Getting Around Bath: A Visitor's Guide
Bath is a compact, historic city in the south-west of England and a World Heritage Site. For most visitors, the practical answer to "how do I get around?" is simple: on foot. The city centre and its main stations are close together, and most of the sights are easily walkable from the centre. Driving in town is best avoided.
Walking
Walking is the most practical way to cover Bath's central attractions. A few things are worth knowing before you set off:
- Most locations in Bath are easily walkable from the city centre and the stations.
- Some of Bath's shopping streets feel like pedestrian-only areas, but they are not. Take a quick look around before stepping into the road, and if you are driving, expect pedestrians to walk out in front of you.
- At peak times it can genuinely be quicker to walk from the edge of Bath into town than to drive and hunt for parking.
Rail
Bath Spa railway station sits right in the city centre on Dorchester Street. It is a Victorian station on the Great Western Railway, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and it has regular inter-city and regional services from Bristol, London, Reading, Salisbury, Southampton, Weymouth and Swindon. From London, you travel from London Paddington; trains run roughly every half hour and the journey takes about an hour and a half.
Practical points for rail travellers:
- There is a taxi rank outside the station, and the bus station is adjacent.
- The station is staffed for most of the day, but the ticket office only sells advance tickets during limited daytime hours, so don't rely on it for late or early purchases.
- There are no luggage lockers at the station. Bath Backpacker's Hostel on Pierrepont Street, a short walk away, will look after left luggage for the day for a small fee.
- Train times from any location can be checked with the National Rail Planner or by phone.
There is also Oldfield Park railway station, a stop in a residential suburb about a mile from Bath Spa in the Bristol direction. Don't get off there with all your luggage thinking you've arrived in the middle of town.
Note that Bath has no metro or tram network; rail and bus are the public transport options.
Buses and Coaches
Bath's bus station is close to the railway station, and buses to most destinations outside the city leave from and arrive at this location. It is served by National Express, with coaches to Bristol, London Victoria and London Heathrow, and by First West of England, which operates local buses and routes from Bath to Bristol, Lawrence Hill, Hengrove, Weston-super-Mare, Wells and points in between.
For getting around within Bath:
- Public buses are, typically for British public transport, at best adequate.
- Bath's buses are often quite expensive compared with other cities. If you plan more than one return journey, or more than one single journey in a day, ask the driver for a day pass instead — it gives unlimited travel on that bus company's buses in Bath for around £3.70 per day.
- Several companies operate, including WessexConnect and FareSaver, but the most useful for tourists are the buses operated by First.
Park and Ride
A popular Park and Ride bus system runs from a ring of car parks around the outskirts of the city — Newbridge, Lansdown, Claverton Down and Odd Down. These services take you into the city centre, or to a number of the city's schools. You can park for free and then take a bus into the city for around £2.20 per adult return, with discounts available. The main downside is that the last bus leaves at 8:30PM, so it isn't an option if you're staying in Bath late.
Tourist Buses
Tour buses run an enjoyable circuit of the main attractions. You can pick them up en route, or at the main bay at 'Bog Island' for the Skyline tour, or next to the fountain near Bath Abbey for the city centre tour. The idea is hop-on, hop-off: when you see something you like, get off at the next stop, look around, and catch the next bus that comes along. Attractions en route include the historic Royal Crescent and The Circus, and some companies include a route up the winding Ralph Allen Drive past Prior Park Gardens.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
There is a taxi rank directly outside Bath Spa railway station, which makes arriving by train straightforward. Taxis are also a practical option for reaching Bath from Bristol Airport (see below). The source material does not cover ride-hailing apps for Bath specifically, so it's worth checking locally on arrival if that's your preferred option.
Driving and Parking
The short answer is: don't drive in Bath. It is very easy to get lost, as much of the city is one-way and a traffic system prevents you driving from one side of the city to the other — you have to go out onto an unofficial ring road and re-enter. Congestion is often horrendous, and on Saturdays car parks fill up and roads get blocked by people queueing to get into them. At peak times, walking in from the edge of Bath can be quicker than driving and parking.
If you must drive:
- Get off the M4 at Junction 18 and follow signs for about 10 miles (16 km).
- Use the Park and Ride facilities rather than driving into the centre.
- Central parking is better than it used to be, with a large underground multi-storey under the Southgate Shopping Centre. Other major central multi-storeys are at Walcot Street, Manvers Street (near the stations) and Charlotte Street (off Queen Square).
- Most smaller long-stay car parks fill up by 8:30AM on working days, so arrive early.
- Many bays are residents' parking only — check before leaving your car. Traffic wardens are very efficient, so don't park on a yellow line or overstay.
- On Sundays, and between 7PM and 8AM on other days, most parking is free, but check the machines for exact details.
Arriving by Air
Bristol Airport
Bristol Airport is the closest regional airport to Bath and offers scheduled flights from many major European cities. There are three main public transport options into Bath:
- Flyer bus plus train: take the Flyer bus service from the airport to Bristol Temple Meads station, then the train from there to Bath. Expect the journey to take about an hour, and longer between 4PM and 6PM when Bristol's roads are congested.
- Air Decker direct bus: runs from the airport directly to Bath railway station every thirty minutes from early until late. Journey time is about 55 minutes. A single ticket is £16.50 and a return is £22.00.
- Taxi: about £40, reaching Bath in roughly 40 minutes.
Other Regional Airports
Southampton Airport is under two hours from Bath by train, with good connections. Cardiff, Exeter and Bournemouth airports are also served by low-cost airlines and are within a couple of hours' driving distance of the city. These smaller airports generally offer a more sedate experience than the London ones — shorter check-in queues, fewer people, and clearer signage.
London Airports
You can also use one of the London airports and travel on to Bath by train, car or bus. The most convenient are:
- Heathrow: about two hours' drive straight down the M4 westbound. Alternatively, the RailAir express bus (every 20 minutes) connects with the main London-to-Bath rail service at Reading station, taking slightly over two hours in total. Or take the train the whole way: the Heathrow Express to Paddington, then a train from there to Bath Spa, taking a little under two hours. National Express also runs direct coaches from Heathrow to Bath bus station.
- Gatwick: about three hours' drive via the M23 northbound, M25 clockwise and M4 westbound. Alternatively, a half-hourly rail service from Gatwick connects with the main London-to-Bath rail service at Reading, taking slightly over two hours in total.
- Stansted: about three hours' drive via the M11 southbound, M25 anti-clockwise and M4 westbound. By train, take the Stansted Express to London Liverpool Street, the tube to London Paddington, then a train to Bath — around 3½ hours in total.
- Luton: about a three-hour train ride. Thameslink rail connects the airport to central London, where you can catch a train to Bath Spa.
Arriving by Bike
The Bristol–Bath Railway Path is part of the National Cycle Network (R4) and provides a cycle corridor between the city centres of Bath and Bristol. Travel time is about 90 minutes. The path is relatively flat with only two road crossings, making it very safe. In the morning and evening it is a busy commute route, so it may be advisable to avoid these peak hours.