Advice on post cruise plans

We will be disembarking Arcadia in Southampton on Sunday August 21.

We are thinking of hiring a car for 2 days returning it to Heathrow T3 airport on Monday afternoon before our night flight.

From what I can find, it seems the only car rental places open on a Sunday are at the Southampton airport, so we will go there to pick up the car unless anyone has info about car hire pick up nearer the cruise docks.

Our plan is to pick up car and visit Stonehenge and Salisbury on the Sunday and then drive to Bath where we will stay that night.

Monday we plan to look around Bath and aim to be at Heathrow about 5 to 6pm to catch our 9.15 pm flight. I am allowing about 2.5 hours for the drive back to the car rental place at Heathrow, is this enough for a Monday afternoon?

I know it will be a rushed morning and a superficial look at Bath, but my hubby REALLY wants to go there.

Is this initial plan achievable? Any traps or hints for us?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Europcar, in a spur off West Quay Road ("Unit J" on their website) is a very short taxi hop from any cruise terminal and open from 10am on sundays. They also have a depot at Heathrow. They're a well-known & respected brand in the UK, up with the likes of Hertz, Alamo etc.

Yes, your plan is a little rushed, but do-able.

Salisbury first, about 40 minutes from Southampton. I guess you can afford a couple of hours there for the cathedral and the compact historic city centre. If parking is problematic, head for the huge surface carpark at Mill Stream Approach, off Castle Street. From there it's a ten minute walk along the riverside & thro the city centre to the cathedral.

Then it's under half-an-hour to Stonehenge. You're very strongly advised to pre-purchase timed tickets, esp for a sunday.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/prices-and-opening-times#

If you left Southampton at 10.30 & allowed two hours in Salisbury, by my reckoning you need tickets for the 1.30 to 2pm slot.

90 minutes is plenty for Stonehenge.

From there to Bath is about an hour.

To avoid grief with clogged traffic on the A303 near Stonehenge, set your GPS for Shrewton, which is about 3 miles away on a back road, then change it to your Bath destination.

You're likely to reach Bath about 4pm.

If you want to see Royal Crescent do it now in the car, everything else in Bath is easily walkable.

Probably too late in the day to visit the Roman Baths etc, but you can explore the centre & the riverside before dinner.

Mebbe check for motorway road works which may cause delays toward Heathrow.

http://www.highways.gov.uk/our-road-network/our-network/key-roads/m4/

Next day, aim for 5pm at Heathrow - most car rental sites are on the airport perimeter so you need time from there to your terminal.

Leaving Bath at about 2.30 gives you 2.5 hrs to Heathrow, that's about 45 minutes leeway over the usual driving time of 1hr 45. And you can probably check-in as little as an hour before your flight, though I wouldn't recommend it. No promises but I think all together that's more than enough leeway, barring a fatal or massive truck accident closing the motorway.

JB :)

Thank you JB, your advice on these forums really is very helpful. I don't post often, but I certainly read the Britain forum a lot as I plan our trip.

John Bull, as usually nailed a perfect response.

We spent a full day (out of our hotel near Heathrow) visiting Salisbury, Stonehenge and Avebury, then back to our hotel in 2013.

This was before there were changes at Stonehenge. We just showed up there and visited the site. Don't think you can do that today. Also, traffic from London was awful, better coming from Salisbury.

Regarding visiting Salisbury, we had a navigation system, but didn't know how to find parking there and we spend some time driving around before we found parking.

Also, we spend about three hours in the city. The Cathedral tour is excellent and you can see one of the original copies of the Magna Carta.

Avebury was a pleasant surprise. We didn't go to Bath, and I would expect that Bath is worth more than a fraction of a day. Consider visiting Avebury (Stone Circle).

I'm hoping you can give suggestions on what to plan for post cruise 4 hour time frame. Arriving Southampton may 08,2016 and have 1:45pm flight from gatwick. Can u suggest. Sightseeing tour including Salisbury + cathedral visit and then where else ? Don't want to go too far out of the way. Getting car service but not sure where to have them take us for 4 hours. Appreciate any info. Lindacorona@ msn.com

For a 1:45 flight you need to be at Gatwick by12:30 at the latest. The drive will take two hours or so, but traffic could hold you up, so there is not really much time for sightseeing.

One possibility would be to ask the driver to take a "pretty" route. Going via Winchester (possibly with a brief stop at the Cathedral) and across the South Downs National Park through Horsham, would be one way. You could stop at a pub for a drink and a bite to eat before tackling Gatwick.

Salisbury/Stonehenge etc are simply too far off your route given the time frame.

I look forward to JB's comments :)

I'm hoping you can give suggestions on what to plan for post cruise 4 hour time frame. Arriving Southampton may 08,2016 and have 1:45pm flight from gatwick. Can u suggest. Sightseeing tour including Salisbury + cathedral visit and then where else ? Don't want to go too far out of the way. Getting car service but not sure where to have them take us for 4 hours. Appreciate any info. Lindacorona@ msn.com

It's a sunday.

Good for traffic, awful for places to visit relatively early in the day.:(

A direct transfer takes almost 2 hours & you'll want to be at Gatwick by 11.45am for a 1.45pm flight. With unassisted disembarkation you can be in the car by 7.15am, but that would only give you about 2.5 hours to spare.

And that time's not much use on a sunday morning. Salisbury cathedral isn't open to visitors til noon, Winchester cathedral til 12.30.

Stonehenge, Portchester castle, Fishbourne Roman Palace, Weald & Downland open-air museum, Arundel Castle, Amberley Chalk Pits, Petworth House and a dozen different places that I've tried won't fit your time-frame.

Even Hever castle (Anne Boleyn), which is only half an hour from Gatwick, doesn't open til noon.

So unless anyone else has any bright ideas, you're limited to an interesting route, rather than an interesting place to visit.

At under 2hrs 15mins on a sunday, a number of cross-country routes (for instance via Arundel or Petworth) are almost as quick as the motorway loop (M3, M25, M23), many drivers prefer one of those routes anyway, and it should cost no more. Not earth-shattering, but certainly more pleasant than the boring motorway loop.

A knowledgeable driver could make it a little more interesting with a few scenic little diversions, or you could take a dogleg via bohemian Brighton and the Sussex Heritage Coast (Seven Sisters & Beachy Head) but that's a total journey time of getting on for four hours and I really don't think it worth either the early start or the cost.

So in a nutshell, I suggest a reasonably leisurely pick-up time of about 9am and a simple cross-country route to get you to the airport about 11.15.

JB :)

 

I look forward to JB's comments :)

I managed more words than you, Bob. ;)

But no more ideas. :rolleyes:

JB :)

I managed more words than you, Bob. ;)

But no more ideas. :rolleyes:

 

JB :)

And I would avoid Brighton on a Sunday. Or any other day come to that...:) A drive over the South Downs should be pretty pleasant on a May morning.

I only just noticed - Linda - It's best not to post an email address on a forum.

Thanks so much for all the advise. Appreciate everyone taking the time !