Bizarre Bath or Beautiful Bath?

A MUST for everyone visiting Bath is to do the Bizarre Bath comedy tour. The hysterical tour rather than the historical one. It is great fun and totally off the wall! I didn't laugh so much in ages. It leaves from the Huntsman Inn. Apparently the guy with the dark curly hair is better than the grey haired one but we had the curly haired man so I don't know. It is well worth it. Aside from the comedy side, Bath is a beautiful city. The views over the bridge along the river with it's barges are really picturesque. Of course you have the historical Roman Baths to visit and the wonderful Bath Abbey. Definitely a lot to do here.

Quick Tips:

If you are on a tight budget the visit to the Baths themselves is a little on the expensive side. If you go into the shop upstairs you can actually see into the baths from a window (just follow everyone else) and you don't have to pay. While the Baths are worth seeing I think they are over priced and I personally didn't think they were worth that much. If you like that sort of thing and aren't counting the pennies - go for it. The Abbey is wonderful too and you are asked for a donation which is fair enough. The city itself is nice to walk around although it is very touristy.

Best Way To Get Around:

The YHA is up a hill so we decided to catch a bus. The bus was fine and the fare was reasonable but they are not very frequent. Only for the fact that we were wrecked from our hike that day I wouldn't have waited so long. The service once it arrived was fine.

Bath YHA is a fairly standard hostel. It is clean and the rooms are okay - not spacious but not too cramped. Don't do what I did and fall out of the shower!!! In the shower area all the showers(except mine) cautioned that the floor was slippery. Unfortunately, the shore for all the water was just outside my shower, and I made a dramatic (and loud) exit from the shower!!!! Seriously, the hostel is average but it serves its purpose and I wouldn't have any complaints. It's an old building, up a long hill (you have been warned!!!).

The one advantage of dining here is that it is where the Bizarre Bath tour begins. The place itself is nice, but the staff wasn't very friendly. They also tended to serve the locals before the tourists, irrespective of who was waiting longer. Good, plain food is offered here. Quality was good, but we did have to wait a rather long time. Overall, it's clean, food is good, and service is slow.

It is off-the-wall but great fun. Apparently the guy with the black, curly hair is better than the one with the gray hair. We had the one with the curly hair, and he was great. You wander around the town, and every few paces he does something (involving the group or unsuspecting locals) which will have you in hysterics. It is the hysterical tour of Bath rather than a historical one! Another example was when, much to the surprise of a woman waiting on a bus, the whole group hopped across the road!!! Sounds weird now but it is hilarious when you are there - I promise you. Also, he had a policy of raising his left hand and saying 'Strangers' if someone (who hadn't paid) started tagging along - and we had to do the same thing. This Japanese guy who was tagging along wasn't a bit put-out with a group of people raising their hands and muttering 'strangers' at him - he joined in!!!!

A great experience.

This is the main attraction in Bath. They are amazing and the tour is reasonably well-organized. Everyone is given a CD player, and you can wander around at your own place. Points of interest are marked with a number, and if you key this number into your CD player you can listen to the related history. If you are running low on cash or on a budget holiday, I wouldn't recommend this as it is quite expensive and, in my opinion, wasn't worth the money I paid. If you go into the gift shop, you can actually peer through a window and see into the baths (just folow everyone else). If the cash funds are running low - this is the better option.

I really liked Bath Abbey, and to be honest I appreciated it more than I did the baths. It is located across the road from the baths. There is no cover charge, but they recommend that you make a donation. You are also allowed to take photos (unless there is a service on). There are many leaflets available in a variety of languages which will give you the history of this fine building. The bulding itself was pulled down and rebuilt serveral times, but the latest version celebrated its 500th anniversary last year.