One Day Trip to Bath from London

With spectacular museums and Roman architecture all around the city, Bath surely is one of those surreal places I have visited. As part of my 6 weeks backpacking travel in Europe, I also visited London as my last stop. And it is at that time, I did a one day trip to Bath from London. The place simply blew my mind out as it is so beautiful and one of the best cities you can visit as a day trip from London.

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About Bath

Famous for its Roman Baths museum, Bath is the largest city in Somerset county in England. Located in the River Avon, the city is named after the baths built by Romans. In 1987, the city was added to the World Heritage site list. Founded in the 7th century AD, Bath is one of the top ten English cities visited most by overseas tourists.

The best time to visit Bath is between the months of June and September, which is also a peak season. If you want less crowd, then the low season is between November and February. It is a perfect weekend destination from Bath and the city needs at least 2 days to explore everything.

Also read | One day trip to Stonehenge from London

How to get to Bath from London?

By Road

Located on the South West England, Bath is around 185 kilometres (115 miles) from London and the journey by road takes about 2 hours 30 minutes.

By Public transport

Bath is well connected by public transportation. There are frequent trains between Bath and London and the journey by train takes about 1 hour 20 minutes. For up to date information on the trains, refer Great Western Railway (GWR).

By Air

The closest airport to Bath is in Bristol. Connecting with many countries and cities, Bristol is an international and domestic airport. The distance between the airport and Bath city is about 30 kilometres and the best way to reach Bath is by taking a bus from the airport. These buses are run by TooTBus.

What to see in Bath?

Bath is a small city that can be walked around easily. Wear comfortable shoes and keep yourself hydrated while exploring this tiny yet a complete packaged city.

Pulteney Bridge

Designed by a British architect Robert Adam in a Palladian architecture style, Pulteney Bridge is a bridge over River Avon. The bridge is named after Frances Pulteney, who was the wife of Scottish advocate, landowner and politician William Johnstone.

Roman Baths and Roman Baths Museum

With over 2000 years of history, the Roman Baths is the number one place to visit when in Bath. The temple on the site dates back between 60 and 70 AD and is a very well preserved baths (spa) that were built and used by Romans.

Also read | One of the bucket list items to visit is The Colosseum in Rome. It is a brilliant example of how Roman architecture looked like.

The prices to visit the baths start from 25.50 pounds for an adult. You need at least 2 hours to see the Roman baths. I suggest visiting the Roman Baths first thing when you arrive in Bath as the queue during the day gets longer.

• Open every day 9 AM to 6 PM with last entry at 5 PM.

The Roman Baths museum provides all the history and artefacts pertaining to Roman-built baths that is still operating in Bath. These artefacts also include the coins and objects that were thrown into the Sacred Spring.

Bath Abbey

Also known as the Abbey Church of Saint Peter, the Bath Abbey is a parish church that was founded in the 7th century. The church is built in the Perpendicular Gothic architecture and has magnificent windows and yellow-gold stones. The price for visiting the church starts from 6.50 pounds per adult.

• Open every day between 10 AM and 4 PM, except during the service hours.

Kingsmead Square

Laid out by an 18th century architect John Strahan in the 1730s, Kingsmead Square is a busy square in Bath. It has many heritage listed buildings around it and has a London Plane tree in the middle.

Royal Crescent

Designed by an English architect John Wood, the Royal Crescent is a row of 30 terraced houses in Bath city. With Georgian Architecture, these houses were built between 1767 and 1774.

Jane Austen Centre

One of the interesting things to find in Bath is the Jane Austen Centre which is an art and gift shop located in the centre of Bath. You can take a guided walk to learn about the life of the well known English novelist Jane Austen and see the exhibition.

• Open every day between 10 AM and 5:30 PM.

Museum of Bath Architecture

The Museum of Bath Architecture is a place to learn about the architecture of the buildings built in Bath. Dominating the Georgian architecture with Palladian style, the buildings in Bath are very intricate and aesthetically built. This museum provides all the information, history and details of these architectural style. The price to enter the museum starts at 6.50 pounds per adult.

• Open Monday to Friday between 1 PM and 5 PM, and Weekends (Saturday and Sunday) between 10 AM and 5 PM. The last entry to the museum is 4:15 PM.

Explore Bath

Tour: One day trip to Bath from London

Because Bath is so easily accessible by public transport and does not take a very long time, it makes it as a perfect one day trip from London. I could have opted for planning and doing this trip all by myself but since I was short on time, I went for a one day trip to Bath from London tour that was booked via Viator.

Click here to check for different tours on Viator

Walking tour

You can explore the city by taking a guided walking tour. There are many scheduled walks that are run every day, where a guide takes you around the city and gives you the history and importance of that place. This is a great way of learning about a city when you are traveling. All of these walking tours start from Bath city itself which means that you will need to determine your transport from London and back.

Click here to book a walking tour on Viator

Hop on and off buses

Another amazing way to explore any city is by taking a hop on and off buses. These buses have set routes that stop by most of the important landmarks. And the way you can use these buses is that you get into the bus in one stop, get off at another, explore that place and then hop back into the bus to get down at the next stop. This way you can avoiding walking and wasting time on your transportation. The only catch is that you need to time your hop on and off between the stops so you do not waste time waiting for the bus.

Click here to book the hop on and off bus on Viator

Accommodation at Bath

Even though Bath can easily be done as a one day trip from London, I also recommend staying at this lovely and quaint city to experience the English countryside cities.

Some of the accommodations that you can look for during your visit to Bath are listed below.

Hotel Indigo Bath

Built in the Georgian style, the Hotel Indigo Bath is perfect to experience the old times with a bit of luxury. It is a 4 star hotel that is located close to the Bath Spa train station.

Click here to check for prices on Booking.com

Holiday Inn Express Bath

Offering great value for money, the Holiday Inn Express Bath is an ideal stay for guests who love luxury at affordable prices. Located south of River Avon, this hotel is a 3 star hotel.

Click here to check for prices on Booking.com

Apex City of Bath Hotel

Located close to geothermal pools at Thermae Bath Spa, the Apex City of Bath Hotel is a 4 star hotel with many amenities such as an indoor pool.

Click here to check for prices on Booking.com

Safety for solo female travelers

Bath is very safe for solo female travelers. It is one of the safest places I have visited and people usually mind their own business. Even though I visited Bath along with my other girl friend, I still felt it was very safe. However, like any other place in the world, be careful, especially at night.

Closing Notes

Bath is rated as one of the top 10 cities to visit in England. It is mesmerising and takes you back in time with those beautifully structured and old buildings.

I have always been obsessed with England and their lifestyle and this city reminded me of the movie scenes that I used to watch as a child. Highly recommend visiting Bath when you are in England, especially due to its proximity from London city.

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