Editor Pick
Bizarre Bath: The Comedy Walk
- August 17, 2008
- Rated 3 of 5 by
barbara from Atlanta, Georgia
When I first had the two boys in Bath, we considered going on the Bizarre Bath Walking Tour, but we ran out of time. The next time I was in Bath as a tourist, I tried again, but dinner took too long for us to make it. Then I moved to the UK and another IgoUgo guide, Zabelle, was in England, so I thought I'd have an excuse to go and track down the tour again. Problem then was that she visited in the winter and the tour only operates from March to November. Well, this was turning into a quest! I mean, I love Bath. It's one of my all-time favourite cities, and this tour is lauded by all kinds of touristy-directing folk like Rick Steves, Frommers, and Lonely Planet. I wanted to go and experience it because the PR machine said it was fabulous. I finally told my husband---rain or shine---we were going to do it one Friday night.
So what IS the Bizarre Bath Walking Tour and when/where does it take place? Well, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I'll get to what I discovered it to be in just a moment. If you want to go on the comedy walk, it meets every night from end of March to beginning of November at 8 PM in front of the Huntsman Inn on the corner of North Parade Passage and Terrace Walk. You don't have to make reservations. You just show up. The guy will sell you a wrist-band to wear as you walk about with the group. Don't panic if you get there a couple minutes after 8. While he starts fairly promptly, he does an introduction before getting around to the business of money.
The walk then takes a little under 2 hours, but there's more standing than walking, so no worries if you're not in great shape. I mean, you will have to go up a stair or two, but the pace is a stroll, and most of the route is flat and in the same central section of Bath. It's very pleasant on a nice night.
Okay. So what did the walk turn out to be? Well, I thought that we were going to be in for some bizarre stories about Bath. I thought that we would hear about its quirky founders, the dark underbelly of social life, the strange habits of famous writers... you know, anecdotes. Uh.... no. The first thing our host did was reject any notion that the tour has anything to do with anything at all historical or factual. That's just not what this is. Instead, it's a kind of stand-up comedy show that could be set in any city at all. Bizarre, huh?
Was this enough for me?
Well... ummm... honestly? No.
Having said this, I think the show DOES have some nice things going for it. The "host" made plenty of fun of all nationalities in his midst (the one thing that showed us we were in a European city rather than in Vegas.) This was all in good humour, and I found this to be the funniest segment of the walk. Then our host took us for a pleasant wander around Bath at dusk in which he pointed out things like a red light bulb in a flat's window---"Bath's Red Light District". He punctuated his banter with several magic tricks, which I won't tell you about as I don't want to ruin the show for you. All I can say is they were nicely executed. The group that we were a part of was an especially large one, but they were all game to play along with the host and do things like boo and hiss other tour groups, which was certainly amusing.
Would this be a good family attraction? It's not geared towards children so there are a couple of bawdy jokes and maybe a slipped-in bad word or two. However, the jokes would fly over most children's heads, and he does tell younger kids to stick their hands over their ears on occasion. It's certainly not over-the-top with adult material, and I thought the boys I once dragged around Bath would have really enjoyed seeing the host's slight-of-hand. I'd say kids 9 and up would like this tour.
Would I recommend it to other adults? Well, that depends on who was asking. If you want something light to do after dinner, it would certainly suit. If you want to know a lot about Bath as a city, take one of the free walking tours the council offers in the daytime instead. These tours are very different creatures indeed.
Bottom line? The show is well executed. It's just a matter of what kind of show you want to see. Either way, the cost is £8 per adult. There are reductions for students and kids.
More information? Check out: www.bizarrebath.co.uk
From journal Boys in Bath