Stonehenge and Salisbury..

[Langers]

I will be taking the Eurostar from Paris to London with my hubby on the 5th of June, and arrive in London just before lunch.

From there, I'm thinking of taking a train to Salisbury, staying the night and then going on the Stonehenge Circle Access visit early in the morning. I would also like to visit Bath, Avebury and Lacock on the same day..

Would this be doable and if so, would it be better to hire a car for a day in Salisbury or take public transport?

We will be heading back to London in the afternoon of the 6th..

I guess the other question is, is it worth going on a special access tour vs. doing it yourself? Is the commentary worth the extra expense or can I get this information elsewhere?

Many thanks in advance for your feedback!

[Eagle]

Langers, sorry to see you haven't had a reply yet. Here's a few thoughts for you to consider......

One possibility for your trip would be to travel directly to Bath via Bus or Train when you arrive in London. You'll be arriving at St. Pancras in London, so if you wanted to use Bus (cheapest option), take the Tube to London Victoria, as the Coach station isn't far from there.

Basing yourself in Bath would provide the opportunity to not only explore one of the most beautiful towns in England, but also a good base to get to the other places you mentioned.

While you could certainly hire a Car in Bath, you could also consider Mad Max Tours, as their half day tour covers Stonehenge and Lacock. That way they take care of the transportation, and you also get a lot of historical information about that part of England. However, I'm not sure if they have tours of Avebury? Their full day tour also covers parts of the Cotswolds, which is an incredibly beautiful area!

If you did choose Mad Max, they don't actually provide a "tour" of Stonehenge, but rather drop you at the site. At that point you can choose to either brave traffic to cross the road and look at the site from outside the fence OR pay the modest admission charge, rent an Audioguide and go closer to the stones. Note there's a small wire fence to prevent visitors from getting too close to the stones. At the moment an Archeological team is excavating around the site, and they may still be there during your visit?

Good luck and happy travels!

[stylescriber]

I never been there. How much would it cost me going there and back to London?

[Eagle]

stylescriber, I'm assuming you're referring to the costs to get from London to Bath and return? The costs would depend on whether you use Rail or Bus for the trip. Train is usually the quickest way, however I did the Bus trip last Fall and it was only a few hours and quite a pleasant trip (and the cost was quite reasonable - check the National Express website for current charges).

If you want to use Mad Max Tours to see Stonehenge, Lacock or whatever, again check their website for current charges.

Cheers!