He made his Stevenage debut in a 5–0 defeat to Wrexham on 9 August 2008, and played in the following three games. Following the arrival of Chris Day, Bayes featured less frequently. He played in the club's 1–0 victory against Woking on 24 February 2009, as well as keeping a clean sheet in a 4–0 win over Forest Green Rovers in the FA Trophy, a competition Stevenage would go on to win that season. He made seven appearances during his first season with the club. He played five times during the club's 2009–10 campaign, as Stevenage won promotion to the Football League for the first time in the club's history. Whilst Bayes made no first-team appearances for the club the following season, he undertook a number of coaching responsibilities that season, as Stevenage earned back-to-back promotions after beating Torquay United in the play-off final at Old Trafford in May 2011. Bayes left Stevenage a month later to play first-team football and concentrate on his coaching career. Basingstoke Town On the same day as his departure from Stevenage was confirmed, on 20 June 2011, Bayes signed for Conference South club Basingstoke Town. A week later, Bayes was added to the backroom staff at Aldershot Town, working part-time as a goalkeeping coach while also registered as a player at Basingstoke. Bayes was named as Basingstoke's captain ahead of the new campaign. He made his debut for the club on the first day of the 2011–12 season, playing the whole game in a 2–0 away win against Eastleigh. He was the first choice goalkeeper for Basingstoke throughout the season, and he played 47 times in all competitions as the club reached the Conference South play-offs as a result of their fifth-place finish. They ultimately exited at the play-off semi-final stage, losing 3–1 on aggregate to eventual play-off winners, Dartford, with Bayes playing in both games. He remained at Basingstoke for the 2012–13 season having signed a new one-year deal in March 2012, and made 40 appearances in all competitions as the club finished the season in mid-table. Bayes left Basingstoke by mutual consent on 29 May 2013, in order to take up a full-time coaching role with a "club further up the football ladder". On leaving the club, Bayes said "At my time of life I needed to think about my career beyond playing first team football and this new job allows me