If you can only choose one - Avebury, Bath, or Windsor?

We'll be taking a day tour to Stonehenge and Salisbury from London in August and the tours I've seen seem to each have a different 3rd (and possibly 4th) stop.

Our initial ranking was:

Avebury - it's another henge and would be a smaller tour group

Windsor

Bath

We did see a tour that visits both Windsor and Bath, but my concern would be that that is cramming too much into a single day.

If you could only visit one (Avebury, Bath, or Windsor), which would you choose and why?

Thanks! Jennifer

I have chosen Windsor for our Sept pre-cruise. Will have it DIY with Stonehenge.

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Much more to see and do at Windsor or Bath, Avebury is more for the ancient history buff, after all when you have seen a group of stones the others are similar. Most tourists get their fix of this from Stonehenge, which although interesting how it got here and the ancient ingenuity is best from a distance, as at the site you cannot now get close to the stones.

Equally Windsor has more if the weather is inclement.

This is a THIRD stop on a day excursion which also includes Stonehenge & Salisbury? :confused:

Three in a day (I'll avoid mentioning a fourth ;)) is pretty whistle-stop.

So I'll hazard a guess that "Salisbury" means "Salisbury cathedral".

And that's a shame, because altho' there are no other significant highlights in the centre it's a very pleasant & laid-back historic city centre, well worth soaking-up for an hour or more.

Avebury will surely be a photo-stop - possibly en-route from Stonehenge to Bath?

I'm aware that there's an interpretation centre or somesuch but IMHO a photo-stop is all that Avebury Ring is worth to the average tourist, especially one who's been to Stonehenge same-day.

Windsor involves less travelling than Bath, & therefore presumably more time on-site.

Other than that, it's a matter of personal taste.

Both are compact & easy to explore on foot, though Bath's iconic Royal Crescent is a ten-minute walk from the centre and Eton College (educated most of Britain's politicians etc) a ten minute walk from the centre of Windsor.

Bath is known for its Roman baths (in an exceptional state of preservation), for its Jane Austen connections, and for its up-market Georgian architecture. And it sits on the Rover Avon, with a very attractive weir and historic shop-lined Pultney Bridge.

Windsor has its castle, one of the finest in the country. And it's a pleasant little city (more like a town) on the banks of the Thames. Your tour guide isn't permitted to accompany you in the castle, but like Stonehenge it has audio-guides.

You pays your money & you takes your choice.

Which reminds me, the tour price almost-certainly includes admission to Stonehenge but probably doesn't include the expected "donation" to Salisbury Cathedral or admission to the Roman Baths or Windsor castle.

JB :)

Stonehenge and Salisbury are sufficient for a one day trip, unless you want to be one of those "If it's Thursday it must be France " type tourists.

Thank you!

Stonehenge and Salisbury are sufficient for a one day trip, unless you want to be one of those "If it's Thursday it must be France " type tourists.

:')

Well....this is posted on a cruise board, so I suppose many of us are indeed that type of tourist... Our August cruise puts us in France on Wednesday, I believe!

My reply was slightly tongue in cheek. I was just trying to point out that trying to cram too much into one day means that you visit many places, but see very little.

We've opted for the Avebury trip.

This is a THIRD stop on a day excursion which also includes Stonehenge & Salisbury? :confused:

Yes. But 3 stops seemed to be the norm for a full day trip. The one we chose is 11+ hours from pick-up to drop-off so it seems to have ample time at each location.

 

So I'll hazard a guess that "Salisbury" means "Salisbury cathedral".

And that's a shame, because altho' there are no other significant highlights in the centre it's a very pleasant & laid-back historic city centre, well worth soaking-up for an hour or more.

We have 2 hours in Salisbury and from the reviews I've read we will have time to wander around the city and hopefully do some local snack shopping.

 

Avebury will surely be a photo-stop - possibly en-route from Stonehenge to Bath?

Nope - we visit Silbury Hill, West Kennet Long Barrow, plus time to wander among the stones, ending with a stop at The Red Lion.

 

Windsor has its castle, one of the finest in the country.

We agree and don't feel that the time allotted for the stop on the day tour is enough, so we've decided to do it on our own a different day.

 

Which reminds me, the tour price almost-certainly includes admission to Stonehenge but probably doesn't include the expected "donation" to Salisbury Cathedral

It actually includes admission into Salisbury Cathedral - score@

.

 

JB :)

We only have 4 pre-cruise days in London and have had to make hard choices as to what we see and do in that short time as we're not sure when we'll be back,

Thanks again for your detailed response!

I would choose Windsor. The castle and town are amazing! Tour the Castle if you can - sometimes the Queen is in residence.

I'd choose Bath to pair with a tour to Stonehenge. Windsor is worth a trip on its own.

I would choose Windsor. The Castle is breathtaking. The grandeur of the interior is something that as an American, you can't draw a comparison to. Henry VIII is buried at St. George Chapel with Jane Seymour, among many, many others. Avebury is pretty with sheep grazing around a very, very large stone circle. You can get some nice pictures but I recall the circle being so large that you can't fit it in a picture so you would take photos of sheep around a monolith or two. I liked Bath, but there was so much to see and do, it required a day or two to really enjoy. Just the Roman Bath itself can take up a lot of time if you want to read all the displays. I felt a bit rushed at Bath but there is plenty to see and do and nice shops as well.

I wasn't very impressed with Windsor. So much of it was unavailable for viewing. I'm sure the town itself is more interesting but if you're with a tour group, most likely you won't have time to venture out from the castle itself. JMHO.