London to Bath: Travel options

There are multiple options to travel from London to Bath from many central locations like Paddington Station, Victoria Coach Station and right from where you land – Heathrow Airport. Its recommended to book both train and bus in advance due to dynamic fares, once you are reasonably confident of your itinerary. A day trip to Bath from London by train will need a full day and recommended if you don’t have a flight to catch the same evening.

Day Trip to Bath from London by Train or Coach (Bus)
My flight was landing early morning (around 7am) in Heathrow from Dubai and this was the only day I had for Bath, so I decided to visit it on my own. The well connected train (GWR) and Bus Network (National Express) which is easily accessible from Heathrow airport are both the options you could look at depending on what time your flight is landing.

Taking a Train to Bath
Although, the closest train station is Hayes and Harlington, you need to go to Paddington (about 30mins by cab including the time to get a cab and walking in the train station) for a direct train to Bath. A direct train takes around 1.5hrs while the one from Hayes (with a change in between) takes about 2hrs with the hassle of changing trains with luggage.

Taking a Bus to Bath
If you are traveling directly from the airport to Bath, the buses leave from Heathrow airport and accommodate upto 2 medium size luggage and 1 carry on. When booking for the Bus, you could use the option of taking the bus +/-12hrs from the time you’re booking for, with an additional charge of GBP 5. It may turn out to be very useful as immigration in Heathrow could take ages.
Otherwise, you could catch the bus from Victoria coach station which is connected well by both tube and cabs.
2hrs is the fastest a bus will take you from London to Bath. Make a note of the timings and whether its the fast bus at that time or a slow one as a slow bus takes almost double the time.

Schedule and Calling Stations
All this information is easily available on the respective websites. Read carefully before booking in terms of the time, charges and calling stations.,

Train and Bus Fares
Day trip to Bath from London has to be planned in advance if you want to do it economically. Train and Bus fares are dynamic and thus earlier you book, better the fares. So for a trip booked 20days in advance a bus may cost you as low as GBP 12 and a train journey around GBP 20. Closer to the date the fares could go up to GBP 35 and GBP 60 one way.

Cancellation and Refunds
Train fares are refundable with a fee of GBP 10. However, you would want to avoid canceling the train as its a hassle to get the refunds. They request you to post (paper mail not email) the refund form and tickets to some address in UK and process the refund within 20 days and ask for a local UK address. Be very sure of the itinerary before you book.

Immigration in Heathrow can take anywhere between 1.5hrs – 2.5hrs
Assuming you are not a UK or EU citizen, be prepared to spend around 1.5hrs to 2.5hrs in the Immigration queue especially if you are flying in at a busy time or in an A380. Brexit final deadline is around the corner as I write this and then these queues may become more serpentine as even EU citizens may not get any preferential treatment.

Organized Group/ private Day Tours from London
There are many day tours that run from London, which cover Bath and/or Stonehenge, Lacock etc. These typically start early, around 8am usually they are coaches which you will have to catch from Victoria Coach Station. Victoria Coach station is accessible by tube and taxi both.