Doing a road trip in Southern England and possibly Wales in July and August and we are working out our route right now. Any tips that go beyond the usual guidebook suggestions (so far, the only thing we have booked, is Stonehenge).

This is especially directed at Algren, since we will almost certainly be visiting Bath. Any tips/suggestions about the city from someone who has lived there?

I can really only talk about Bath. Surrounding areas are not that impressive, to be honest. Bath is a lovely city, and probably the biggest tourist site in the South West. Spending some time in Bath, going around the city centre will pretty much cover all of the tourist hot spots; you'll be able to see the Abbey, the Circus, the Royal Crescent and just below that is Victoria Park, the weir, the Rebecca statue, the Pump Rooms, and just generally enjoy the lovely architecture, which hopefully will look amazing in July and August with the sun shining through the trees. There are a few crescents in Bath actually, but everyone always wants to see the Royal Crescent. Camden Crescent is also nice. Much smaller, but you probably get a better view.

One thing that will almost certainly interest you is that Bath is a big film location. Off the top of my head, the recent Sherlock Holmes: The Abominable Bride used Queen Street, and many other films have done too. Then Great Pulteney Street was used in the 2004 Vanity Fair. The Russell Crowe Les Miserables used Pulteney Bridge. You can check out all the film locations if you are interested. I certainly do this whenever I visit anywhere.

Now, referring specifically to places that might not be in guidebooks, hmm, that is tough. Guidebooks are pretty comprehensive these days. It also depends what sort of thing you are looking for. I know one place to go if you are looking for the best landscape view of Bath. It is a hill on the outskirts of the city called Little Solsbury (more modernly known as Solsbury Hill). Maybe one or two people will be up there walking their dogs, but other than that it will be empty, and it's not a tourist place, so don't expect anything great. But you will get a great view. From up there you can see Bathford, Bathampton, Batheaston, Larkhall, the entrance to the city centre from the London Road side...it is just a nice place to go. But I am not sure whether it's interesting enough for tourists, and you might find it a hassle to get there for what isn't such a spectacular result.

Getting back to the city centre, I would recommend the Prior Park Landscape Garden. It's a National Trust site, and is just lovely and relaxing. I've been there a few times with my wife and it's lovely for photos. They have a Palladian bridge, which is the highlight. There's only four of these bridges left in the world. So I would certainly recommend seeing that. Another thing that you might like to do is rent a rowing boat for an hour or two and go up and down the River Avon. That's really nice and you get to see a different side of the city. You can go from the weir to Bathford. If the weather is nice, do it. It is just nice and relaxing.

I hate recommending places to people. I never know what they are wanting to see, and especially since I have been in China for 4-5 years I've forgotten a lot. I guess if you want to see quirky stuff then Walcot Street is for you. It is known as Bath's Artisan quarter. You will find all shops (and a flea market on Saturdays) that are not your normal high street stuff. You could also take a walk along the canal. That goes from Bath to Bradford-on-Avon, and if you rent some bikes it is a nice leisurely ride (or walk if you have time to kill and are feeling particularly energetic).

For places outside of Bath, if you want a seaside experience, you could try Weston-super-Mare. It's low-key, but it is where lots of families go for some seaside fun. It's a sandy beach, not pebbles, so it has that as a benefit. Since you are visiting the South of England, you could also just go to Cornwall, which has the best beaches in the UK. Very hot in the summer, though. Lots of surfers go there. Another place you can visit is Longleat Safari Park near Warminster. Lots of animals of fun stuff to do. I'm not a huge fan, to be honest. But people seem to love it. You are already going to Stonehenge, which I understand people love to go to, but it's a waste of time. We never went there because you are not allowed to sit down and picnic around the stones. It is all cordoned off. I think the best you can do is get about 30 metres from the stones to take a photo. Pretty much a waste of time, and why me and my wife never bothered going there. I mean, I hope you enjoy it, and I understand no matter how bad it is that it's one of those tick-box places for tourists, we just never saw the value in it.

If you go to Wales, they have lots of castles, and you don't have to go too far into Wales to see them. Cardiff has one.

Talking about my hometown has made me want to go back.

If I think of anything else I will share it here.

Thanks a lot, I'll be taking notes from that. Any pubs you remember being particularly good?

I'm teetotal. But most pubs in Bath are fine, I guess. I mean, what really differentiates a pub? A garden? a slightly different menu? They all serve beer, lager, ale, soft drinks etc. I guess the pubs on the outskirts (the country pubs) are better because of the scenery and ambiance. But I really don't have much experience with pubs. I mainly did the city pubs when I was a drinker.

Thanks. Yes, I remember that you are teetotal, but I also remember that it wasn't this way all the time.

When did you last visit Bath?

Smell should give you an idea.

September 2013.

Accomodation for the first half of the trip is booked (Bath seems to be quite expensive for accomodation) and the second we'll just look for something at the end of the day and if we don't find anything, we'll just camp somewhere (bringing a tent along). The first half will cover (roughly) Bath, Shaftesbury, Salisbury/Stonehenge, Lacock and the general are of those. After we're done with Stonehenge, we are gonna head west and south to Dorset and Devon, visit Dartmoor, I suppose, maybe the Wookey Hole Caves and later the Isle of Wight. Definitely want to spend a night or two at the Jurassic Coast. Final night will be in Brighton.

Wookey Hole's not a bad idea. Especially if you don't have things like that in Germany. I would prefer Cheddar Gorge, which pretty much has the same stuff (I think it has caves), but the feel is better. We went there half-a-dozen times when we were younger. Nice place.

Brighton's a bit shit. I guess they have a nightlife that you might enjoy. They have a pebble beach (which isn't as common but also isn't as enjoyable in the traditional sense of a beach [though I quite enjoy a pebble beach from time to time]). They also have the Brighton Pavilion, which is the first thing on all lists of tourist attractions in Brighton, but I thought it was shit and went to sit on the beach instead (though the garden outside is nice if the weather is too). We only went for a weekend. Wouldn't go again.

Not heard of the Jurassic Coast. Just from its name, it sounds awesome. But I bet it isn't. I think if it was so great, I'd have heard of it.

Why are you going to Shaftesbury? Or are you just passing through? It sticks out in the list of places you are going as somewhere not very notable. I guess they have some nice buildings and such, but you're going to get a load of that from Bath.

We are passing through on our way to Bath because we don't want to drie all the way on our first day. We are staying just outside of Bath. Besides, I want to see the street from this advert (by Ridley Scott!) and it is in Shaftesbury.



Yeah, I've heard of Cheddar Gorge. I'll look more into that.

Brighton is close to Newhaven, where our ferry back to mainland leaves, that's why we are staying their the night efore departure. I am curious to see it.

Jurassic Coast has a beautiful coastline, it's where "Broadchurch" is being filmed too. It is named this way because of the many fosslins found there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Coast

Awesome. I did not know that was in Shaftesbury. A bit before my time that advert anyway, but I hope you enjoy your time there.

It's so nice to see DL & Algren getting along so well

My country needs all the tourist money it can get.

Your country is now China, time to accept the idea.

Nice try, Goebbels.

Another thing...this is maybe reaching, but maybe you've got an idea.

My girlfriend has a birthday coming up next weekend, after which we are off to England. Ideally her birthday present would be something during our trip. Any suggestion as to whether there is anything particularly cool in Bath that I could invite her to?

For instance, her last birthday present to me was the the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in London (Harry Potter tour). We had our London trip planned before anyway and during our visit we went to the studio.

Since her birthday is so close to our trip, I was thinking of something similar and I thought maybe you have a cool tip...

That's more of a personal thing. I don't know what her interests are or what she likes/dislikes, so it would be hard for me to suggest anything. Just on the level of "things that girls in their 20s usually like", I am still drawing a blank. There are always lots of exhibitions, festivals, and events going on in Bath. You can check them out here.

Why not propose on the London Eye?

London Eye is in Bath?

Oh yeah, I forgot you're not going to London. I must say, it is strange that anyone visiting England doesn't visit or go through London at some point.

I have been twice to London this year alone and I might go again in spring. The idea of this trip was to finally explore England outside of London.

Noice.

I am in Bath now.

I was in bath last night.

Oh great. Hope the weather is on your side.

It was (in Bath). It has rained for just about an hour. Two days weren't enough. I plan on coming back. The entire trip was pretty damn great (spent a night wild camping in Dartmoor!) and a very very needed break from work.