B2B in Southampton - Possible Salisbury & Stonehenge tour?

We're doing back 2 back cruises out of Southampton on Royal Caribbean this summer. With that day in port between the cruises, would we have time to do a tour of Salisbury & Stonehenge? With time to get back for our 4 pm sail away?

Yes, by train to Salisbury, then ho-ho to Stonehenge.

From RCI's berth it's a 15 to 20 minute walk or a £6 taxi fare to Southampton central station.

Assuming it's not a sunday, trains run approx. every half-hour, journey time 30 to 40 minutes, and the return fare is £10.50 per person. Buy at the station, do ask for return tickets, they're way cheaper than two one-way tickets.

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

Then take the Stonehenge Tour ho-ho from the station forecourt

http://www.thestonehengetour.info/

Frequency is half-hourly 4th June thru 2nd September, hourly outside those dates.

I guess the train to aim for is the 09.10 which arrives Salisbury 09.39, and take the 10am ho-ho.

Important Stonehenge admission is by timed ticket, but if bought with your ho-ho ticket you don't need a timed ticket - so be sure to buy it on-line through the ho-ho website, or buy from the ho-ho driver. The tickets you want are those costing £29 for bus and Stonehenge and Old Sarum admissions (though you'll not have time for Old Sarum)

The round-trip Salisbury to Stonehenge & back to Salisbury takes about an hour, 80 to 90 minutes at Stonehenge is ideal for most folk.

So if you take the 10am ho-ho you'll likely be back in Salisbury at 12.10.

For a back-on-board time of 3.30pm, aim to catch the 2.02pm train from Salisbury, which arrives Southampton central station at 2.32pm - that gives you something under 2 hours to check out Salisbury city centre & cathedral & make your way back to the station. There's also a train at 2.33pm, which gets to Southampton at 3.04pm - you'll comfortably be back at the ship before 3.30pm if you take that train, but it's always best to aim for the second-to-last train & leave the last one in reserve in case you screw-up.

There's a taxi rank at Southampton central station & the ride to the ship is less than 5 minutes

You can buy ho-ho tickets which also include a donation to Salisbury cathedral (total £35 per person), but since you might not have time for the cathedral don't waste your money - if you do have time for the cathedral just give a donation of £5 to £6 per person at the door.

There's a train to Salisbury a half-hour earlier (departs 08.37 & arrives Salisbury 09.25, costs pennies more) if you can make it and if you're there between 4th June & 2nd September when the first ho-ho is at 9.30am. If you're outside those dates it's pointless taking that earlier train since the first ho-ho isn't til 10am.

RCI ships are scheduled to sail at 4.30pm according to the port website

http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/live_information/shipping_movements_and_cruise_ship_schedule/cruise_ship_schedule/

So your back-on-board might be 4pm - or it might be much earlier since it's also embarkation day for most passengers (muster drill, etc).

Well worth double-checking your back-on-board time (stress that you're on a back-to-back), and adjusting your timings to suit.

.

JB :).

JB,

Perfect! Thanks for the info.

Will summer crowds (July) make any of this risky, timing wise?

Lisa

Hi, Lisa,

Trains won't be packed on the Southampton / Salisbury route.

Timed tickets for Stonehenge admission (other than for those on the ho-ho and pre-registered coach tours) were introduced a couple or three years ago to create a steady flow of manageable numbers, so there should be no delay on-site.

Because all the RCI sailings appear to be on a Saturday :( there are two concerns ................

- Whenever I've seen the Stonehenge ho-ho the numbers aboard have been low, but it may be busier at weekends

- More importantly, Stonehenge is very close to the A303, one of the main roads from London to the vacation region of south-west England and that road is often log-jammed past Stonehenge on summer Saturdays. The ho-ho doesn't use that road but has to cross it at a roundabout (traffic island), and that might cost time.

But your obvious itinerary is to first take the ho-ho from Salisbury station to Stonehenge, then hop off in Salisbury city centre to spend such time there as you have left, before taking the train back to Southampton. You don't have to specify your return ho-ho or train times. So if there are delays they'll affect your time available in Salisbury & won't mean you missing your sailing.

Although you can use the ho-ho to get back to Salisbury station from the city centre, if its timing doesn't work well it's a 15 minute walk or a short taxi or local bus ride.

Since this is in July, the first ho-ho is at 09.30.

So to give yourselves an extra half-hour (and reduce the risk of traffic delay on the ho-ho), aim for the 08.37 train from Southampton central station, or even the 08.23 which arrives Salisbury at 9am. (£11.70 return ticket for either). You should be able to disembark from as early as 7am, so you'll have no trouble making either of those trains. Allow a few minutes extra to buy your train tickets at the station (machine or manned booth).

Finally, do double-check the train schedule closer to the day - changes are unlikely but possible.

JB :)

Another alternative would be to see if your cruise line offers an excursion to those places on turn-around day.

If so, that might be a better option as it will be timed to assure return to the ship in time for sailing.

That's what I did on turn-around day in Southampton a couple of years ago on a Princess cruise, and though it cost a few $$s more, I felt more relaxed and secure knowing I didn't have to worry about "what if". Another plus is the tour company takes care of getting the entry tickets for Stonehenge and includes it in the price.

Hi John Bull, we are on a B2B on NCL Jade in Southampton on SUNDAY, May 14 from 8:00 a.m. To 3:00 p.m.

Checking train and or bus the earliest we would get into Salisbury is 10:34 a.m. due to track work on a Sunday. Is it feasible for us to get to Stonehenge and back in good time for returning to the ship in your opinion using the train or coach, and would you recommend doing this in the short port day? We have a quote of 160 British pounds to go to Stonehenge and back currently, which is the alternative.

Any extra advice or help would be appreciated.

Thanks so very much for your assistance.

Liz

Hi John Bull, we are on a B2B on NCL Jade in Southampton on SUNDAY, May 14 from 8:00 a.m. To 3:00 p.m.

Checking train and or bus the earliest we would get into Salisbury is 10:34 a.m. due to track work on a Sunday. Is it feasible for us to get to Stonehenge and back in good time for returning to the ship in your opinion using the train or coach, and would you recommend doing this in the short port day? We have a quote of 160 British pounds to go to Stonehenge and back currently, which is the alternative.

 

Any extra advice or help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks so very much for your assistance.

 

Liz

That's a tough one Liz, because it's a sunday service on the train and off-peak frequency on the ho-ho.:(

As you noted, according to the train timetable the 09,20 train involves a bus-replacement due to engineering work and arrives Salisbury 10.33 - very strange since it shouldn't take over an hour by bus.:confused:

The 9.54am, theoretically unaffected by the engineering work, actually arrives earlier, at 10.24. But If the engineering work over-ran it'd totally screw-up your day

Regardless of which train you took, the earliest ho-ho that you'd make would be the 11am from Salisbury station, arrives Stonehenge 11.33. .

Since the ho-ho is only hourly in May, you'd be looking at the ho-ho back to the station at 12.43 - giving you little more than an hour at Stonehenge, which isn't ideal. That ho-ho arrives at the station at 1.14pm for the 1.32pm train which gets you back to Southampton at 2.03pm.

The next ho-ho from Stonehenge, at 1.43pm (giving you 2 hours at Stonehenge), gets to the station at 2.14pm - literally one minute after the 2.13 train, which gets to Southampton at 2.45, and that's the latest train which gets you back to the ship by a back-on-board time of 3pm.

So at best you'll have an hour at Stonehenge, at worst there's a significant risk that something will foul-up and you'll miss your sailing.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying that train+ho-ho doesn't suit your circumstances.

Unless the ship offers an excursion (yes, good thought by Flamomo), that alternative of a private-hire taxi at £160 is really your only sensible option, though that's an awful lot of money.

The drive takes only an hour, if you leave the ship at 8.30am you can be there by the opening time of 9.30(book tickets for the 9.30 - 10am slot).

You'll be ahead of the worst of the crowds so 90 minutes is probably enough though you can choose to take longer, and if that £100 is for returning to the ship at say 2.30 (for that sort of money it should be) you'll have plenty of time to also visit Old Sarum (best only if the weather is pleasant) and Salisbury city centre/cathedral, both of which are en-route.

Mebbe even get your driver to return to Southampton via a corner of the New Forest (eg Fordingbridge / Nomansland or Cadnam) which adds only 15 minutes / 12 miles to the journey.

If the cost and effort is all a bit too much, I can suggest ways of spending a relaxing and inexpensive day exploring Southampton's old-town sights, pubs, etc.

JB :)

Thanks,JohnBull, you're the best. I knew I could depend on you

Please give me those suggestions for spending the day in Southampton as we really don't want to risk "missing the boat". As you had said in previous posts and I have realized, taxi prices long distances are very expensive.

I had even thought of public transport there and taxi back, but it's getting a bit complicated, just to see Stonehenge/Salisbury on a Sunday. Our ship doesn't offer a tour for this, return, only going to Stonehenge and ending up in London.

Thanks,JohnBull, you're the best. I knew I could depend on you

 

Please give me those suggestions for spending the day in Southampton as we really don't want to risk "missing the boat"..

Jade berths at City cruise terminal, only a ten minute walk from old town, set behind the city wall. You can cut through the wall at Westgate, or walk along Town Quay & turn up Bugle Street alongside the Wool House - now the Dancing Man pub - opposite the Royal Pier.

But don't go thinking of Southampton old town as a complete historic area - much was destroyed during the Blitz in WW2, so the few remaining historic buildings sit uncomfortably amongst newer buildings, but the area is certainly worth rambling, and places of interest include

https://tudorhouseandgarden.com/

Much bigger than it appears, and many parts older than Tudor. Worth an hour.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/medieval-merchants-house/

Much smaller, must admit I've never been inside due to limited opening hours - but open on sundays.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186299-d215486-Reviews-Bargate-Southampton_Hampshire_England.html

The original main city gate, set beside the city wall, and the emblem of the city council. It now divides old-town's High Street from the post-war main shopping street, called Above Bar. Nearby is the big modern West Quay Mall

http://www.dancingmanbrewery.co.uk/

http://www.southampton-pubs.co.uk/dukeofwellington/

These two historic pubs in old town are popular with locals & cruisers alike.

http://seacitymuseum.co.uk/

Just off the far end of Above Bar, part of the Civic Centre complex (with tall white clock tower).

Light on artefacts, but a worthwhile experience reliving life (& death) on Titanic through dioramas and personal recollections

http://www.solentskymuseum.org/home

Quite a small aircraft museum but very interesting, majors on aircraft with local associations including

- a Spitfire.

They were designed & initially built in Southampton before the factory was destroyed in an air-raid.

- and a flying-boat, which you can board.

Southampton Water was the home of the Imperial Airways (later part of BOAC / BA) flying-boats. Your ship's berth, now City Cruise Terminal, was the flying boat terminal for a few years after WW2. And as you sail out of Southampton, where Southampton Water meets the Solent, on the spit on your starboard side is a coastguard station & tower, a tiny Henry V111 castle (Calshot Castle), and some massive aircraft hangers - these were the flying-boat hangers, now part of an adventure centre. http://www.solentskymuseum.org/single-post/2016/05/18/Southampton%E2%80%99s-Commercial-Flying-Boats-1919-%E2%80%93-1958

You can visit these places DIY, or join a walking tour (one advantage of it being a sunday)

http://seesouthampton.co.uk/walks-and-talks/

Here are some of those places on a map.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/101,+City+Cruise+Terminal,+Berth,+Western+Docks,+Herbert+Walker+Ave,+Southampton+SO15+1HJ/SeaCity+Museum,+Southampton/Bargate,+Southampton/Tudor+House+%26+Garden,+Bugle+Street,+Southampton/Medieval+Merchant's+House,+French+Street,+Southampton/Duke+of+Wellington,+Bugle+Street,+Southampton/The+Dancing+Man+Brewery,+Bugle+Street,+Southampton/Solent+Sky,+Albert+Road+South,+Southampton/City+Cruise+Terminal,+Herbert+Walker+Avenue,+Southampton/@50.9020497,-1.4139777,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m56!4m55!1m5!1m1!1s0x487476b8bb188961:0x2e8004abdbec5986!2m2!1d-1.4141004!2d50.9000994!1m5!1m1!1s0x487476b05b5e8c3d:0xa64e79b919edeeff!2m2!1d-1.4074051!2d50.9080123!1m5!1m1!1s0x487476b68c1abdcd:0xd39d743aafcb98a6!2m2!1d-1.4046664!2d50.9026539!1m5!1m1!1s0x487476b627d52e11:0xbf8613e484c943d!2m2!1d-1.405928!2d50.899583!1m5!1m1!1s0x487476c9cf1f8fcb:0xf5c127a6b8f9af8d!2m2!1d-1.4052474!2d50.8985656!1m5!1m1!1s0x487476c84aa6f739:0xed95fa535dada20b!2m2!1d-1.4062034!2d50.8983397!1m5!1m1!1s0x487476c85395c4fd:0x4b1421cfd1880d09!2m2!1d-1.4061379!2d50.8975005!1m5!1m1!1s0x48747135df3f8089:0x17f590e9fb40a707!2m2!1d-1.3932974!2d50.8979462!1m5!1m1!1s0x487476b8bb188961:0x2e8004abdbec5986!2m2!1d-1.4141004!2d50.9000994!3e2

JB :)

Thank you, JB, that will surely keep us busy during our day in Southampton if we can't get another couple of join us by taxi.

Very much appreciate the time you have taken to help each and every one of us.

Best regards,

Liz