Bath Visit

jayu619

Hi All,

Need some help - planning a trip for my GF to Bath as she has always wanted to visit.

Dates - 23rd (Fri) to 25th (Sun)
We are planning to drive it there,

Hotels seem to be expensive in Bath
I was wondering if anyone could:

1. suggest an itinerary;
2. advise me whether to stay in Bristol (cheaper it seems) or Bath?
3. Where to eat.

Thank you so much in advance!
Jay

EconomicsGirl

I would stay in Bath if you can. When we've been we've rented a cottage in the centre. There are a few less expensive hotels on the outskirts. We stayed in Paradise House once and that was lovely but was several years ago. Think there's a Holiday Inn that's not too badly priced.

Bath Spa is pretty amazing, Roman Baths are worth a visit, lots of other great things to do.

Sally Lunns is worth eating at but you may need to book for dinner, website has all menus. Jane Austin Museum does a lovely afternoon tea.

Browntoa

Ive stayed at the bailbrook hotel just on the outskirts , free parking there and either bus stop outside or taxi to town is cheaper than paying per day parking

Recommend the thermae spa , particularly the top open air spa on the roof

I take the train there , quicker and cheaper than driving , the train station is in the centre of bath

Bettie

If you stay in Bristol you can bus it all the way or Park and Ride. Keynsham is another place with a few hotels but none seem cheap to me. There is a train to Bath from there or a Park and Ride that side as well. Plenty of places to eat depending what you like.

Kynthia

We stayed in a b&b on the edge of town with free parking, but have enjoyed staying right in the centre when just visiting for a night or two. Take a walk to see the architecture and the Royal Crescent, and visit the house museum in the crescent. Grab a snack in Sally Luns Buns, see the Roman baths and definitely have a spa session at the thermae spa. Possibly do the sightseeing bus. We had a lovely meal at a restaurant called The Circus, but wherever you eat try the independent places rather than the chains as there are some great places there.

TBagpuss

Stay in Bath. Bristol may be cheaper but by the time you've paid for parking / train fares / station parking etc it will start to add aup, plus you are only going for a short time and will lpst time travelling. Bath can be lively early or late when it is less croded and you'd miss out on that.

You could look at a B&B on the outskirts (check for bus routes - parking in central Bath is expensive and the one-way system is fun if you are not used to it.

alternatively, there is a travelodge (in fact 2) both within walking distnace of the centre. The one on the canal has a car park.

Visit the Roman Baths - queues get very long, particularly at weekends, so you may want to go there first when it first opens in the morning. (Or, depending what time you arrive, you could go late Friday - they are open until 10 during the summer, but check whether the whole museum etc is open or just the Great Bath as I am not sure)

The Thermae Bath Spa is worth it for the roof top pool - they do a 'twilight package' where you can be up on the roof as the evening draws in, which is lovely. I personally don't much rate the actual sap treatments - the baths are part owned by the council and it shows a bit, the ambience can be more municipal baths than luxury pampering!

What do you both like? You can get a joint ticket for the Roman Baths with the Fashion museum and Victoria art gallery.
No1 Royal Crescent is completely furnished and decorated as it would have been in the 1770s, so if history is your thing that's an interesting place to go.

The Jane Austen centre is small but interesting, if you/she are Janeites.

The centre of Bath is very compact (if steep in places) so once you're there , you won't need your car, everything is in walking distance.

You could go to the Theatre Royal one evening, if you enjoy theatre. It's a lively little theatre. The weekend you're visiting the production is 'Racing Demon' with a cast including Paapa Essiedu, who recently played Hamlet for the RSC. If that isn't your thing, the you could check out Komedia, (live comedy and music)

There are lots of good restaurants in Bath .

Sally Lunns is all very well but again, big queues build up in the summerso decide whether that is a 'must do' or not.

The Abbey runs Tower trips where you can go up the tower to see Bath from above, if that's your thing.

Enjoy your trip

tyllwyd

I wouldn't stay in Bristol if you want to visit Bath - Bristol is worth visiting in itself, but travelling from a hotel in Bristol into Bath is going to waste most of your holiday. Be warned that driving in and out of Bath in the summer at peak hours is a nightmare, and check trains if you are travelling because they are doing a lot of work on Bath Spa station at weekends at the moment.


If it's a sunny day and money is tight, to enjoy the Georgian architecture walk to the Circus and on to the Royal Crescent, and have a picnic in front of the Royal Crescent.

mair1234

A group of us stayed in Bath for a wedding last year which I found on Airbnb. The place was nice and right in the city which was brilliant and prices weren't too bad at all so definitely worth investigating Airbnb.

Bettie

I've been in Bath today and was reminded from the hordes of people gathered that they still do the free tours of Bath, no booking, start by the Roman baths. Victoria park/botanical gardens was quite busy so lots of people enjoying the sunshine. I avoided the main streets as they were jam packed and it was very hot.

tyllwyd

Bettie wrote: »

I avoided the main streets as they were jam packed and it was very hot.

Absolutely! If you want to go shopping in the centre of Bath, go at 9am when it's cooler and less busy, and go and do something else in the middle of the day.

paddyrg

BTW The Thermae Baths (the modern, rooftop, hot springs baths) get VERY busy at weekends, with queues up to 2hrs (no, really!), so I'd suggest staying in Bath and getting into there nice and early.