinram]

So is it safe to assume there is not a Train from Bath to Cotswolds and a return to Bath. I have found confusing information on the web. One site said no trains. another said yes trains? Would you recommend an overnight in Cotswolds or will a day trip suffice? Thanks for all the great information.

[John Bull]

Parts of the Cotswolds are quite close to Bath. Like Lacock & Castle Combe.

But I think of the Cotswolds as being further north, like around  Burford or  Bourton-on-the-Water or Stow-on-the-Wold or Moreton-in-the-Marsh.

And that might be why you're getting conflicting information.

There are trains to a few places in the Cotswolds - but not direct. For instance to Moreton-in-Marsh, in the heart of the Cotswolds, involves a change at Reading and takes over two hours. More importantly you're stuck with Moreton-in Marsh rather than seeing  the Cotswold countryside.

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk

BTW that website demands the correct spelling. It won't recognise or guess if you type in Moreton in Marsh, it has to be Moreton-in-Marsh.

 

There are nowhere near as many coach day-trips from Bath to the Cotswolds as I'd hoped.

Here are the websites of  some local coach operators, there are a few Cotswolds tours but they depend on your date

http://johnmartincoachholidaysbath.co.uk/

http://www.buglercoaches.co.uk/coach-trips-from-bath

https://www.madmaxtours.co.uk/

https://arleen.co.uk/day-trips/

https://welcome2britain.com/day-tours-bath-departures-including-stonehenge.htm

And check thro'

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attractions-g186370-Activities-c42-t174-Bath_Somerset_England.html

 

With a car or a coach tour you could make a decent fist of seeing the Cotswolds in a day-trip from Bath without overniting there. And Bath itself warrants a full day.

Switching to a base somewhere around Stow- on-the-Wold would get you closer to the heart of the Cotswolds, but without a car you'd again be limited to the town so an overnite might be a waste.

 

Would you consider renting a car? It would certainly remove the shackles & allow you to travel, and to stay, wherever you want.

Perhaps even an overnite in Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon, at the northern end of the Cotswolds.

 

If you kept to a Bath base there are lots of alternative places to visit, by coach day-trip or by rented car but again very limited by train. Apart from the places already mentioned, spooky Glastonbury, Wells, and Cheddar Gorge would make a pretty easy and interesting day.

 

Hopefully Cruise Critic's resident Eagle from the Cotswolds can chip in with more-knowledgeable suggestions. 

If he doesn't, start a fresh thread with Cotswolds writ large in the title & he'll probably swoop in 

 

JB 

[Cotswold Eagle]

45 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

Hopefully Cruise Critic's resident Eagle from the Cotswolds can chip in with more-knowledgeable suggestions. 

If he doesn't, start a fresh thread with Cotswolds writ large in the title & he'll probably swoop in 

 

JB 

 

You called, sir?

 

46 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

But I think of the Cotswolds as being further north, like around  Burford or  Bourton-on-the-Water or Stow-on-the-Wold or Moreton-in-the-Marsh.

 

Quite right, too 🤣

 

But I guess the important thing is what the OP regards as the Cotswolds and therefore what they want to do here. For a general overview from Bath, one of the drive through tours is best in this scenario. For more detailed exploring, a car is almost necessary, but you can get by on public transport if you plan carefully. And to be clear, that means days of the week for some buses, not just time of day 😮

[Cruzinram]

Wow, thanks for all the Great Information. Certainly makes my Journey easier. Renting a car is out of question. We are Americans and my Wife does not trust me to drive on the left side of the Road. So that option is off the Table. I believe we will take the Train to Bath and book the Madmax tour. It looks perfect. Thanks again!!

[Post Captain]

Just to add my two cents/ tuppence to the comprehensive information given by John Bull and Cotswold Eagle...

 

Bath makes a great base, and the train journey between Southampton and Bath is quite pleasant. 

 

In my experience, the simplest/ easiest Cotswolds do-it-yourself day trip from Bath by public transport is a visit to Lacock.  Train from Bath Spa to Chippenham (less than 15 minutes), then bus X34 from Chippenham to Lacock (another 15 minutes).  (Chippenham railway station and Chippenham bus station are about a 10 minutes' walk apart.)

 

https://visitlacock.uk

 

http://www.faresaver.co.uk/timetables/5b9628124035b.pdf

 

You might also consider Bradford on Avon as a day trip (or half-day trip) from Bath.  BoA isn't quite in the Cotswolds, and it's a town rather than a village, but it does have something of a "Cotswoldsy" look and feel and is well worth visiting.  It's a short train ride from Bath, or a bit longer by bus.

 

http://www.bradfordonavon.co.uk

 

As JB indicates, Bath to Moreton-in-Marsh (for "the Cotswolds") is a bit less convenient by train, and given your time constraints, it might not be worth actually staying in the Cotswolds during your trip.  For what it's worth, MiM could be considered the "gateway to the northern Cotswolds" by virtue of its railway station, and from there there are relatively frequent buses to Stow on the Wold and Bourton on the Water, with (if memory serves) slightly less frequent bus service to Chipping Camden and Broadway.  The "Explore the Cotswolds" pdf booklet gives helpful information and shows the various bus routes serving Cotswolds towns and villages:

 

https://www.cotswolds.com/plan-your-trip/getting-to-and-around

 

That said, if any of the coach tours of the Cotswolds from Bath on JB's list appeal to you, that might be your best option on this occasion.  (I don't have any personal experience of the Mad Max tours, but I have seen them recommended in other travel website forums.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2019 by Post Captain