Getting to and around Wessex

Aircraft coming in to land at Heathrow   © Copyright Hywel Williams and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Getting to and around Wessex that is the beautiful south west English counties of Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Wiltshire, and Somerset is reasonably easy. Transport access by plane, boat and train, coach and car is a peach.

By Air:

For those visitors coming from abroad by plane we hope you have an enjoyable holiday. There are four airports within Wessex and two in London which are within easy reach. All are international. All have good facilities and access to road and rail is made as simple as possible making getting to and around Wessex an easy matter. The major roads can of course be busy in the summer - there are always the less major roads and the country roads to explore!

London Airports

The major airport in Britain is Heathrow International Airport. Details can be found here, It is one of the largest and busiest airports in the world and is situated only about sixty miles from Wessex. Planes come and go to every part of the globe.

Gatwick International Airport is a smaller airport than Heathrow and caters for services to and from Europe. There are two Terminals, North and South. Good access. Details can be found here.

London Pass

London is also within easy reach of both these airports. A delightful addition to the holiday would be a few days sightseeing there as well. Could be a great start or end to the holiday perhaps. One of the best ways to see London is the London Pass. Cardholders have free access to all the best sights.

Airports in Wessex itself:

Southampton International Airport

Southanpton is a large port city on the south coast of Hampshire that caters for air services from many parts of Europe. Being in Hampshire the airport is already in Wessex and there is road and rail access to all parts of the region. Details can be found here.

Bournemouth International Airport

An up and coming airport is Bournemouth. Caters for traffic to and from a large number of places all over Europe and the Mediterranean. Situated on the south coast in Dorset it is ideal as an entry point for all of Wessex. Bournemouth itself is a lovely location for a seaside break. There is a shuttle service between the Traffic Interchange and the airport to access rail and coach transport. Details of this fast growing airport can be found here.

Bristol International Airport

Handles flights from all over the world.

Bristol is geographically in Somerset and so in Wessex. It is a large busy port city with all those advantages of access and accommodation. Bath is close by and Devon not far away. Details of the airport can be found here.

Exeter International Airport

Situated near Exeter, the county town of Devon, the airport caters for traffic to and from Canada, many places in Europe plus other places as well. Ideal for those wishing to visit Plymouth the cultural centre of Devon and the place from which both the Pilgrim Fathers sailed to America and the First Fleet sailed to Australia. Details of the airport can be found. here

By Sea:

Welcome too to our friends who are coming into the country as visitors from our European neighbours.

The easiest way to get from Europe to Wessex is by one of the Channel ferries. They take the car, all your baggage and passengers! Even take your bike. Foot passengers are welcome.

Some are night ferries and cabins are available. Quite comfortable if perhaps a little small. Railway sleepers are about the same size.

Large and comfortable seating areas throughout the ship. Some seats are bookable. There are good restaurants, bars and cafes. Makes for quite a pleasant trip of about six to eight hours from France. Part of the holiday!

The best entry port for most ferries into Wessex is Portsmouth where ferries can be found from Le Havre, Caen, Cherbourg and St Malo in France and from Bilbao and Santander in Spain. From Jersey and Guernsey in the Channel Islands also. National Express coaches call right into the Continental Ferry Port in Portsmouth. From Portsmouth all of Wessex is at your feet.

The nearest ferry port to Paris is France's second largest port, Le Havre, which has three ferries a day to Portsmouth run by P & O. They also run a service from Caen.

Brittany Ferries operate into Portsmouth from Caen, Cherbourg and St Malo in France and Santander in Spain.

Condor Ferries also operate into Portsmouth from St Malo, via the Channel Islands, and Cherbourg

.

Plymouth is another entry port into Wessex. It is Devon's largest city. Although not the county town it is the cultural capital of the county. Famous as the port from which the Pilgrim Fathers left and also the First Fleet to Australia.

Brittany Ferries run ferries from

Poole is on the beautiful Dorset coast. It is the entry point for

Brittany Ferries from Cherbourg.

Condor Ferries run a service from St Malo via the Channel Islands. Weymouth is also in Dorset, that well loved seaside resort for many years is also home to Condor Ferries who sail to St Malo via the Channel Islands. (There are day trips from Weymouth to the Channel Islands)

Channel Tunnel – sometimes known as The Chunnel

Why not try Eurostar From Brussels and Paris to St Pancras, London. Underground trains frrom there to all other major stations in London. From there to any part of Wessex you fancy.

Great British Heritage Pass

For our welcome overseas visitors there is the Great British Heritage Pass. Only available to those with an overseas address.

Within England, Scotland and Wales.

Rail:

Access to Wessex by rail is easy enough from most parts of the country. Rail maps can be found here. With careful planning there may be no need to go through London unless you wish to – or it is cheaper! Birmingham makes a good junping off point from the north. From the south east coast Portsmouth and Southampton make good aiming points. Bristol is easily accessible from Wales.

For fares and timetables please click here There is a journey planner. It is possible you may find a Rail Card useful. They may cut as much as a third off the fare.

Bikes are carried free on the railway but there are conditions Remember though if you are going further and need to access other public transport the bike may have to be paid for, if it is allowed on. It is best to check with the public transport company concerned.

National Express

National Express coaches operate all over the country and have frequent timetables and extra services throughout the summer. Airport Express coaches connect many airports. All the National Express services save the hassle of the drive and no car park charges at the end!

Bikes can be carried but they must be of the folding type as can light manual wheelchairs.

Did you realise that travelling by coach instead of the car is seriously environmentally friendly? For instance a journey from London to Bristol is about 117 miles and saves about 35 lbs of CO2 per person! That is 141 lbs for a carload of four people! Very friendly!

By Road

The route by road of course depends on where the journey starts! Multimap is a good starting point! However a touring holiday of Wessex would benefit from a good printed map, or better still one of those handy satellite navigation systems.

Major roads on the whole are good but can get crowded in the summer months. Planning the journey saves time and arguments! Starting in the early morning and planning to get through bottlenecks or towns before the rush hour can save time and frustration.

Plan to take breaks in interesting places every two hours or less on a long trip. The journey is part of the holiday after all. Change drivers if possible. Enjoy the trip.

The old road to the West was of course the London to Penzance road, the

used for centuries.

Today this road and the Basingstoke to Honiton road, the


are the major roads. Although the is the major route out of London as far as Basingstoke.

If travelling between London and Bristol the

is a useful road. However you might prefer the parallel route, the historic for this journey.

By bicycle:

Why not! Travel through some interesting places, take your time. Sustrans have some brilliant cycling routes through beautiful countryside. Some routes are off road.

For some ideas on cycling in Wessex why not try our Cycling pages.

For those who like hiking there are many ideas on the Walking Trails pages.

Hire Cars

Available from all airports and from many centres throughout Wessex.

Wessex welcomes you all, enjoy your holiday and come back again.

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