Visiting Bath, London, Stonehenge end of August

Cpu2007

I am planning to visit these cities at the end of August, will be done two days.

I am not really interested about London as I visited it a few times but was wondering if there's any deal that we can take advantage of (family of 6 people), such as thore park?

I have checked what's worth visiting in Bath and found it to be a beautiful place. I am obviously looking to visit places that are free as we won't be able to afford buying tickets for 6 people to pay for entries.
However, if someone knows of places in Bath that are worth paying for and some deals to get them for cheap then please let me know.

Thank you

paddyrg

The Roman Baths cost real money, but there's a lot more to them underground than you see from outside. You can walk around the city and look at the buildings from the outside, it's a pretty and safe place, but most museums and attractions cost money. There are free (donation) art galleries and the Abbey and churches are by donation. There are genuinely free walking tours available, plus some pay-for ones. Ask at the Tourist Info office, or catch a free guide near the Roman Baths door.

Stonehenge - you can take a tourist bus from Bath for a short round trip, but Stonehenge isn't open to walk up to for free. Avebury, however, is a huge stone circle which is wide open to walking with the stones. I prefer it, and if you're driving 6 of you it'll be cheaper than catching a coach to Stonehenge.

Cpu2007

wow, I wasn't expecting to pay for stonehenge, I thought being it an open area,it would have been possible to see it for free. It is really expensive.
We'll be driving so thanks for pointing out avebury, looks really interesting and it will be on our way back home so definitely worth it.

I have heard Roman Baths are very costly indeed, do you think it's worth paying for it?

Tuesday_Tenor

.... planning ....?

Do you already have your accommodation booked?

End of August is a Bank Holiday.
Bath is an extremely popular destination.

jackyann

I too prefer Avebury.

I think that Bath is not the place to go on a tight budget - I'd be looking at the many beautiful areas around it - the Malvern Hills, Wiltshire etc.

13Kent

If you are National Trust members then Stonehenge is covered by your membership - apparently English Heritage own the stones and National Trust own the land. We joined NT recently as we were going to Stonehenge, and it wasn't much more than a family entry to Stonehenge to buy a 12 month National Trust membership. The car park we used in
Avebury is National Trust too, so that was free for members. (There was a NT manor house at Avebury that we could have had a look round, but we went to see the stones so didn't bother to go inside).

At Stonehenge you park at the visitors centre and a bus then takes you up to the stones. It is really interesting, you are given a handset(like a phone) which gives you an audio tour which tells you more about the stones and the landscape. In the visitors centre there are a few displays behind glass, some big video clips on the walls, and some huts outside around the back that you can walk into and pick up the things in there. You can pre-book a time slot to arrive online, or just turn up.

If you are going to Stonehenge go really early, we arrived soon after opening and were some of the first people in, however we still had to queue for the bus to the stones (not for long admittedly) and we managed to get some photos of the stones without crowds of people all around them. However when we were half way round the stones it started getting busy and by the time we were back on the bus to the visitor centre (only about an hour later if that) the place was packed with coachloads of tourists, and the queue for the bus up to the stones was really long. We couldn't get a seat inside the cafe, we had to sit outside. By the time we left at about 11:30 the queues to get in were stretching for quite a way.

Sally Lunn's cafe was a good place to visit in Bath

http://www.sallylunns.co.uk/

The buns were really good, and we took some home.

The Roman Baths is really interesting but not cheap. Walking down by the river is really pleasant, and you can also go for a trip on a boat on the river.

Bettie

( if you like stones) last time I saw the stones here there was an honesty box for £1
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stanton-drew-circles-and-cove/
In Bath you can walk around Royal Victoria Park and the botanical gardens free.

p00hsticks

13Kent wrote: »

If you are National Trust members then Stonehenge is covered by your membership - apparently English Heritage own the stones and National Trust own the land. We joined NT recently as we were going to Stonehenge, and it wasn't much more than a family entry to Stonehenge to buy a 12 month National Trust membership. The car park we used in
Avebury is National Trust too, so that was free for members. (There was a NT manor house at Avebury that we could have had a look round, but we went to see the stones so didn't bother to go inside).

At Stonehenge you park at the visitors centre and a bus then takes you up to the stones. It is really interesting, you are given a handset(like a phone) which gives you an audio tour which tells you more about the stones and the landscape. In the visitors centre there are a few displays behind glass, some big video clips on the walls, and some huts outside around the back that you can walk into and pick up the things in there. You can pre-book a time slot to arrive online, or just turn up.

If you are going to Stonehenge go really early, we arrived soon after opening and were some of the first people in, however we still had to queue for the bus to the stones (not for long admittedly) and we managed to get some photos of the stones without crowds of people all around them. However when we were half way round the stones it started getting busy and by the time we were back on the bus to the visitor centre (only about an hour later if that) the place was packed with coachloads of tourists, and the queue for the bus up to the stones was really long. We couldn't get a seat inside the cafe, we had to sit outside. By the time we left at about 11:30 the queues to get in were stretching for quite a way.

13Kent's saved me a lot of typing as I would have said the same thing - join National Trust or English Heritage to get free entry to Stonehenge, and get there early (note that you need to go online and book a timeslot for your visit).

Although it is very expensive I did think it worthwhile - I went last year, having not been sonce I was a kid decades ago. I was surprised how close you could get to the stones and was impressed with the visitors centre.

Cpu2007

Thank you all for the great advice!
It looks like Bath isn't really recommended if you really wanna visit it properly as this requires spending a considerable amount.
I have looked at the membership but it's for 2 adults and up to five under 17, but we have mostly over 18 so I don't think that membership can be applied.

Thank you for pointing out how crowded stonehenge gets, I wasn't really imagining the situation to be like this; just out of curiosity, I know the place is fenced as you guys pointed it out but you can see stonehenge from distance, my question is whether it is worth going at the very early morning (5:30-6am)?

Has any of you had a family experience in bath where you bought some sort of package allowing the whole family to visit Bath iconic places?

13Kent

We didn't book a time slot, we just took our chances and turned up early, I think they allow for a number walk-ups as well as the booked slots. You used to be able to drive past Stonehenge, the road used to be quite close, but since they built the new visitors centre that road is no longer there, so you would be able to see it from a quite distance away but not close up. We thought the visit was worth it, I thought I knew a lot about Stonehenge, but I was surprised at how much more information there was to learn about it.

building_with_lego

There is a Season Ticket available for Bath, which gives unlimited entry to the Baths, Fashion Museum and Art gallery for three years for £30. The link isn't secure so it may be worth a phone call or email but the Baths are well worth it but SO expensive in July and August (although the tunnel tours make it a bargain, if you can get booked onto one of those) and the Fashion Museum has lots on for children including dressing up and craft activities on Tuesdays.

The Holburne Museum is free as are the Sydney Gardens is sits in. There's a lovely walk along the canal, or you could hire bikes (Nextbikes all over the place) and go through the Two Tunnels- there's a pub at the Midford end if you get peckish!

We live near Bath and spent a happy holiday a couple of years ago using this Eye Spy book and discovered loads of places we'd never seen before. We also like to take a picnic into Parade Gardens, where the children can have a run around, climb trees, watch the ducks and boats, look for the huge fish where the Baths waters drain into the river, get spooked by the pet cemetery...