A Guide to Pubs and Clubs in Bath, UK (This is a work in progress but any comments greatly appreciated)
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Some Background Information
Bath is a small city in the Southwest of England. It is a world heritage site and is famed particularly for the Roman Baths and the 17th century architecture prevalent throughout the city. As such it is a huge tourist draw and tourism is one of the major industries for the city. This guide concentrates on the city centre pubs as these are the most likely to be frequeted by readers.
The city also plays host to two higher education establishments in the University of Bath and Bath Spa University College. So when not populated with tourists, Bath is stuck with 10,000 or so students instead. On two particular occasions during the year students descend en masse into the centre of Bath with the sole intention of getting through as many pubs as possible before passing out. The first of these occasions is during the first week of the Autumn term1 and the second is the so-called "Roman Romp"2 in March.
It can be rather difficult to get parking in the centre of Bath3 so unless you are staying within easy walking distance of the town or happen to be on one of the late night bus routes, it is probably best to stick to your local drinking establishment. Otherwise feel free to patronise one of the following drinking establishments.
The Alehouse
ASK
The Assembly Inn
Bar Karanga
The Bath Tap
Baty's
The Bell Inn
The Boater
The Boater is situated right beside Pulteney Bridge, a bridge which is famous for having a lot of shops on it. It is conveniently situated on the bus route up to the University of Bath and so has become the prime haunting ground of some of the university sports clubs. The Hockey, Netball, and Rowing teams use it in particular. Unless you are a member of one of these clubs it is advisable to avoid the pub on Wednesdays4 before about 10.30pm by which time they have usually decided to party elsewhere.
You can order alcohol on all three floors and there are pool tables, dartboards, and ancient arcade games to have a go at. A television also features for live sporting events, particularly soccer. Pricewise - it errs on the cheap side of average.
The Crystal Palace
Located conveniently close to the centre of town in an out of the way courtyard less than a minutes walk from the main shopping street. It used to be heavily frequented by students but due to their ever increasing prices, this source of customers has been driven away. There is a bar and a lounge area and a beer garden. They play some dodgy music in the bar though. There are a couple of slot machines but little in the way of extra facilities. Not a bad place to pop by if you're taking a break from shopping or just want a quiet place for a chat.
