A Day Out with Elspeth in Bath

The highlight of the train journey between London and Somerset, the sloping hill of delectable golden houses arrests the traveller whether it be the abbey floodlit by night, silhouetted at dusk, honeyed by a warm English summer's day and is even appealing on an English grey one. Bath's introductory views look good even whilst the building site of the shopping centre mars the foreground - one's eyes excuse it for what is seen in the middle distance. The new shops, in classical pastiche, are nearly done and so there will soon be nothing overlook.

One of my favourite Bath buildings is a rebellious one. It sits on Lower Bristol road by the river, also viewable as the train pulls in to Bath Spa station. When nearly the whole city is of a warm beige local stone, this is red brick. When Bath is known for Georgian, classical residences, this is a rare industrial building; the only other I know is the Tramshed in Walcot, housing a café bar and a casting agency.

If you chose to wend that way (i.e. turn left) after alighting from the train rather than the obvious route towards the abbey, you would see perhaps an honest and less beautiful side of Bath. You would meet its other railway station, Green Park, now housing a brassiere, a few shops and (almost) a supermarket. The centre is easily accessible - you would enter from the west.

Perhaps the obvious route compounds the view of Bath which both wins it fans and critics. The latter say that Bath is posh, homogenous and dull, an unreal place meant for tourists and film sets. Yet a local sharply observed that living in a city which (due to its world heritage status) dictates the colour of your front door, that Bathonians seek to be rebellious in other ways. The city is full of independents - not just shops and cafes, but in its people. The two must have some correlation.

There is some truth in the claim that Bath attracts and caters for a certain type of person, as I shall do a brief survey. The high street chains are here (tucked away and smaller branches) but the prominent shops are the upper end of chains: long established Jolly's houses brand names there's a Ted Baker (who last year had a shaking turkey in the window at Christmas). There's a chocolaterie, but not even tacky gift shops as seen in London and even York are allowed here. You get your English sweeties, locally made cheese and your local gifts from appropriately smart outlets. There are four indie bookshops, including Toppings and Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights, replete with dog. There's no local mascot here - no Nessie equivalent or football shirts to be seen or purchased.

The food chains include Fish Works classy restaurant, and a clutch of mid priced mediterrereans. But there's Onefish Twofish, Same, same but different, local cafes Lounge (at Oldfield Park) and Boston Tea Party, and plush Aqua. There's a vegetarian pub (also live music venue), and more than one meat free restaurant, such as Demuth's. There's not to my knowledge a single style bar. The pubs are a classy traditional - not the flocked wallpaper makeover of many British pubs, but a timeless class that characterises the city. Bath has its own ale company. There is a Bath kind of place to eat, drink and shop.

There are several museums, although some are small and lesser known. The Baths and Jane Austen centre are the ones that everyone gravitates towards. The Roman Baths are expensive but a full half day of multimedia delights; Jane Austen is ironic as Jane so loved Bath (not), but you receive a personally tailored tour from highly valued and well paid staff(!) You can explore the buildings of Bath in a former chapel, East Asian Art, a general city art gallery, and a fashion museum in the assembly rooms where Keira Knightly gave a witty speech in her recent film, The Duchess. You'll no doubt have heard of the Royal Crescent, where a period house can be visited. I personally prefer the Circus. Just out of town there's the American Museum; and a little nearer, the Holburne Museum of art. You'll already know about Sally Lunn's buns (and the tiny display in the basement) and the Thermae Spa, and tasting the foul waters in the Pump Rooms. And the Abbey, with its free heritage centre in the vaults. The abbey itself is allegedly free, but has such a strong push to get you to donate at the door that it may as well say, Entry Fee presumed. Though they have got better. Entry fees for churches will form another article.

To have a change, find the Walcot area in the north of the city, close to the snootily named Paragon and where Jane Austen's father is buried in the city's only Georgian church. It is perhaps more like Bristol in miniature; and the part I most warm to. It's considered the bohemian corner of the city, and whilst there's not that much to see, it does offer a different feel in its shops, cafes and general ambience.

There's opportunity for pleasant walks in the suburbs, such as the steeply climbing crescents in the north, such as Lansdown and Camden Crescents, and the eerily gothic church of St Stephen and the eccentric Beckford's Tower. After a while, some of the housings turn to red brick.

Culturally, Bath's good for a city of c100,000. It has an arts cinema - confusingly called the Little Theatre - sadly without a café, whose Georgian exterior and Edwardian interior belie the fact that it is part of a chain. The historic Theatre Royal is 3 in one: a studio for new and cutting edge, and kids stuff in the egg make this have one of the best programming for a local theatre I've seen. In the northern suburbs, the Rondo Theatre at Larkhall, with its delis, also is an important addition. Bath Festivals, along with Cheltenham's, are the major ones in the area.

Perhaps then Bath is for a certain kind of person - and I decided that I am it.