Bath: During or after Jane Austen Festival

Posted by AK Karl on 11/05/17 07:21 PM

We will be in England September 14-28, 2018 and the Festival is September 14-23. Although my wife does like to read, neither of us are Jane Austin fans and we do not like crowds. Since we land in Gatwick we will take the train straight to Portsmouth.

Plan A: After a day or two we could take the train to Bath and after that hire a car and return it to Heathrow when we fly home. This would put us in Bath Monday & Tuesday during the festival.

Plan B: Hire a car in Portsmouth or Southampton and return it to Bath. We would then travel to Heathrow by train or national express bus.

Will the time of the festival be crowded? Will lodging be more expensive or hard to get? Will sights have alternate schedules due to special events? Anything else we need to know?

Thanks,
AK Karl

Posted by This Person Who Writes Stuff

11/06/17 06:40 AM

1015 posts

Yes, the festival time will be more crowded than usual and yes, that will probably have a knock-on effect on hotel prices. However, Bath is always busy and hotels are expensive so it’s a matter of degrees. I doubt it will affect opening hours of non-Jane Austen tourist attractions though.

You could try making some sample hotel bookings to compare prices.

Even if you’re not a Jane Austen fan you might enjoy seeing people parade around the city in period clothes. Or you might think it’s horrendous and to be avoided at all costs. The choice is yours - but speaking personally, even as a Jane Austen fan, I would avoid the festival because I hate that sort of thing.

Posted by ttmom12

11/06/17 04:20 PM

278 posts

We visited Bath during this years festival and didn’t find it to be a problem. Saw only a few people in costume. The weekend was busier but no more than any city that is a destination place.

The bigger event was the rugby game at the stadium but even that wasn’t a problem.

Posted by LV

Southeastern U.S.

11/07/17 01:17 AM

61 posts

I just have to say that as an Austenite, that sounds wonderful to me! I’ve been to the Louisville (KY) Jane Austen Festival- the biggest in N America) and I’d love to go to the “real” one in Bath! 😉

Posted by Pam

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA

11/07/17 05:32 AM

14822 posts

I was in Bath for the starting weekend a couple of years ago. I have to say I did not notice any crowd difference -except for a few hours on the first Sat for the Grand Parade. I love Bath and that time actually spent 5 nights there. It’s always busy on weekends and seemed no moreso because of the festival. I agree that the rugby match probably has more impact.

I thought it was great fun to see people wandering around the Georgian neighborhoods in costume.

Bath hotels do often have a 2 night minimum on weekends anyway but you’d miss that on a Monday.

The only venues that might he affected would be the Assembly Rooms where they hold some workshops and when I was there the 2nd floor of the GuildHall was used for vendors. I’m not sure these were even open except on the weekends.

I would not worry about this having an impact.