Bath, Devon & Cornwall Small Group Rail Tour

Bath is a simple city to reach via rail, even if arriving by air from outside the UK. We’ll be delighted to help with your travel plans.

Today you check in to your hotel just 10-minutes’ walk from the centre. Perhaps arrive early and make a day of it, discovering a little of the city under your own steam.

In the evening, meet your tour leader and fellow travellers for a welcome dinner at the hotel, a chance to get to know one another before a fun week together.

Your Accommodation in Bath

On one of Bath’s classic tree-lined avenues, in a peaceful residential area, your accommodation in Bath is a colourful and stylish hotel enjoying views of the Abbey and across Bath’s famous rugby ground. There’s an arty feel throughout, with a bold palette contributing to the cheerful feel to rooms and lounging areas.

There’s a tempting range of dining, too, whether on the terrace or in the Alpine-style lodge, with local, seasonal and fresh produce front and centre.

An easy and absorbing day awaits. After breakfast, you’ll take the short walk to the city’s fabulous Abbey, to meet one of Bath’s best local guides. Stepping inside this fine example of Perpendicular Gothic architecture, with its 161ft-tall tower and intricate stained glass, the story of the Abbey and the city unfolds as you go.

Wandering towards the centre of the city, make a welcome pit-stop for coffee and a bun at one of Bath’s oldest houses, for many decades a famous eatery, before soaking up more of the history of Bath, its sweeping Georgian terraces and crescents.

Enjoy lunch at leisure, and in the afternoon immerse yourself in the 2000-year-old wonder that is the city’s Roman Baths. Hidden for hundreds of years until its rediscovery in the 19th century, this best-preserved of structures presents a fascinating insight into Roman life, brought into sharp focus by interactive exhibits and costumed actors playing characters such as the Roman lady, Flavia Tiberina, and the stonemason, Sulinus, who mingle with visitors telling their story to anyone who wishes to hear.

Take this evening at leisure, perhaps with dinner in town or back at your hotel.

Enjoy a hearty breakfast this morning in preparation for a full day out. You’ll enjoy travel by private coach, heading first for Salisbury Plain and legendary Stonehenge.

The story of these world-famous mystical stones is brought to life by your guide, and you’ll have time to take a moment or two’s contemplation to yourself. Leaving prehistory behind, reboard the coach for the short hop to the city of Salisbury and its legendary cathedral.

A place of superlatives, Salisbury Cathedral features the largest cloister, largest cathedral close and tallest church spire in Britain;  one of the world’s oldest working clocks; and is home to one of four copies of Magna Carta.

Take lunch at leisure in the Refectory restaurant, its glorious glass roof affording fine views of the spire. Then, a guided tour of the cathedral itself and a special behind-the-scenes visit to the Works Yard,  one of only nine English Cathedral works yards in the country. Here, you’ll learn how 150 million-year-old blocks of upper Jurassic Limestone weighing up to five tonnes are transformed and shaped to conserve and restore this remarkable building.

From the cathedral, it’s a five-minute walk to Salisbury railway station, where you catch the service to Exeter. Travelling southwest, the train wends its way through gorgeous landscapes, visiting evocatively-named spots such as Yeovil, Crewkerne, Axminster and Cranbrook on the way to Exeter St Davids. Here, reunite with your coach for the brief transfer into the heart of Dartmoor and your historic castle hotel.

Your Accommodation in Dartmoor

Opened by Great Western Railways in 1930 as a hotel and golf resort, today this imposing castle delights guests with its jaw-dropping setting amidst 275 acres of rich parkland, as well as its inviting bedrooms, award-winning dining and attentive service. You’ll enjoy dinner here alongside your fellow travellers and guide, before a restful night in your castle-style room.

After breakfast overlooking the castle’s rolling grounds, board your private coach and travel south amidst the tors, bogs and granite of glorious Dartmoor. This uniquely rugged, intimidating landscape, home to deep river valleys and enthralling wildlife, never fails to leave its mark on visitors. There’ll be plenty of photo stops along the way, as you spear through the moor on your way to ‘Britain’s Ocean City,’ Plymouth. Here, pay a visit to The Box, the southwest’s award-winning, recently created museum, art gallery and archive, featuring permanent collection and installations as well as world-class visiting exhibitions.

Take lunch here, then board the train at Plymouth, rising away from Devon and across Cornwall bound for St Erth. Here, you’re met by coach and transferred the short distance to your fine clifftop hotel at St Ives.

Your Hotel in St Ives

Perched in a commanding position overlooking town, your hotel in St Ives enjoys stupendous views of the golden ribbon of Porthminster Beach, the rooftops of the town itself, St Ives Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Rooms are calming and bright, with ocean blue and gleaming white continuing a nautical theme that starts in the lobby. As well as a colourful restaurant, from which you can view fisherfolk who supply the menu’s fine seafood, there’s a beachfront spa featuring a heated pool and the opportunity to soothe away any lingering knots.

Drink in those heartstopping views over breakfast, before boarding your private coach on a voyage of discovery around the coast of Cornwall. You’ll visit some richly evocative locations, including hidden smugglers’ coves, snaggly outcrops and abandoned tin mines. Along the way, enjoy a visit to England’s westernmost point at Land’s End, incredible cliffside Minack Theatre and Porthcurno, as well as the classic Cornish village of Mousehole. Return to your accommodation by late afternoon and take dinner at leisure, either at the hotel or at one of any number of great spots in St Ives.

A more relaxed timetable today; in the morning, get to know some of the secrets of St Ives on a guided walking tour. Stroll the tangle of cobbled streets and discover the history of industry and intrigue that emanates from every brick and corner. Hear about the many artists and historic figures who’ve made this jewel of a place their home, before taking the rest of the day to yourself. Perhaps enjoy a little shopping, lunch at a classic inn, a visit to world-class Tate St Ives or a laze on the beach, before joining your guide and fellow travellers for a farewell dinner at your hotel.

Travel the short distance to Penzance station by coach in time to catch your train. We’ve assumed travel back to London but for a surcharge will be happy to assist with your specific onward plans.