Mini Stays

Salisbury

Mini Stays are for teachers, language schools, agents or other organisations who would like to bring a group to one of our wonderful small and friendly English towns! This service is especially suitable for school groups coming to England during term-time.

90 People

Max
capacity

100 Mins LGW
90 Mins LHR

Time to/from airport by road

105 Mins

Time to/from London by road (coach)

Direct

Train to London

Best Time to visit?

All year

What’s the vibe?

Historic, Traditional, Charming, Cultural, Architectural

Ariel view of Salisbury cathedral

Why Salisbury?

Salisbury is the perfect place for a group of young students to explore.

  • It's safe. It is a small, friendly city where your students can safely experience life in England.

  • It's interesting. It is full of historic buildings, monuments and museums. Stonehenge is nearby.

  • It's beautiful. It has a magnificent medieval cathedral, an iron age hill fort and riverside walks.

  • It's fun. It has swimming, tennis, golf, a theatre and a cinema.

  • It's only an hour and a half from London on the train!

It's very easy to get to London - and the main London airports - from Salisbury.

If you've got a moment, take a look at this video of a beautiful city.

Activities & Excursions

We can organise the perfect itinerary for your group. This can include private coach trips or use trains and buses.

Here is a typical week's itinerary - this example is for Winchester. We can adapt your group's activities to take account of your budget and your students' interests.

If you don’t want us to organise the itinerary for you and include all planning and transport in the price, you can do-it-yourself. We will make a small charge for advising/helping you with this.

Sun

Mon

Tues

Wed

Thurs

Fri

Sat

Morn

Lessons

Lessons

Lessons

Lessons

Lessons

London full-day trip

Noon

Arrive, collection by host families

Visit Winchester Cathedral, Round Table

Trip to Stonehenge

Visit Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium

Swimming at River Park & Walk up 
St Giles Hill

Free for shopping 
in town!

London full-day trip

Eve

Dinner and settle in with families

Dinner, meet for a sing-song with local guitarist

Dinner with families

Dinner with families, cinema trip

Dinner with families

Party

London full-day trip

Places to visit

There is a wide range of places you can visit, starting with local visits and places futher afield.

Local places you can visit on foot

Ariel view of Salisbury cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury’s world-famous cathedral is remarkable for its amazing spire, visible from miles around, as well as what lies within, including one of the oldest mechanical clocks still in existence. The adjoining octagonal Chapterhouse is where you will find a copy of the historic Magna Carta (1215) – a blueprint for democracy within a monarchy.

Salisbury water meadow park with path and red tree

Walk through the Salisbury Water-meadows

The walks by the Nadder and Avon rivers will bring you feelings of peace and tranquility.

Salisbury sarum from an ariel view

Walk to Old Sarum

If you have an energetic group, you can walk from the city up to the original site of Salisbury, Old Sarum, which was built inside a former Iron Age hill-fort. There are wonderful views of the surrounding countryside. There is also a bus!

Other local activities

Tennis

There are lots of public tennis courts around the Salisbury area for a game or two!

Golf

Organised by arrangement, including group sessions where students are taught the basic shots.

Sing-songs

We can organise a young guitarist to meet your group and get them singing some English songs!

Cinema

Salisbury has an Odeon cinema, with various screens, showing all of the top current films.

Market Square

The large Market Square, in the centre of town, is always busy and still has a market on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Surrounded by shops, pubs and cafés, it’s a great place to meet up and chill!

Specialist shops

Near the railway station, you will find an area of fascinating specialist shops that are a refreshing change from the global chains.

Easily reached by coach or public transport

London

Salisbury is on an express train line to London. Trains take around 1 hour 40 minutes to reach Waterloo Station, which is on the south bank of the river Thames, very close to many of the main sights, including the River, Houses of Parliament (Big Ben), London Eye.

Stonehenge and Avebury

Stonehenge is one of the most fascinating ancient monuments in the world - of great interest to those who love ancient history, mystery and science. It is situated near Salisbury. It can be visited by coach or using the dedicated bus, which leaves from Salisbury station.

Stonehenge is very famous, but don’t overlook Avebury – another famous Stone Circle, to the west of Stonehenge. You can easily visit both in one day.

Buildings on the rivers edge in bath

Bath

The World Heritage city of Bath is easily reached by train. Famous for its Roman baths and Abbey, it is also a great place to hang out, with loads of nice shops, cafés, pubs and parks.

Other places you can visit by train or coach

  • Bournemouth

  • Jurassic Coast

  • Oxford

  • Southampton

  • Brockenhurst (New Forest)

  • Dorchester (Thomas Hardy country)

… and many other places of interest.

Visits by mini-bus or 
coach

(places not easily visited by public transport)

  • New Forest

  • Beaulieu, with its world-famous motor-car museum

  • Paultons Park – Theme Park

Transport
options

Getting around is easy for groups based in Salisbury

On foot

Salisbury is a small city, and the centre and other places of interest (the Cathedral, Water Meadows by the river and the central shopping area) can easily be visited on foot. For groups wanting to walk further, there are also fantastic countryside itineraries on foot of between 3 and 15 kilometers.

Local bus

You can visit some very interesting and attractive towns, for example Shaftesbury, Fordingbridge (a small town on the river Avon). Fares are reasonable, though more expensive than similar journeys in most other countries.

Train

Salisbury has direct connections with:

  • London

  • Bath

  • Bristol

  • Romsey/Southampton

... and many other places of interest.

Train travel in the UK is not cheap, but special fares are available for groups.

Coach

A private coach gives you total flexibility and is the best option for groups of 30+