UK Holidays - Naked Guide to Bath, The

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Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780954417703
Format: Import
ISBN: 0954417704
Label: Naked Guides
Manufacturer: Naked Guides
Publication Date: 2005
Publisher: Naked Guides
Studio: Naked Guides

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Summary: Naked is Best
Comment: Guidebooks are an inherently sketchy business. From the myopically detailed to the frustratingly vague, all too many guide books offer options without direction, leaving the poor tourist just as bewildered as if he'd arrived without any guide at all. And, unless the tourist is really lucky, he's liable to have a book written 'by committee,' as it were, which caters to every possible audience and thus, to no one at all.

Gideon Kibblewhite's Naked Guide to Bath, I am happy to say, is a brilliant exception to these general rules.

The writing is lively and gives the impression of a distinct personality. Kibblewhite's recommendations, rather than being uniformly cheery (which inevitably makes me suspicious) feel honest. If going to one particular pub, he suggests you bring earmuffs. If eating at a particular cafe, you should keep your expectations low. This honest subjectivity, far from overpowering the traveler's own preferences, makes it all the easier to judge which places to see, which foods to eat, and what shops to look in. It feels like a local's guide to the city, but not the sort of disingenuous local who wants to make the place sound good for the stupid tourists. Places are allowed to be unremarkable, or scruffy, or unexciting.

In terms of factual information, the Naked Guide is a thorough, witty, and non-intimidating approach to the city of Bath. For the devoted traveler, there is detailed background on most of the city, as well as extensive annotated listings of cafes, pubs, and so on. For the shorter attention span, there are useful asides on nearly every page, offering all the necessary information for a perfectly fine day out. 'Bite to Eat,' 'Naked Truth,' and '5 Things to Buy' are only three of the at-a-glance categories. And, to keep the whole thing lively, there are the recurring 'Adventures of Beau Nash' and the delightful 'How to...' sections, which include 'How to promenade Georgian style' and 'How to buy a house Jane Austen style.'

Ultimately, the Naked Guide to Bath lends itself as much to thorough reading as to casual perusal--and is as entertaining a book as it is a useful guide. Relevant information, personable voice, accessible layout, beautiful maps. Gideon Kibblewhite and the team at Faragher Jones prove once and for all that, indeed, 'Not all guide books are the same...'

(You might also check out the Naked Guide maps, which cover both Bristol and Bath, and include a student edition aimed at the university crowd. Know where to find the best hangover food in Bath? The Naked Guide does.)

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