Travel fron bristol to salisbury and winchester on sunday, public transportation

[EinstStein]

I will be in Bristol, uk in ghe next few weeks.  i want to visit the romanesque and gothic cathedrals such ss worcester, gloucester, salisbury, winchester, exeter. , etc.  I can  only  go in the weekend, and i will return Bristol in the same day for each trip. i dont think i will be comfortable to drive on the left side by myself.

I had a bad experience with the public transportation on sunday when i visit Wells about two years ago. There seemed no bus on sunday.

What would be your suggestion. I wll be travling alone, so shsring a taxi does not seem attractive.

My cuurnt plan is to combine salisbury and winchester in one trip, gloucester and worcester in another, and take exeter in the third trip. I will spend a whole day for each trip, leave bristol early in the morning, and come back late.

.

[Jeremy Roussak]

I don't know about buses, but you can get train timetables, and book tickets, here.

Jeremy

[john beardsworth]

I wouldn't suggest trying 2 places on the same day and then returning to Bristol - at least not with public transport over the weekend. You aren't going to get much time for photography. Maybe stay overnight Saturday and return Sunday?

Don't rule out renting a car. Having had the opposite experience, the biggest problem is that you're somewhere unfamiliar, road signs point to places you've never heard of, and you need to make quick decisions at busy junctions. But nowadays you're never truly lost with a SatNav, and any wrong turnings can become "exploration", fun. Being on the wrong side is less of a problem because everybody is on the left, roads are laid out that way, and it's only on very empty roads where you might occasionally forget. The third difference is sitting on the wrong side of the car and trying to change gear with the door, which doesn't really work, so I used to rent automatics. So that first weekend, why not try renting an automatic with a SatNav?

[EinstStein]

Thanks for the warning about two places in one day.
After watching the video on youtube, I've reduced the priority of Worcester Cathedral. So Gloucester and Exeter will be one day trips for each.
But I can't find a good arrangement for Winchester Cathedral yet, except to combine it with Salisbury for a two-day trip, but I have problem to find good price hotel in either town.
What's the opinion about the Winchester cathedral? Viator used to have a tour to cover it but since when it is no longer available. Not popular? There are more tours covering Salisbury.
I guess Salisbury gets more popular because it's close to Stonehenge (8 miles away), not necessary reflects the taste of the tourists. 

My question is, from the architecture and photography, does Winchester cathedral worth the trouble to spend ~$200 for the hotel? please rate it in the scale of 1-10, 10 is must, and also rate Salisbury or Gloucestoer in the same scale for reference.

Thanks.
 

[john beardsworth]

1-10 is tough!

My "musts" would be Wells, which you've seen, and places that are further away like Ely, Lincoln, York, Durham, King's Chapel in Cambridge or St Pauls in London.

Salisbury would be the next rank down from those "stars", its spire gives nice views from around the town (esp from the river), and it also has a copy of Magna Carta. I wouldn't consider Winchester on that level, and the square tower makes views a bit boring. Gloucester looks the same as Winchester, but I've only seen it from a distance. 

So I'd drop Winchester and go for Salisbury. Why not do it with Stonehenge? Or Bath?

John

[Chrisso26]

Hotels are expensive in the UK. $200 is probably average. When I stay in the UK I stay in the budget brand Premier Inn. It's basic and seriously non 4 star, but it's clean and convenient. I'm only going to be putting my head down for the night after all.
I just got back from the West Country. Beautiful!!!
Nowhere in the UK is particularly great in late Autumn/Winter, unless you are after moody grey skies, frost, wind and rain.
Bath is incredible. Stonehenge has to be seen, but is a little diminished by restrictions compared to a decade or so ago.
Places like Salisbury and Winchester are steeped in history. It's been a while since I visited those town centres and Cathedrals, so I will defer to John above.

[graeme]

Gloucester Cathedral is worth seeing, the rest of Gloucester I'm not so sure about. There's an extensive scheme of Arts & Crafts stained glass in the Lady Chapel and a large medieval east window ( make sure you have a long lens for this so you can check out some of the highly stylised medieval faces ). The cloisters are also lovely.

While you're in the area Tewksbury Abbey and Hereford Cathedrals are worth visiting ( and Tewksbury & Hereford are both nicer than Gloucester ).

If you can get to it ( doubtful without a car ) this place is fascinating:

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/kilpeck-church

Enjoy your visit.

Graeme

PS Apologies to any Gloucesterphiles reading

[EinstStein]

Thanks a lot for the recommendation. I'd probably never find out this elsewhere.

I'm particularly fond of old architectures, especially those old and have important status in the architecture history. I made my choices based on this and the convenience of transpiration w.r.t Bristol. I'm looking for old cathedral, palace/castle, and college.

Worcester and gloucester are two started in Romanesque era, the rest of my choices are Gothic, but Winchester may be somewhat Romanesque too. Besides cathedrals, I also want to visit Blemheim palace if it fits my schedule.

I must say Ely and Wells are so far my best memory. I'm looking forward to add Gloucester and Salisbury, at least, to that list.

[Chrisso26]

Not religious, but Bradford On Avon is quite a stunning town - like a country town version of Bath.
Bath of course has a mix of Roman and Georgian buildings.
I just toured the small towns and villages south of Bath (Frome area) and there is a multitude of old village churches and stunning pubs and houses.
I wasn't looking as a photographer I should add.
You have to do it in a car however. As a right hand driver, I've often driven left hand drive (US and Europe) and it only takes five minutes to get past any awkwardness. Automatic transmission helps.

[PhotoEcosse]

You have to do it in a car however. As a right hand driver, I've often driven left hand drive (US and Europe) and it only takes five minutes to get past any awkwardness. Automatic transmission helps.

I would second that. When I visit countries that drive on the "wrong" side of the road, I find that it is no problem if I rent a car in that country as it is correctly configured for that way of driving. For example, driving a (LHD) rented car in America is a dawdle compared to driving my own (RHD) car in continental Europe. But, either way, it only takes minutes (rather than hours) to get used to it.

[Chairman Bill]

From Bristol, a train will get you to Exeter, and you can easily walk to Exeter Cathedral. Worth a visit - it has the longest uninterrupted vaulted ceiling in Britain, and possibly all of Europe. There's parts that date to just after the Norman Conquest, right through to the 1400s.

[jjj]

Hotels are expensive in the UK. $200 is probably average. When I stay in the UK I stay in the budget brand Premier Inn. It's basic and seriously non 4 star, but it's clean and convenient. I'm only going to be putting my head down for the night after all.

Seems more than you need to pay if you just want a room to sleep. Average price [including pricey London] is currently £93/$150 and you certainly get get good deals for less than that. Travelodge also do cheap soul less boxes with a bed.
You can also stay in a B+B [bed and breakfast] - which are usually large homes that put guests up and give a more British experience than a corporate hotel. Can be cheaper and quite often nicer too.

[Chrisso26]

The basic hotels are cheaper on the weekend as they are most popular with business travellers.
In Somerset recently I was paying about £129 ($207) on the week nights and £89 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday ($143).
That's the Premier Inn, cheapest hotel in the area except for B&B. And that was the end of the Summer. Obviously room rates tend to be less in Autumn and Winter with lower demand.

[EinstStein]

Just visited Salisbury. What should I say, I Came, I Saw, I Was Conquored!
Here are some suggestions:
1. Do take the tower tour. It takes about 2 hours, but you must register. Your first thing is to make the reservation at the entrance, right when you pay your donation.Ask for the schedjle.
2. Do participate at least one choir service. You can site in right next to the choir where has the best acoustic. The monrning service starts in the early morning 8~9 am, the the even8 g service starts at about 4:30. This is in October, other season may be different.
3. Do visit the chapal with Magna Carta. For those who don't know ehat it is, it is the "Great Contract Document" about the Democracy Right of the English people, that pioneer the moder  democracy movement across the world.