7 best day trips from Bath

Day trips compared

The day trips

20 km · About 12–15 minutes by train

1.Bristol

Bristol's harbourside has Brunel's SS Great Britain, the M Shed museum, street art by Banksy and others, and the Clifton Suspension Bridge high above the Avon Gorge.

Getting there

Train from Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads

Best for

Culture, Families, Food lovers

13 km · About 10–15 minutes by train

2.Bradford-on-Avon

A small stone town on the Avon with a medieval tithe barn, a bridge with a tiny lock-up chapel, a rare Saxon church and a towpath walk along the Kennet and Avon Canal back towards Bath.

Getting there

Train from Bath Spa

Best for

Quiet stays, Couples, Culture

20 km · About 30–40 minutes by car or bus

3.Lacock

A National Trust village of half-timbered and stone cottages largely unchanged since the 18th century, with Lacock Abbey, where William Henry Fox Talbot made one of the earliest photographic negatives, and many film and TV locations.

Getting there

Car, or bus via Chippenham

Best for

Couples, Culture, Families

20 km · About 30 minutes by car

4.Castle Combe

A southern Cotswolds village of honey-coloured stone cottages around a market cross and a bridge over the By Brook, often called one of the prettiest villages in England.

Getting there

Car or organised Cotswolds tour

Best for

Couples, Quiet stays

55 km · About 1 hour by car or coach tour

5.Stonehenge

The prehistoric stone circle on Salisbury Plain, begun around 5,000 years ago, with a visitor centre and reconstructed Neolithic houses. Many Bath tours combine it with Lacock or Salisbury Cathedral.

Getting there

Car, coach tour, or train to Salisbury then the tour bus

Best for

First-timers, Families, Culture

30 km · About 45 minutes–1 hour 15 minutes by car or bus

6.Wells

England's smallest city has Wells Cathedral, with its famous scissor arches and carved west front, the moated Bishop's Palace and Vicars' Close, one of the oldest complete residential streets in Europe.

Getting there

Car or bus

Best for

Culture, Quiet stays, Couples

40 km · About 50 minutes by car

7.Cheddar Gorge

Britain's largest gorge cuts about 120 metres deep through the Mendip Hills, with a clifftop walk, show caves such as Gough's Cave where Cheddar Man was found, and cheese shops in the village.

Getting there

Car, or bus via Wells

Best for

Families, Quiet stays

Day-trip tips

• Leave early: most trips are more relaxed with a morning departure and a return before dinner.
• Local buses run from the bus station next to Bath Spa station to Prior Park, the universities and outlying villages, and Park and Ride buses link edge-of-town car parks with the centre.
• Bath Spa station has frequent trains to Bristol in about 12–15 minutes and to London Paddington in about 1 hour 20–30 minutes, plus Bradford-on-Avon and Salisbury.
• For trips over about 150 km, an overnight stay or an organised tour saves a lot of travelling.

Questions travellers ask