A Visit to Bath, Somerset

Forget the pretty Georgian buildings (although they are lovely) and drunken students singing rugby songs; if you’re a tourist in Bath there is a lot more to see. If you’re around in the summer both tourists and locals alike will recommend the Bath Fringe Festival. Beginning on the 25th May and ending on the 10th of June, it’s a two-week journey into the surreal with performances from underground theatre groups in various venues all over town and late night pubs and parties, but is best known for the parades. Only here can you be confronted with an 8-foot furry spider; it may be a man on stilts in a costume but it’s still an unexpected sight. In the brilliant sunshine the chaos of the day becomes more and more pronounced, “I ended up on the back of a stranger’s bike handing out fliers for an art exhibition whilst being followed by circus performers swallowing fire,” recalls local Susie Morris, 27, fondly.

Crazy festivities aside, for those a little more local to Bath there is still a lot to keep a person entertained when the cheery tourists have gone. You could go on a pub crawl, for example. Start with ultra-hip pubThe Porter cellar Bar, which is good fun with a variety of good music (it’s best if you like your music very loud), and is full of pierced eye-candy both male and female. Through the gradually ascending music you’re bound to meet all the young things of the area. Then off to Mandolin’s, the gay pub, which is always very full at the weekend; next there's the Bell, favoured place of hippies and Rastafarians, and finish at the Porter Butt. This place is famous for “loud and vicious” techno and punk nights, and is proud of its lack of shine. Andy Tanner, the landlord, lovingly describes it as having “a 1970s floor, nicotine walls and a flock of parrots to collect the dust, and the best pool table in Bath.” Something to bear in mind is the massive variety of ales on offer.

Upon waking the next day with a very sensitive head and a need for something more soothing, you can have a good breakfast at Doolally’s café. Described as an “art café,” you’ll be served good food by cheery staff, upstairs often holds poetry nights or art exhibitions, and it’s a nice cosy venue with armchairs to sink into. There are also a number of open mic nights (evenings that encourage anybody to grab the mike and perform) held monthly in assorted sites, some like the Hole focuse mostly on poetry and reading to audiences, others like Home Cooking offer amateur musicians the chance to play on stage. Anyone can have a go as long as they’re brave enough, and a bar is always available.

If hair of the dog is the only way, head for the aforementioned Bell on Walcot Street. Settle down with a bottle of Weston’s cider amongst the canal dwellers, grizzled old hippies and dreadlocked residents to a soundtrack of folk or reggae, and later on liven up to a ska band at weekends. As happy hour reaches ever nearer, you have a couple of options open to you. You can either head to On the Video Front DVD rental and savour the joys of Hammer horrors, video nasties, worldwide indie cinema, the entire two series of Twin Peaks and many, many more; or you can head back down to the Porter and begin the journey all over again.

Served cocktails at Mondolin's

The beautiful weir, in the centre of town

street performers at the Fringe

Me and a giant spider

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