Day trips from Bath
Bristol by train, Castle Combe and Wells by bus, Stonehenge and Avebury by car or on a tour — and which of them fit into half a day.
- Stonehenge
- 43 km south-east as the crow flies
- Bristol
- 11–15 minutes by train
- Castle Combe and Lacock
- 11 minutes by train to Chippenham
A day trip from Bath takes half a day or a whole one, and transport decides it rather than distance: Bristol is eleven to fifteen minutes by train, while Wells, 28 kilometres off as the crow flies, is an hour and a half by bus each way. So Bristol fits into a morning, and Wells with Cheddar Gorge takes the day.
Stonehenge and Avebury
No train runs to Stonehenge, so you go by car or on an organised tour from the city. A shuttle runs from the visitor centre to the stones, and the circle itself is fenced off: you only get inside on the Stone Circle Experience, hour-long tours early in the morning or in the evening, outside normal opening hours and with few places. With a whole day you pair Stonehenge with Avebury, 35 kilometres east of Bath as the crow flies, where the circle is larger and you walk among the stones freely.
Bristol — the one with a direct train
Eleven to fifteen minutes west by train, to a city built on a harbour and shipyards rather than a spa. In the dry dock where she was built sits the SS Great Britain, launched in 1843 as the first ocean-going steamship with an iron hull and a screw propeller. Bristol is also where Banksy started.
The Cotswolds and Wells
Castle Combe is a village in the southern Cotswolds: eleven minutes by train to Chippenham, then about twenty more on the 95/95A bus. The village is one street of stone houses and is walked in an hour. The X34 runs from Chippenham to Lacock, where the abbey cloisters stood in for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films. Wells is about an hour and a half south on the 173 bus, with its cathedral; from there Cheddar Gorge, up to 137 metres deep, is another half hour or so on the 126.
How long each takes
All out and back from Bath the same day — a car helps for the Cotswolds and Avebury
What to know in advance
- Stonehenge on the day. Tickets are sold at the entrance or online on the day, but at full price; the discount of up to 15% is online only, until midnight the day before. A ticket is valid all day, with no time slot.
- The Cotswolds without a car. The 95/95A leaves Chippenham station four times on weekdays, the last one back from Castle Combe goes shortly after five, and on Sundays it runs only from April to August. For more than one village in a day you need a car.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Do I need a booking for Stonehenge?
Not necessarily. Tickets are sold on the day, at the entrance or online, but at full price; online until midnight the day before is up to 15% cheaper. The circle itself is entered only on special tours outside opening hours.
Which trip from Bath is best with only half a day?
Bristol — the only one on this list with a direct train, eleven to fifteen minutes, with no change and no bus to wait for.
Can I do the Cotswolds without a car?
Partly. Buses from Chippenham reach Castle Combe and Lacock, but not often; to see more than one village in a day you need a car.
Ready for Bath?
Where to next
Bath uphill: gardens, Uranus and the path around the city
→A garden with a Palladian bridge, the house from which Uranus was found, and a ten-kilometre path around the…
Stonehenge · 46 km
→A five-thousand-year-old stone circle, seen from a path rather than from inside
How well does Bath suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
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