Bath, England
 

I will be spending about 5 days in the Bath area, traveling alone. I understand there are some nice estates/gardens in the environs which I'd like to see, as well as the other sights. So my questions are:

1. Got any recommendations for those estates?
2. Is renting a car necessary?
3. Any recommendations for a friendly B&B/hotel either in Bath or other town?
4. Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

Hello Nancy - I have visited Bath twice as a day traveller. Found that was plenty of time to see the Roman Baths, take an Open-Top bus around town etc.
I do hope after you have toured the Roman Baths you go and have a delicious lunch in The Pump Room restaurant. Maybe secure a reservation before you start as it does get very full.
We loved the elgant diningroom, the piano & violin music during lunch, wonderful service and food!
It's right in the same building.
Sorry I can't help with anything else but I know you will enjoy your stay.

We love Stourhead, a magnificent National Trust garden a few miles south of Bath.
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main...-stourhead.htm
You don't say when you are travelling, but I love this place best with the rhododendrons in bloom - amazing.

I'm sure that some people will advise navigating the local buses, but I believe that outside of London, buses become more expensive and far more infrequent. A car is really so much easier, it gives you flexibility and comfort.

What's your budget?

You could take a look at the following websites for lots more listings of gardens in Somerset. Tintinhull and Montacute have fabulous houses as well as gardens.

www.visitourgardens.co.uk

www.touruk.co.uk/gardens/gardens_in_somerset.htm

http://www.accessentertainment.co.uk...t/Somerset.htm

http://www.somerset.gov.uk/celebrati...HistoricHouses

Stourhead is in the next county of Wiltshire, but not far away, and if you travel barely 20 miles north from Bath to Gloucestershire there is Westonbirt Arboretum.

I would think renting a car would be essential for visiting most of these places. The Tourist Information office in Bath may have details of garden tours to some of these places.

On the National Trust website, if you go to the page for each garden, there is a box titled 'getting there', with information on buses and trains.

Good luck and have a great trip.

"but I believe that outside of London, buses become more expensive and far more infrequent"

There are populated areas outside of London. Generally in them the fares are CHEAPER than in London & I wouldn't say they are any less frequent. And many companies do a day pass which is very cheap

All of the major tourist sights should be able to tell you how to get there by public transport, but there will be some where it is difficult to get to.

Prior Park is just outside Bath and you can get there on foot. It's a wonderful setting with great views of Bath. There are a few photos here:
http://tinyurl.com/o59rf

Touristy and well-known, visit Sally Lunn's for a delicious bun and some tea.
http://www.sallylunns.co.uk/

Enjoy!

NancyDD: Within an half-an-hour drive are three great houses definitely worth seeing: Longleat House and Wilton, home of the Earls of Pembroke (both in Wiltshire), and Lacock Abbey. The village of Lacock is also quite interesting. There are also many smaller towns around Bath worth visiting. I remember Bradford-on-Avon in particular (I think it has an old Saxon church, though I would have to check on that). Anyway, I had a car when I was last there, so I have no idea how to get around without one. Btw, the costume museum in Bath is quite interesting; I think it is near (or in the same building) as the Assembly Rooms.

1. The answer to your question depends on whether your definition of "environs" is a 10 mile radius or 80 mile. There are surprisingly few stately homes or terrific gardens immediately round Bath. Spread your wings a bit, and there's a good summary at http://visitbath.co.uk/beyond_bath/Beyond_Bath.

Add www.ngs.org.uk to the list of garden websites. Personally, I find the famous places like Hidcote and Stourhead a bit mannered. What we're really good at round here are the tens of thousands of private gardens, usually at the side of the house you can't see from the street. The NGS scheme not only lets you into them, but often has a number of houses in a particular village open at the same time.

2. Most of the big sites are reasonably easy to get to by public transport. But the links don't run btween, say, Stourhead and Kiftsgate. MK2's absolutely right: using buses severely limits the number of places you can get to in a day. If you want to use your time intensively, either hire a car or rely on organised tours. One tour listing is at http://visitbath.co.uk/site/travel_a...tours_round_up

4. Gardens aren't the only form of horticulture. Depending on the time of year, woods (at bluebell time especially), special openings (on fritillary or snowdrop Sundays for example) or arboreta may be a lot more interesting. You'll get more helpful suggestions if you state your dates.

Here are two additional sites to check:

http://www.britainexpress.com/Where_...s/Gardens8.htm

http://www.gardenvisit.com/

I second visits to Stourhead and Westonbirt but keep in mind that neither is a "flower" garden if that's your goal. Westonbirt is an arboretum - trees and shrubs.

If you decide to go further afield, Westbury Court Gardens are about 8 miles SW of Gloucester and is a restored Dutch water garden definitely worth a visit.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main...rycourtgarden/

You can do a day trip to Wells & see the magnificent cathedral. Plus, you could also day trip to Glastonbury, which has a ruined abbey & of course the King Arthur connection. I quite enjoyed it. My friend & I climbed up to the tower & that was quite an exertion. You might consider staying in a B & B in either Wells or Glastonbury for a night or two. We stayed at a B & B called "The Old Poor House" but that was in 2002.

There's Cheddar (which I didn't go to) also.

Wells Cathedral was well worth the trip for me.

Enoy!

Thanks for all your quick replies. I haven't gone to the sites suggested yet (but I will!). I guess I need to add some details. I'm thinking of it this April and my budget allows for splurges.

My reluctance about renting a car is: 1) driving on the left, and 2) driving on the left when I don't know where I'm going and the roads are those skinny little lanes--or are they in that part of the country? I'm sure I could manage, though.

Any more ideas for a friendly B&B?

Nancy

"Skinny little lanes"

Not to my way of thinking - they're all A roads, which means one wide lane in each direction. A "skinny little lane" to me is a single track road, and that's something you are unlikely to come across if you're going to the usual touristy attractions. If you don't rent a car, then you will have to organise a taxi (or equivalent) or keep on taking organised tours which is not only more costly, but reduces your flexibility.

Hi Nancy DD. I share your apprehension re driving, though mine sort of obsesses over having to shift with my left hand; so perhaps you wouldn't have to worry about that. If you decide to be brave, go for a tiny car. That should make things easier. My second teeny tiny concern is that you won't have a map-reader/navigator at your side. When I've traveled in the UK with friends, it was definitely a two-person task, with the driver's eyes on the road and on the traffic, listening to the navigator's instructions. I still remember our navigator (I had done all the trip research and reservations, so was exempt and could chill in the back seat) leaping into the center of the car because she thought we were going into a hedge or a parked car.

Now then, have I cheered you up? We were, however, middle aged folks, and I know youngsters have better reflexes and virtually no fear.

The real reason for this post is to cheer Tracy14 for her suggestions! We stayed in the hamlet of Monkton Farleigh at Fern Cottage (perfect if you have a car), and we loved Bradford-on-Avon, which was our nearest town and very close to Bath. If you decide to go with public transportation, you might contact the tourist office in BOA to ask about public transportation or day tours to the various historic houses. I had forgotten Lacock, which is a very interesting little village (isn't the entire village a historic landmark, Tracy?) There was also a historic house with a name that started with a C', beautiful house and gardents (anyone?). If I can find my notes, I'll come back. Bravo to the suggestions of Stourhead and Wells. The entire area is lovely. Thanks for bringing back delightful memories. J.

Nancy: Though I have found most roads to be somewhat narrower that roads in the US (for example, an A road is about as wide as my street - though I do live in a western town where the streets were constructed so that one could do a U-turn with a team of horses and a wagon!), in the Bath, Somerset, Wiltshire area I found the roads to be just fine. Plus I always rent a small automobile: not only does it save gas but it also is easier to maneuver. Finally, re. navigation: I have driven by myself in the UK, and suggest as a navigator-substitute the post-it note. Before I get in the car I plan my route and write the roads and turns on the post-it, which I can then place anywhere on the dashboard.

NancyDD, the way to compensate for the need to shift with your left hand is to rent an automatic. In my experience it hasn't been that much more expensive and you could use some of your "splurge" money for the short time you would be renting.

Tracey14 gives excellent advice to use post-it notes as an aid in navigation. Even though my wife was navigator we always wrote down any route changes, etc. before starting out each day.

Unfortunately, we have never stayed in Bath so I can't recommend any BnB there for you. We have stayed in the following three which were reasonably close, the first two in Gloucestershire and the third in Somerset:

http://www.gunnmillhouse.co.uk/location.html

http://www.cotswoldsbandb.co.uk/

http://www.torfarm.co.uk/

We have used "The Best Bed & Breakfast England-Scotland-Wales" published by the Globe Pequot Press to find our BnBs. We figure it has cost about $1 per rental night to use and we have never been disappointed with our choices. The ISBN for our 2002-2003 edition is 0-7627-1189-2. Check your library or bookstore for a copy.