Windsor and Stonehenge on the way to Southampton cruise terminal - doable?

Hello,

We are planning on a private transfer from London to Southampton.

We figured we can stop at Windsor castle and Stonehenge before arriving in Southampton for the embarkation.

We were advised this would not be doable, however the ship doesn't leave until 6pm.

Our thoughts were:

• leave 830am London - Windsor (stay for the changing of the guards)
  
• leave 1130am Windsor - Stonehenge
  
• spend 1 hour max at Stonehenge and then off to the cruise terminal in Southampton.
  

Shouldn't that give us plenty of time for embarkation?

Any thoughts whether this is doable or should we skip Stonehenge completely? Stonehenge is not an absolute must as Windsor is for me:D :D, but we figured, since we are in the "area", we would visit it. Who knows when we will be back?!

Thanks for any advise you can share!

I would have said that both in one day, embarkation day is too much. Is this also the day you are flying in as well? Or are you coming out from a London hotel?

Do one or the other, both need enough time to make the diversion worthwhile , as neither is on the direct London to Southampton route. What time have you got to be in Southampton for embarkation?

You don't say how you plan to travel. The only way it would work at all is in a hire-car, but it would still be tight.

Windsor to Stonehenge is the best part of a couple of hours drive and then an hour or so to Southampton. You need to pre-book Stonehenge and really need an hour and a half there, so arriving at 1:30 and leaving at 3:00 would get you to the dock at about 4:00.

You need to factor in handing over the car etc and would need to be sure that you will be able to board that late, but yes - it is do-able. In private transfer, you are looking at a pretty high cost.

Personally, I would just give the old stones a drive-by and save the money and the time, but that's just my opinion.

Don’t forget that the ship may sail at 6, but that doesn’t mean you can board up until 5.55pm.

Last boarding time will be at least an hour before and maybe more, since muster drill has to take place before the ship sails.

You would also be ill advised to cut your arrival time too fine as there are frequent traffic jams on the road to Southampton.

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Personally I'd be inclined to do this trip on the way home. The ship docks early and you can have a leisurely day. If you are doing it on the way there, I'd be more inclined to do Windsor as its is more en route (depending which part of London you are coming from). Stonehenge is on a notoriously difficult road and we have been stuck for traffic jams in that vicinity for hours.

I would have said that both in one day, embarkation day is too much. Is this also the day you are flying in as well? Or are you coming out from a London hotel?

Do one or the other, both need enough time to make the diversion worthwhile , as neither is on the direct London to Southampton route. What time have you got to be in Southampton for embarkation?

We are coming from a hotel in London.

I checked and the last group embarkation time starts at 345pm. I was hoping we can be there around that time, already factoring in traffic. But maybe I am wrong about traffic?!

We are coming from a hotel in London.

I checked and the last group embarkation time starts at 345pm. I was hoping we can be there around that time, already factoring in traffic. But maybe I am wrong about traffic?!

Are you staying in Central London? One night, or more than one?

I do enjoy Stonehenge, but you’re going to want more time in both places than you’re budgeting, and any traffic would make this way too tight. Personally, I’d go to Windsor, spend a leisurely time at the castle and in town, and go on to Southampton. If you’re in London for multiple days, it’s an easy day-return ticket to Salisbury, and the HOHO to Stonehenge.

The theory says yes, you have time.

Of course theory & practice aren't always the same thing.:(

At that time of day, depending what day-of-the-week & the location of your central London, with an 8.30 start you'd be in Windsor by about 10am.

The changing of the guard starts about 10.45 and finishes by11.30. But two important things to note

- it doesn't happen every day. You can see the scheduled dates at www.windsor.gov.uk/things-to-do/changing-the-guard-p264351 and a link on that page tells you of impending cancellations

- from the street you can watch the marching in of the newguard & the marching out of the old guard, but to see the actual ceremonyyou need to buy Castle tickets because the ceremony takes place in the lower ward of the castle.

If you left central London earlier you could be there for opening time (usually 9.30) but if you're to also visit Stonehenge you'll have no time in Windsor after the changing of the guard.

It really doesn't make sense to buy admission tickets just for the changing of the guard.

Windsor to Stonehenge is about 75 minutes excl delays. That takes you to arrival somewhere around 1pm & departure 2.15pm.

The two potential routes from there to Southampton - via Salisbury or the faster but longer A303 and M3 - both take about an hour.

So theoretically you have about 30 minutes to spare, though I think last registration on Southampton embarkation days is two hours before sailing.

But as other posts, during the summer traffic around Stonehenge can be diabolical, affecting through traffic to south-west England and locals alike. And on summer Saturdays heavy traffic can also cause delays on both routes from Stonehenge to Southampton.

I'd definitely caution against attempting both on a Saturday, on other days I'd strongly recommend against attempting both.

Can I suggest you either

- leave Windsor by 1.45 (1.15 on a Saturday) & head for the ship.

- or go direct to Stonehenge, give yourselves 90 minutes there, then spend such time as you have in Salisbury (about 20 mins from Stonehenge en-route to Southampton) and leave Salisbury by about 2.15pm (2pm on a Saturday)Salisbury is an attractive & historic cathedral city, google it.

(I've built in ample wiggle-time in those timings, no need to add your caution to my caution.)

If you choose just Windsor, you can save yourselves time on the day by buying admission on-line.

If you choose just Stonehenge, for tickets on-line you have to select a half-hour slot for arrival - if the place is fully-subscribed you are guaranteed entry during that time-slot.

Can I suggest you choose a pessimistic time-slot, something like 3 - 3.5 hrs after your scheduled central London departure time. If you're early, subject to availability you'll probably be able to go straight in & at worst you'll have up to an hour's wait for your timed slot. But if you're late & miss your timed slot you might not get in at all before you have to head for the port.

I don't know the location of your hotel, I've used Trafalgar Square for my timings.

So ask your transport operator for their views on those timings.

All just MHO as always, but until I retired I drove coaches from the Southampton area, including cruise transfers & tours and many many trips to central London, to Windsor, and to Salisbury+Stonehenge.

JB :)

Thank you so much for all this super information and advise.

We are staying around Convent Garden. We would be hiring a driver. I would love to go inside to Windsor Castle and the church.

And then watch the changing of the guards. Our date would be a Friday.

We won't see any changing of the guards in London itself, since we already booked other time stamped entrances to other places so I wanted to combine that. Since Windsor is higher on my list than Stonehenge, I guess, we should maybe skip Stonehenge on the way to Southampton after reading all your feedback.

I did not want to visit Stonehenge on the way back , since we will be exhausted after the cruise and I am sure all we want to do at that point is have a smooth ride back to the airport before boarding the plane. But now, I am considering moving Stonehenge towards the drive from the ship to the airport.

Only thing is, we have to be at the airport at 12pm for our flight later that afternoon.

Would it then even be doable to visit Stonehenge after disembarkation?

Thanks again for all your amazing advise!

I think that's a sensible decision. Windsor Castle is well worth the extra time.

Do be aware that alot of Londoners head out down the M3 on a Friday night and the traffic can be pretty appalling. I should imagine your timings will be earlier in the day but even so, the traffic can start to build on a Friday, particularly if the weather is nice.

But now, I am considering moving Stonehenge towards the drive from the ship to the airport.

Only thing is, we have to be at the airport at 12pm for our flight later that afternoon.

Would it then even be doable to visit Stonehenge after disembarkation?

 

Thanks again for all your amazing advise!

It's certainly not impossible. :)

Again, day-of-the-week comes into it. But visiting Stonehenge en-route to the airport, traffic concerns are reversed - a saturday or sunday is much easier than a week-day.

I don't see an airport mentioned on this thread - can I assume it's LHR?

Which airport terminal can make a difference too.

It also depends on your flight-time - I'm sceptical about some recommended arrival times at the airport.

So......

Ship?

Day/date?

Airport & terminal?

Flight time?

JB :)

Hello, we are considering arriving in Heathrow and going to Windsor for a two night stay (full day there to see the Castle) and then transfer from Windsor to Southampton for our cruise. (We are going to stay in London after the cruise). For travel from Windsor to Southampton on a Saturday in late August, how much time should we allow for traffic? We would likely hire a private car for this transfer. Any tips would be appreciated.

For travel from Windsor to Southampton on a Saturday in late August, how much time should we allow for traffic? We would likely hire a private car for this transfer. Any tips would be appreciated.

There's no direct routing from Windsor to Southampton by bus or train, so a private transfer makes good sense.

How long to allow rather depends what time you plan to be there and the latest registration time at the cruise terminal.

Two hours should do the job even on a summer saturday, but if you're planning to arrive close to latest registration time you need to make it at least three - on Saturdays in high summer the route is crowded with Londoners heading for the coast & its often gridlocked.

Can I suggest a Southampton-based car service - the driver will be on the "quiet" side of the motorway heading to Windsor and will see for himself how the traffic is building on the opposite carriageway. If necessary an experienced driver can choose between a number of routes to Southampton rather than following the hordes of lemmings on the motorway.

Try www.smithsforairports.com or www.westquaycars.com or www.aquacars.co.uk

JB :)

There's no direct routing from Windsor to Southampton by bus or train, so a private transfer makes good sense.

 

How long to allow rather depends what time you plan to be there and the latest registration time at the cruise terminal.

Two hours should do the job even on a summer saturday, but if you're planning to arrive close to latest registration time you need to make it at least three - on Saturdays in high summer the route is crowded with Londoners heading for the coast & its often gridlocked.

Can I suggest a Southampton-based car service - the driver will be on the "quiet" side of the motorway heading to Windsor and will see for himself how the traffic is building on the opposite carriageway. If necessary an experienced driver can choose between a number of routes to Southampton rather than following the hordes of lemmings on the motorway.

Try www.smithsforairports.com or www.westquaycars.com or www.aquacars.co.uk

 

JB :)

Thank you so very much for your prompt response. I greatly appreciate it.