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- - My UK trip (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/my-uk-trip-279612/)

Don't miss Bath! You don't have to stay in the town. Just go for a day trip. We took the train from London and returned after dinner. Bath and the Tower of London were our favorite sights of the whole trip. The age of the baths and the historical backround is truly amazing. It was nice to get out of the London hub bub for a day too. I love to shop, but did not go there for the shops or restaurants -the sights were fascinating enough.

People who don't "get" Bath are those who have no understanding of history or literature. If one is a TV-generation American with no concept of earlier centuries - then stay out of Bath and stick to canned attractions where they explain everything to you. Or, perhaps you could actually READ something before going there so you won't be soooooooo very bored.

dalhousie is not in edinburgh - it's not even in the same county.

On my visit to the U.K., many years ago, Bath was one of my favorite cities, along with York. The architecture and the cream-colored "bath stone" used in many of the buildings is beautiful and harmonius. No wonder the entire city is a designated world heritage site. I'm sure Bath attracts hordes of tourists but what beautiful and accessible place doesn't?

R. Crescent makes a very good point. There are many places where you have to do your homework. There are places like London or Paris or Venice where you can appreciate things on a very superficial level but you get a great deal more if you actually read up on the history and literature. On a purely selfish note, I hope these postings have discouraged the "wrong" kind of tourist.

Thank you Brenda (and others)for sharing your thoughts. I don't know if I'll agree with them or not but I appreciate hearing them. That's what this board should be for. I'm sorry that people like "Tom" have to say things like he did (four posts above). No need to be insulting because someone doesn't like what you like. While he may have been trying to make a point that the more interested in history that you the more you would enjoy someplace like Bath, he said it in a very negative way. That discourages honest feelings and opinions which I, for one, appreciate reading.

I tend to aggree with tom.

Tom may have sounded rude but his basic point is really very valid. I can't see how someone could possibly be bored by Bath. One would think anyone interested enough in the UK to spend the time and money to go there would know about Austen, the Roman Baths, and maybe the Woods elder and younger, Beau Nash and other connections that make Bath so fascinating.

Brenda, you said you stayed at the Noel Arms in Chipping Camden...how was it? I am staying there on my trip to the Cotswolds in early April and would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

I did read up on Bath thank you very much. I knew about Beau Nash before I went and I knew about the baths. I am also aware of the literary connections. I have been to Rome so maybe the baths didn't seem that interesting to me because of that. Someone asked why I didn't like Bath and I told them. I did not want to offend anyone as I stated in my post and I am sorry you didn't give me the same courtesy. People like/dislike things for different reasons. That's what makes the world go around. Maybe Lardy can explain to me what the 'wrong' kind of tourist is. Hope Tom and Lardy are not as rude to everyone when they travel because the people in the places they travel to are different or have different opinions. Excuse me, I thought this was a message board to offer information including opinions. Len, If you would like some information on Noel Arms you are welcome to email and I will answer you there. I'm not up for criticism from this board.

FYI - I'm Brenda's husband and traveling companion on our latest sojourn. I'd like to step into the breach on Bath and give my own opinion. I'm astounded at those of you who act like Brenda killed your hamster because she didn't go gaga over Bath. In my opinion, we may have had several things working against us on Bath. We obviously went in the off season. We probably either stayed too long, or not long enough. So many people at home had hyped Bath so much, we had huge expectations. Having visited many Roman ruins in France and especially in Italy, the novelty is wearing thin. Some cities seem much more alive in the cold months. NYC, Paris and Edinburgh come to mind immediately. I don't think Bath is one of those cities. Once the stores closed in the evening, the streets were deserted. I'm sure Bath is much more appealing in the warmer months, when the gardens are in bloom and there is more daylight. I think 'more' tourists of any sort would have made it more interesting. At times we were the lone tourists and I missed the opportunity to share my thoughts with others. In our research before our trip, (yes, we actually read books and checked the web), we did notice that while during the warm months there is one festival of some sort after another, in dreary November there was nothing going on at all. The Cathedral was great, I especially enjoyed the roof and got some great snapshots of it. BTW, I highly recommend Fuji's new 800 ASA film for gray days and dark Cathedrals. I enjoy architecture more than Brenda and had a great time checking out the buildings, the Crescent, etc. There just wasn't enough sun for any the stone to show any warmth. I would definitely recommend the B&B we stayed at. The Paradise House was all we expected, had a gorgeous garden with an unbelievable view of the city. The shopping in Bath was just more of what we had just seen in London. My biggest disappointment was how absolutely dead the city was at night. We went to Edinburgh directly from Bath and it seemed more exciting once the sun went down. Go figure. If we had stayed a shorter time, we could have hit the high spots and moved on, if we had stayed several more days, we could probably have taken in a lot more on foot, though I doubt the nightlife would have improved. Tom127: Those who do 'get' Bath, should save their snotty comments for their JA book club meetings. Lake: Thanks for the geography lesson. Here's one for you, St. Louis and East St. Louis are in different states! Dalhousie Castle is actually in Bonnyrigg, about 7 miles south of Edinburgh. It's a 20-30 minute ride depending on traffic. The cabs know where it is, and as Brenda noted, it's a 12-15 pound fare. It's in a country setting and very quiet at night. Lardy, Dane, Janis - We may have been the 'wrong' kind of tourist, but we must have had the 'right' kind of cash for Bath. The three of you, and Tom, have no idea of our backgrounds, the research we did, or what we did or didn't know about Bath. The one tidbit we lacked was, that at the end of November, Bath is a Necropolis. I hope sharing that knowledge with the rest here, will encourage them to consider visiting at a different time of year. I don't think being an Art History major should be a requirement for tourism, although I'm unsure what being an Art History major is a requirement for, beyond clerking at a independent bookstore.

I have been to the UK many times and I have favorite places that I like to revisit. Ok, here I go out on the "Bath' limb. I admit is not my favorite English town. Now, just because I said that does not mean that I hate Bath or think it is boring. I'm glad I went there but I don't believe I will go back. ALL of us enjoy places for different reasons. If I say that I really enjoyed Lincoln I am sure someone will say they didn't. One of my reasons for going to Lincoln was to see the tomb of Katherine Swinford. Anyone who is not interested in the Plantagenet area might have been quite bored with my Lincoln itinerary, BUT they would have been entitled to that opinion just as I am entitled to my opinion of Bath. No need for us to bash each other when we are stating an honest opinion, is there?

Amen, XXX! I want to come to this forum to exchange travel tips. I am weary of the bashings and name callings and innuendos.

To Lake: It's news to me that Bonnyrigg, where Dalhousie Castle is, isn't in the county of Midlothian. Could you please tell me where it's gone? Thanks.

My question for the snotty Brenda and her much nicer husband TC, WHO ON EARTH GOES TO BATH FOR THE NIGHTLIFE?

Sorry, didn't realize that Brit vacation days ended when the sun went down. BTW, I doubt you'd call my wife snotty to her face. I'm always amazed at how some people get enormous testes when they're anonymous.

Neither Brenda nor her husband were the least bit snotty. Some of the responses to Brenda's original post were, and unreasonably so. They didn't like Bath. So what? There are good reasons to be unimpressed with Bath, just as there are good reasons to like it. Brenda and tc did not enjoy it and they said so w/o being the least bit disrespectful or dismissive of other views. Why people would react so vehemently under the circumstances is just plain weird. It is just gratuitous abuse. Apparently some people get a kick out of it, but it is really uncalled for. I thought Brenda's trip report was OK-- helpful in some respects and harmless otherwise. If people post even a hint of bad news about anything here, some people here use it as an excuse to jump down their throats with combat boots on. It is childish and it discourages people from posting useful information. My wife and I were also underwhelmed with Bath. When we were there (last June) it was very crowded and touristy, and seemed to be in danger of becoming a Blackpool antica. We were disappointed, but obviously lots of people love Bath and we could see why-- it just wasn't our favorite place. If we had gone at a quieter time of year we might have had a very different experience.

Where did you see the best photos of Great Tew? I'd like to see them.