Situated towards the western end of the M4 corridor, Bath enjoys an excellent location in relation to the national motorway and rail networks.  InterCity services are available at Bath Spa Station from which London Paddington can be reached in about 90 minutes.  Additional InterCity services are available from Bristol Temple Meads station.  Bristol is just 13 miles away along the A4, the M4’s junction 18 is within nine miles and junction 15 of the M5 is about 15 miles away.

Air . Rail . Road . Bus and Coach

Air

Bristol Airport is situated eight miles south-west of Bristol alongside the A38 Bristol to Bridgwater road.  By car the journey is either via the A4/A37/A38, or you can drive across country using a variety of A and B roads.  The latter route may be more reliable during busy periods, and although the journey may only take around 40 minutes, it is safer to allow an hour.  There are good car parking facilities at the airport including long term car parks.  There are regular bus and coach services from Marlborough Street Bus Station and Temple Meads Rail Station in Bristol to the airport.

Bristol Airport is open 24 hours a day and operates a schedule of international and domestic services linking Bristol directly to 50 destinations in the UK and Europe, including Aberdeen, Paris and Brussels plus a good selection of charter destinations. As an alternative, Heathrow Airport is less than two hours away using the M4 motorway and offers a comprehensive air service around the globe.

Rail

By rail, Bath is within 65–90 minutes of London, Cardiff and Southampton.  The London line stops at Chippenham, Swindon, Didcot, Reading and Slough, and westwards there are stops at Newport, Cardiff and Swansea.  Bath also has a direct service to Exeter and Plymouth.  For Birmingham and other destinations north you will need to change at Bristol Temple Meads (15 minutes away).

Rail journey times from Bath Spa

Back to top

Road

It is just a short distance to the South Wales–London M4 (9 miles) and the Exeter–Birmingham M5 (15 miles) and thus to the national network.  London is 120 miles away and the trip to the capital’s outskirts generally takes just over two hours.  Routes directly south and south-east from Bath are less straightforward but tend to rely on the A37 (Bristol–Dorchester) and the A36 (Bath–Salisbury).  It must be remembered too that Bath, its surrounding area and the entire region are tourist hot spots and that road congestion, especially in summer, can be both acute and chronic on all major routes.  However, there are four Park & Ride schemes operating from the outskirts of Bath into the city centre, from Newbridge, Lansdown, University of Bath and Odd Down.

Key connections with major cities from Bath

Bus and Coach

The main bus operator in the Bath area is First Badgerline which also operates in and around Bristol, Weston-super-Mare and Wells, including a service between Bath and Bristol.  Wiltshire Bus Line provides information about services in Wiltshire and information about services throughout the area can be obtained from the UK Traveline.  National Express runs coaches to many parts of the country from Bath Bus Station in Manvers Street. There is a good service to London with a journey time of 2 hours 45 minutes, but in some instances, particularly for long distance travel, you may need to change at Bristol.

Back to top