Getting around · Bath · United Kingdom
Getting around Bath
Public transport, passes, airport connections and when a car makes sense.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: MichaelMaggs, CC BY-SA 2.5
Quick answer
Bath's centre is small enough to walk everywhere: Bath Spa station to the Royal Crescent is about 20 minutes on foot, much of it uphill. Buses serve the outlying hills, Park and Ride sites keep cars out of the centre, and towpaths and an old railway path make cycling easy. Not for the city, where parking is scarce and traffic heavy; use Park and Ride if you arrive by car.
Key facts
- Main way around
- Walking
- Airports
- BRS, LHR
- Need a car?
- Sometimes
Ways to get around
Walking
The Abbey, Roman Baths, Pulteney Bridge and Milsom Street are within five minutes of each other; the Circus and Royal Crescent are 10–15 minutes uphill.
Bus
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.
Train
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.
Cycling
The Kennet and Avon Canal towpath, the Two Tunnels Greenway through old railway tunnels and the Bristol and Bath Railway Path offer traffic-free cycling from the city.
Taxi
Taxis wait at the rank outside Bath Spa station and can be booked by phone or app; useful for Prior Park or late trains.
From the airport
Bristol Airport is about 30 km west. A direct airport bus runs to Bath in roughly 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes, and taxis take about 45 minutes outside rush hour. From London Heathrow, take the airport coach link to Reading and change to a direct train to Bath Spa, about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours in total, or a direct coach.
Do you need a car?
Not for the city, where parking is scarce and traffic heavy; use Park and Ride if you arrive by car. A car is useful for Castle Combe, Lacock, Cheddar Gorge and the Cotswolds, or join a coach tour.
Reaching the day trips
| Destination | Travel time | How |
|---|---|---|
| Bristol | About 12–15 minutes by train | Train from Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads |
| Bradford-on-Avon | About 10–15 minutes by train | Train from Bath Spa |
| Lacock | About 30–40 minutes by car or bus | Car, or bus via Chippenham |
| Castle Combe | About 30 minutes by car | Car or organised Cotswolds tour |
| Stonehenge | About 1 hour by car or coach tour | Car, coach tour, or train to Salisbury then the tour bus |
| Wells | About 45 minutes–1 hour 15 minutes by car or bus | Car or bus |
| Cheddar Gorge | About 50 minutes by car | Car, or bus via Wells |
Questions travellers ask
+Do you need a car in Bath?
Not for the city, where parking is scarce and traffic heavy; use Park and Ride if you arrive by car. A car is useful for Castle Combe, Lacock, Cheddar Gorge and the Cotswolds, or join a coach tour.
+How do you get from the airport to Bath?
Bristol Airport is about 30 km west. A direct airport bus runs to Bath in roughly 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes, and taxis take about 45 minutes outside rush hour. From London Heathrow, take the airport coach link to Reading and change to a direct train to Bath Spa, about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours in total, or a direct coach.
+What is the best way to get around Bath?
Walking: The Abbey, Roman Baths, Pulteney Bridge and Milsom Street are within five minutes of each other; the Circus and Royal Crescent are 10–15 minutes uphill.