Day trips from Southampton

I just realized I posted on the wrong thread.

We'll be staying pre cruise in Southampton for several nights and would like to take day trips from there.

We've been unable to find any coach company doing day tours. Could someone make some suggestions?

We're also open to any and all suggestions,

With thanks to the experts,

Ruth

We hired a car prior to our cruise. We used Enterprise Car hire which was about a 10minute walk from out hotel (close to the cruise terminal).

Did a drive to the sea side town of Weymouth (very nice day out, about 1hour 15mins drive from Southampton).

Also, we visited the town of Salisbury, is only 40minutes drive from Southampton. The Salisbury cathedral houses a verision of the magna carta. 15 mins drive further on from Salisbury is Stonehenge.

If you have a car - there is alot to see and do in the area.

We've decided not to rent a car. We're now seniors and the stress of driving on the 'wrong' side is not something we're eager to tackle, though a few years ago we flew into Perth and drove to Adelaide and loved every minute.

There's a train to Salisbury which is part of our planning. Weymouth is a suggestion we'll investigate.

Ruth

We've decided not to rent a car. We're now seniors and the stress of driving on the 'wrong' side is not something we're eager to tackle, though a few years ago we flew into Perth and drove to Adelaide and loved every minute.

 

There's a train to Salisbury which is part of our planning. Weymouth is a suggestion we'll investigate.

 

Ruth

We took the train to Salisbury and took the HOHO bus to Stonehenge. The HOHO is located to the left, just outside the station doors. It was an easy excursion.

We've decided not to rent a car. We're now seniors and the stress of driving on the 'wrong' side is not something we're eager to tackle, though a few years ago we flew into Perth and drove to Adelaide and loved every minute.

 

There's a train to Salisbury which is part of our planning. Weymouth is a suggestion we'll investigate.

 

Ruth

Weymouth is easy by train, maybe even easier than driving. From Southampton, Portsmouth's naval museum is interesting, the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu (most interesting way to get there is ferry to Hythe followed by a taxi); or the cathedral city of Winchester.

Yes, Winchester is only roughly a 20 min journey by train from Southampton Central and in the other direction, the historic ships at Portsmouth are a good day out.

Coliseum Coaches are an established Southampton company http://www.coliseumcoaches.co.uk/

Or take the ferry to the Isle of Wight? Maybe visit Queen Victoria's home Osborne House?

We took the train to Salisbury and took the HOHO bus to Stonehenge. The HOHO is located to the left, just outside the station doors. It was an easy excursion.

I assume the HO HO bus begins in Southampton. Interesting as we love that means of touring and I could find no mention of one.

Thanks for another lead.

Ruth

Coliseum Coaches are an established Southampton company http://www.coliseumcoaches.co.uk/

 

Or take the ferry to the Isle of Wight? Maybe visit Queen Victoria's home Osborne House?

I like the sounds of Colliseum Coaches. I'll have to monitor their options closer to our dates in late August. Hopefully we'll be able to fit into their options.

And yes, we'd planned a ferry ride to the Isle of Wight.

I, in one of the colonies, know nothing of Osborne House so I'll sure investigate.

Thanks,

Ruth

Yes, Winchester is only roughly a 20 min journey by train from Southampton Central and in the other direction, the historic ships at Portsmouth are a good day out.

Another great suggestion, thanks,

Ruth

I assume the HO HO bus begins in Southampton. Interesting as we love that means of touring and I could find no mention of one.

 

Thanks for another lead.

 

Ruth

No, Ruth. The Stonehenge ho-ho runs from Salisbury. Take the half-hourly train from Southampton central station (journey time 30 mins, fare about £10 day-return), the ho-ho has a stop at Salisbury rail station. Check train & ho-ho times & catch a train that suits. Buy your Stonehenge tickets from the ho-ho driver, means you shouldn't need a timed ticket. Ho-ho is about an hour round-trip to Stonehenge, expect to spend 90 mins to 2 hrs at Stonehenge incl the visitor centre. On the way back consider whether to stop off at Old Sarum but probably you won't bother with Old Sarum if its wet. Get off the ho-ho in Salisbury centre, explore the cathedral & the historic city centre (plenty of cafes, pubs etc). Then either the ho-ho (if conveniently timed) or local bus or taxi, or a 15 minute walk, back to Salisbury rail station for the train back to Southampton.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

http://www.thestonehengetour.info/

http://www.destinationsalisbury.co.uk/visit-salisbury-south-wiltshire/

If ho-ho's are your thing, also consider the New Forest ho-ho.

Two routes, which connect at the village of Lyndhurst, the self-styled "capital" of the New Forest.

But again, they don't start at Southampton. You'll need to get to Lyndhurst by the local Blue Star bus.

(An alternative is to take the train to either Brockenhurst station or to Beaulieu Road station, where there are ho-ho stops. Beaulieu Road is in the middle of nowhere, there's only a pub. Brockenhurst has a bit more to offer, but the station is on the edge of the village. Because the ho-hos aren't frequent, better to bus from Southampton to Lyndhurst. Then you can mosey around the shops, pubs, cafes, & the little museum until a ho-ho (on either route) is due.

The ho-hos can't take to the little lanes, but you'll get a flavour of the New Forest on a ho-ho.

If the weather's foul, change your plans for that day - the New Forest won't be fun in the wet.

http://www.bluestarbus.co.uk/route-list.shtml

(Route No. 6)

http://www.thenewforesttour.info/

Southampton has its own city ho-ho tour. But forget that one - Southampton's few old-town sights, worth half a day, are very easy to walk & the bus can't access those narrow streets. The ho-ho tour goes round the commercial & residential parts and has virtually nothing of interest.

I used to drive for the coach operator linked by scriv. Southampton isn't a tourist city and coach excursions are used almost exclusively by locals so there's not a great choice. The prospects of a suitable excursion tying in with your stay are rather slim, though there are far more in the summer months than the current winter listings so book-mark that website to check back a couple of months before your trip.

If you're tempted by the day-trips to Europe, be warned that those to Adinkerke are for smokers to buy cigs & tobacco, it's a nondescript village just over the Belgian border, with more tobacco shops than houses. And those to Cite Europe are for shopping - it's a Mall on the outskirts of Calais. Bruges or Ostend or Ghent might be of interest but it's a long day (about 7am to 10pm), all on freeways, with only about 4 hours in the destination.

The train is likely to be your best transport to the best destinations - Southampton is a rail junction, so there are frequent direct trains to a number of places, some already mentioned in other posts. Train travel is a much better option in Europe than North America.

All trains call at Southampton Central. Be sure to book a hotel in the city centre, those on the outskirts are totally unsuited unless you have a car.

One near the station will obviously be more convenient but all on this website are walkable.

http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_accommodation.htm

(useful little thumbnail map at the bottom of the page)

By train, consider (geographical order, west to east):

Weymouth Victorian seaside resort

Bath Up-market Georgian spa town with Roman baths, very popular with tourists.

Salisbury, plus Stonehenge ho-ho

Winchester. Historic city & cathedral, similar to Salisbury though not so laid-back. Can alternatively be visited by Bluer Star bus (route 1) - poorer frequency than the train & longer travel time, tho Winchester bus station is in the heart of the city, the rail station is a 15-20 minute walk.

Oxford. University town. Wouldn't be my choice, but on some folks' lists

London If it's your only chance to visit London I guess you should go for it. But expensive travel if you want to go early morning & you can't do it justice in a day-trip from Southampton. Most folk tie London in with their flights & book a London hotel for 2 - 3 days pre or post-cruise.

Portsmouth. Naval city co-joined with Southsea seaside resort. Take the train to the end of the line (Portsmouth Harbour) for the historic dockyard & ships, Spinnaker Tower, Gunwharf Quays shopping & leisure, Isle of Wight fast-ferries, etc. The dockyard & ships alone are worth a full day, but a short bus or taxi ride from Portsmouth Harbour (travel interchange) to Southsea seafront for little Southsea castle (free admission) & adjacent D-Day museum, seafront promenade looking across the Solent to the Isle of Wight, & usual seaside attractions & facilities (beach is pebbles, not sand).

Alternatively travel from Southampton by National Express coach. About the same cost, journey time just a little longer, poorer frequency. Your destination is that same travel interchange, listed on Nat Express website as Portsmouth Hard - don't book to Portsmouth Ferry Port.

Chichester (up-market cathedral city) is further east.

Arundel further east. Super restored castle, been in continuous occupation so gives an idea of castle life through the ages. And cathedral, antique shops etc. But the rail station is a 20 minute walk or a taxi hop from the town.

Brighton, even further east. Biggest & liveliest seaside resort on the south coast, lots of day-trippers from London. Bohemian & gay districts, The Lanes is a district of narrow streets & interesting shops. Few historic buildings other than the Royal Pavilion. Victorian pier. A place of candy-floss & kiss-me-quick hats.

All those journeys are by direct train, all are eminently suitable for a day-trip from Southampton

Train timings & fares on the website above. Select a same-day return, you'll find that on most routes the same-day return ticket ("a cheap day-return") costs no more than a one-way ticket, though on some routes (eg London) they're not available on early trains. No reductions for seniors. Probably ignore the annual travel-card options, the cards give a 33% reduction on fares but cost £30, and I don't think you'd save that much on a few days of local day-return tickets.

From Southampton there are also opportunities by ferry. All operate from Town Quay (see that hotel map), handy to city centre, hotels, cruise terminals.

The little Hythe Ferry, mentioned by Scottbee, across Southampton Water to Hythe then taxi, or exceptionally infrequent local bus, or the seasonal

http://www.thebeachbus.info/ to

http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/

The National Motor Museum is incorporated in the grounds of the Beaulieu Estate. Yes, it's of most interest to petrol-heads, but an interesting & well thought-out museum that's more than just lines of old cars. And there's the Abbey remains & the Bishop's Palace for anyone in the party who has zero interest in motoring history. Worth a fairly full day.

Ferries to the Isle of Wight, either passenger fast-ferry to (west) Cowes or car ferry to East Cowes. Cowes is divided by the River Medina, the two sides linked by a chain-ferry, currently free to foot passengers. (West) Cowes is a world-renown yachtsman's haven, East Cowes has nothing to offer.

There are ho-ho routes on the Island, but travel is slow on the island's poorly-developed road system so you might be disappointed by how much you can achieve in a day. Do hop off at Godshill, Alum Bay/Needles, and mebbe Shanklin.

Or visit the island just for Queen Victoria's Osborne House. Only for Osborne House is it worth taking the car ferry to East Cowes, then a short local bus ride.

http://www.redfunnel.co.uk/

http://islandbreezers.islandbuses.info/

Many more choices for those with a car, but that's enough places by public transport for your time in Southampton

How many days did you say you have? :D

JB :)

Thanks so much, JB !! You really covered every question we had and some

we didn't know we needed !!:p

Will be there for 2 days in May '15 - and will be on buses and trains to get around. (and a pub or 2 )

Thanks again, Maryandi

My goodness, thank you JB for an incredible answer. It's like having a private guide suggesting best options. And I appreciate the links and precise suggestions. I cannot wait to show them to Bob, who doesn't do CC.

I especially appreciate your advice on coach tours aimed at locals. Neither smoking nor shopping are of any interest.

It's a long story, but now we're actually going to have 8 days in Southampton prior to our sailing September 5th. We booked our non refundable flight planning to do a coach tour from London to Devon and Cornwall, but the logistics just got too complicated. We've decided to keep it simple and use Southampton for independent exploration.

We've spent a week in many cities around the world touring this way.

We've spent a full week in both London and Bath some time ago, renting a car after our week in London to stay a week each in Bath, the Lake District and Edinburgh. From these bases we explored the area, but by car.

We'll be staying at the Mercure Dolphin, a basic hotel, which should meet our needs but your link shows it's within walking distance of the station.

Time is on our side, but for us, planning is half the fun,

With ever so much appreciation,

Ruth

How about this for a DIY idea for anyone who has seen all the tourist sites and wants to see 'real England'

Train from Southampton to Brockenhurst, thence to Lymington,

one hour in Lymington with walk around Town Quay (US visitors think of combination of cobbled streets and Tarpon Springs, FL / Newport, RI)

then

Ferry across the Solent to Yarmouth IOW (OK ferry terminal is a decent walk, but you could always hop on a train from Lymington Town to Lymington Quay)

Enjoy lunch in The Bugle, Yarmouth

then

Vectis (local) bus to West Cowes (change in Newport)

Afternoon refreshments in West Cowes

cross to East Cowes on the chain ferry

Red Funnel back to Southampton.

I see you have six days.

Given that, can I suggest you also throw in a day trip by train to Poole coupled with a boat trip over to the nature reserve of Brownsea Island.

Don't forget also Osborne House on IOW, but JB will know better than I what options there are for that.

Google Brownsea Island Poole and Osborne House IOW if you want to research them

How about this for a DIY idea for anyone who has seen all the tourist sites and wants to see 'real England'

 

Train from Southampton to Brockenhurst, thence to Lymington,

one hour in Lymington with walk around Town Quay (US visitors think of combination of cobbled streets and Tarpon Springs, FL / Newport, RI)

then

Ferry across the Solent to Yarmouth IOW (OK ferry terminal is a decent walk, but you could always hop on a train from Lymington Town to Lymington Quay)

Enjoy lunch in The Bugle, Yarmouth

then

Vectis (local) bus to West Cowes (change in Newport)

Afternoon refreshments in West Cowes

cross to East Cowes on the chain ferry

Red Funnel back to Southampton.

Yes, a varied day out.

Or rather than the train to Brockenhurst / Lymington you could take the Hythe Ferry http://www.hytheferry.co.uk/ and beachbus http://www.thebeachbus.info/#timetable-anchor but note the beachbus only operates til 31st August.

Ferries Lymington-Yarmouth and Southampton-Cowes are both operated by Red Funnel so ticketing is no problem. Return could be on their fast-ferry from (west) Cowes rather than the car ferry from East Cowes, probably for a supplement.

And since you have to change Island buses at Newport, you might want to look round there. Carisbrooke Castle is just outside Newport, but its a long walk or a taxi (or bus??) ride. Local Vectis buses via the ho-ho site that I linked.

Osborne House might not quite fit in with the timescale of that mini-tour, and you can see nothing of it from a drive-by.

JB :)

What generous postings by Corfe Mixture and additional information from JB.

Bob has the link to CC as he's in charge of the logistics of land travel; I do the port excursions.

And to think all this possible in English. In the past Bob has struggled with basic Spanish and Italian to organize such days. I'm always surprised when we get where he promised! Or what we ordered for meals!

Again with thanks,

Ruth

This thread has become valuable resource for any cruiser leaving from Southampton.

My goodness, thank you JB for an incredible answer. It's like having a private guide suggesting best options. And I appreciate the links and precise suggestions. I cannot wait to show them to Bob, who doesn't do CC.

 

I especially appreciate your advice on coach tours aimed at locals. Neither smoking nor shopping are of any interest.

 

It's a long story, but now we're actually going to have 8 days in Southampton prior to our sailing September 5th. We booked our non refundable flight planning to do a coach tour from London to Devon and Cornwall, but the logistics just got too complicated. We've decided to keep it simple and use Southampton for independent exploration.

 

We've spent a week in many cities around the world touring this way.

 

We've spent a full week in both London and Bath some time ago, renting a car after our week in London to stay a week each in Bath, the Lake District and Edinburgh. From these bases we explored the area, but by car.

 

We'll be staying at the Mercure Dolphin, a basic hotel, which should meet our needs but your link shows it's within walking distance of the station.

 

Time is on our side, but for us, planning is half the fun,

 

With ever so much appreciation,

 

Ruth

Southampton may not be a tourist city, but particularly because of its rail links it is an excellent choice as a base for day trips.

The Dolphin is a bit of Southampton's history, formerly a coaching inn. Was neglected for many years, but taken over by Mercure a few years ago & renovated to a good standard. OK, it has sloping & creaky floors, varying room sizes & rabbit-warren corridors but that's the price you pay to stay in an historic building.

Most of the other hotels are cloned modern chain hotels. Comfortable, all the amenities, but bland.

The Dolphin has character, it's where I would stay if I were a visitor to the UK. :)

With a lot of day trips by train, for the last day or two you might curse the walk back to the Dolphin, or eventually even jump a taxi. But it's in the heart of the city for

- shops - the main shopping street (Above Bar) and the big modern West Quay Mall are just the other side of the Bargate

- pubs - the Red Lion just down the street, or the Duke of Wellington just a five minute walk in Bugle Street are both historic pubs, plenty of other pubs around

- restaurants - two minutes from George's (bland surroundings but good Greek food), five minutes from Town Quay where you'll find Ennios, La Margherita, Royal Thai, & Gatehouse Grill & good value, ten minutes from the restaurants and pubs of Oxford Street.

- history - the Tudor House & Garden, the Medieval Merchant's House, Westgate Hall, Gods Tower (houses archaeological museum) and the city wall (you can walk on it) are all within a five minute walk. OK, it's all small-fry history & not worth saving a day for it, but certainly pleasant to wander of an evening or two.

Sea City museum (majors on Titanic) http://www.seacitymuseum.co.uk/ & art gallery at the Civic Centre, the other end of Above Bar. Small but interesting aviation museum a fifteen minute walk from your hotel includes flying boat & Spitfire http://www.solentskymuseum.org/

- entertainment - Mayflower Theatre, Nuffield Theatre, two casinos, plenty of pubs with live music though those which major on music (tribute bands & such), like The Brook or Talking Heads, are spit-and-sawdust places - great atmosphere but definitely not demure. ;)

JB :)

JB, I even managed to tempt Bob to visit CC with the promise of all your professional help. He adds his thanks to mine.

Great to hear that our hotel choice is a good one -- you've proven it's the sort of hotel we enjoy. We'll hope to get a back room as reviews suggest the front rooms are noisy.

Given your generosity I'm surprised you haven't offered to come and cook and only suggested dining spots.

All joking aside, thank you JB.

And as I said I hope this stays near the top of the thread so others can share this wealth of information. (I have iffy luck with searches on CC)

Ruth

We did a day excursion from Southampton with Side Step Tours and I highly recommend Peter. He is a retired History teacher and full of lots of interesting information. The weather was awful the day we were there and he rearranged our tour to accomodate the weather and it worked out very well. We did the Pubs and Pony Tour but he will arrange any type of tour of the area that you want.

I've googled Side Step Southampton with no luck. Do you still have the link? My husband is a real history buff and Peter would be great.

Ruth

Looked interesting so did a search & came up with

http://www.singlesteptours.com/

The guide is Peter Jones so maybe that is the same company

Is this doable? S/hamp to Glasgow by train, staying overnight in Glasgow then leaving maybe next day. Is it too long to get there , and approx cost. If someone has answers it would be much appreciated......Joan.

Looked interesting so did a search & came up with

http://www.singlesteptours.com/

 

The guide is Peter Jones so maybe that is the same company

Yet another expert offering to help.

I'm in the midst of an extensive 'cut and paste' of Southampton ideas. Once more or less organized I'll post my email should anyone be interested. It's a multi page document.

Ruth

Ruth you are more organized than I am

we arrive in June so I am starting to piece things together (cut & paste method )

JB & Simon have been a great help on this forum

Enjoy

Lyn