Advice needed: Bath area

I

its_noodles

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 October 2008
Messages
863
Visit site
Noodles' got a new job!!! It's in Bath. Could I have your advice on the following topics:

(a) Where to ride near Bath? (I know Bath Uni Riding Club uses Summerhouse in Gloucestershire. I have been told there isn't anywhere near Bath.)

(b) Where to live in/near Bath? (I am thinking about somewhere between M4 and Bath. I think I will rent for the first 6 months before looking at buying options. There seems to be a lot of flats in Bath city centre. I have never lived in a flat before so wonder if it's an option to buy? What are the management fees, etc?)

Many thanks for your kind assistance in advance...
:) :) :)
 
I grew up in and around Bath :) not a place I would choose to live in the centre of I have to say, parking is a nightmare and it's very expensive
Areas I love: Box, Colerne, Hinton, Coombe Down, the Entry Hill/Bloomfield Road/Bear Flat area - most of the outlying villages are nice to be fair

Areas that are nice but v expensive: Widcome, Lansdown, Batheaston

The only area I personally wouldn't want to live is Snow Hill. Even most of the previously rough areas such as Foxhill and Odd Down are now pretty nice

It's a reasonably safe place to live overall though when I go back I encounter more snobby people than I used to

Bus services are pretty good on main routes especially along London Road, up to the university and along the two Bristol Roads. Some of the centre of Bath is closed to normal cars and parking is expensive, many commuters use the Park and Ride service or park places like Bear Flat and walk in to town

Not sure about riding around Bath now, there is a Bath Equestrian Centre but not sure what quality it is. The triangle between Bristol, Bath and Shepton Mallet is very horsey though so you will probably find somewhere within half an hour of the city
 
Agree with WelshD re: areas and what they're like.
I went to Bath Spa University and I still love going to Bath to visit.

If you're not a lover of student areas, I would avoid Oldfield Park.

I remember Twerton not being the nicest area but it has been a while since I lived in Bath.

I know Bath Spa now ride at Widcombe Equestrian Centre which is near Bradford on Avon.

In terms of city centre living, it depends on your personality I suppose. I would love it if I had the money (it's not cheap) but at the same time, I would only city live if I could escape out regularly (aka, daily)! Car parking in Bath is a 'mare.

Like WelshD said, buses are good and trains to Bristol and London are good too.*

It's a compact little city which has a lot too offer. I wouldn't move back there at this stage but wouldn't rule it out in the future.

There are a good number of private yards around the area: more so than schools. Summerhouse is a trek, definitely, anywhere between 40 mins to an hour I'd say.*

I just googled 'Bath Equestrian Centre' and found what I think is it, situated in Luckham park? Not entirely sure where this is but you will have to be a lottery winner... £115 for an hour lesson!!

There used to be a yard which I think went by the name South West Equestrian Centre which I always heard was best not touched, even with a barge pole... Don't think it exists anymore-can see an online presence and they used to be around online.

There is a Bath Riding Club too. There are XC fences up at Bushey Norwood, a NT property by Bath Uni. There are a few users on here who I think have competed at their shows.

Good luck :) Bath is lovely :) If I can help further, feel free to PM.
 
ETA: I'm in Gloucester now, just in case you wondered about riding this far North.
Also, Bath is close to Badminton! :D
 
Apparently Bath Equestrian Centre is the place known as Montpellier years ago, it's behind the houses in Weston (Weston,Bath not Weston Super Mare) down at the bottom of the hill that runs from Weston up to where Pointings is on Lansdown. I've not been to that area recently but it's still there on Google Earth!

Forgot about the XC at Bushey Norwood! I have fond memories of XC and shows there :D
 
PSJ is pretty bog standard. It's not the most soulful of places but it's OK. Perfectly safe but if you could afford elsewhere then you'd look elsewhere, if that makes sense! Twerton...or twer'un, as you'd have to call it if you lived there... Not the greatest (safe but bah)

Home home is half an hour from bath, on the PSJ side. I rode at Burcott near Wells.

Haha Shepton Mallet. I went to school is wells and two two have hated each other since the civil war. We called it S**t and smell it :p

The commute into bath can be pretty bad btw!

Congrats on the job!
 
Last edited:
its_noodles said:
kat_bath, thanks for the advice. i wonder what its like property-wise north of m4? i too ride in gloucestershire...
Click to expand...

North if the M4 and directly North of Bath are Yate and Chipping Sodbury, both a fair commute to Bath... You may better off looking at between Bristol and Bath? That way, you're less likely to have a huge expanse of countryside between home and work. However, this is me thinking and I don't have a car for work so use public transport.
Ooo, where do you ride?
 
ETA (sorry!): PSJ is ok-a couple of my Uni friends are now settled there after not wanting to leave Bath but not live too close.
 
kat, welshD and dr misty,
just wondering the demand for student (postgrad) accommodation is like...
may be i should get a house in the student area...
just a thought...
:)
 
Dr misty can report that she doesn't know much about how much demand there is for post grad housing in bath I'm afraid! I applied for a PhD there that they pretty much begged me to go to an interview for, and then were really rude. Mean :(

It's worth investigating though :) but you'll be surrounded by students. Us phders are a terrible lot and don't know our age! :D
 
never having been a student in Bath I dont know all the student areas though if any stand out its Oldfield Park as mentioned above. At risk of offending people who live there (and I have lived there myself I hasten to add) its a bit 'low rent' BUT is a pretty safe area its just that its packed with terraced houses so rents and buying are a bit cheaper - on a very practical note there is a small train station and its a couple of minutes in to Bath centre on the train. Bath centre is also walking distance from there. Bear Flat is another area of tightly packed terrace houses and is close to the city and has more of a community vibe. Likewise Widcome which has some lovely parts

Further along the train line is Keynsham which is a 'practical' sort of place,lots of shops, cheaper houses and rents but higher council taxes as its classed as Bristol, nearby Bitton is lovely too

I wouldnt go out beyond the motorway if you can help it - the areas are lovely for sure but dont under estimate the commute, coming in from the M4 and along London Road can be terrible, if communting in to Bath from a way out you would be better looking out towards Radstock. PSJ is ok, I lived there too for a short time, the building of posher houses has made it pretty desirable, the area was quite poor going back some years but again its safe

The road out towards Chippenham and the surrounding areas are nice - Batheaston, Ashley, Box (my absolute favourite place ever) Bathford and the further out Kingsdown and Colerne are all nice but again a commute involves the London Road

It would be a good idea to spend some time in Bath (- the plethora of B&B's will be cheaper now its out of season) and take some time to explore
 
Last edited:
As with any Uni, post grads so exist, you just have to find them. They're a difficult bunch, often studying part time, working full time, commuting from afar, have kids...*

I am a MSc student at UWE but I commute from Glos. If I was going to look for student housing, I'd be on the look out for other PG student houses or mature UG houses that are less likely to be up all night. Having said that, as Welsh has said, Bath us tightly packed in some areas and it doesn't matter who your housemate are when it comes to noisy neighbours...*

Weston tends to be quieter. I lived in Lower Weston in my second year with 3 other quiet housemates and between 2 families-it was bliss for me!

If going for student accom, you just have to be careful. If I were you, I'd avoid it (also you have to think about council tax-if you're the only one paying on a house it'll probably be more expensive that your own flat) but that's because in such a compact city, I would really feel the need to have my own space.*
 
I think Montepelier riding school closed down years ago and it's just a privately owned yard now. Wellow Trekking Centre (it's on the Peasedown St John side of Bath) is still going, there are some nice hacks around there.

I live in Bath, 5 minutes walk from the city centre, been here over 30 years. I probably shouldn't say this as we're trying to sell our house but have to agree with Kat Bath, the parking/traffic situation is truly awful, not a great selling point! Mind you it's made me extremely good at shuffling my dirty great beast of a land rover into teeny tiny parking spaces. Widcombe, as mentioned, is nice, very handy for walking into town, Oldfield Park is OK. Larkhall on the other side of Bath is worth a mention, lovely villagey feel, right next to some beautiful countryside and only a quick hop on the bus into Bath. Ditto Batheaston, Bathford (a bit further out) and Bathwick.
 
For riding round Bath you are limited if you don't have horse. Riding schools are wellow trekking centre, widbrooke at Bradford on Avon, a little further out is warminster saddle club and if mega wealthy Lucknam Park. Bath riding school is no more.
To live take a look at Bradford on Avon , lower costs than Bath pretty town with good community and very quick train ride into Bath! Other areaas mentioned all worth a look.
 
If you have your own transport there are plenty of places to ride, bit more restricted if you have to rely on public transport! i live about 30 minutes away from Bath and prefer to go to the city centre by bus rather than drive in, the London rd is a nightmare by car but the bus lanes work well enough.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top