I’m having a great time researching my guidebook in England. I really am. But a few things are bugging me. I just need to vent for a minute. I love traveling in England and still marvel at the fun of it — but those coming this year on a budget will need to cut a few corners. From my experience, it’s doable, and the essential fun of being in Britain is not determined by how much you’re spending. Having said that…now let me vent.
I nearly got into an argument at the Bath tourist information office. I guess I was in a sour mood at how expensive things are, compounded by how greedy Bath, the most delightful (and probably richest) little city in England, has gotten. Tourism is its bread and butter, yet even the tourist office — now privatized — does its best to gouge visitors.
My guidebook listed the tourist office’s free phone number — the one dedicated to booking rooms. (The office gets a fee, plus takes a 10 percent deposit — which they pocket — and B&Bs then need to increase their prices to recoup the TI kickback. You and your host do better if you book direct.) I give that toll-free number to my readers for tourist information.
As I updated my guidebook information, they asked me to change that phone number to their 0906 number. In Britain, “09” in the prefix sends up flares. In each country, you need to watch out for costly phone sex-type prefixes. The Bath tourist office now charges a dollar a minute to ask them for advice on how to spend money in their overpriced town. They no longer give out maps, but sell a lousy little sheet for $2 — no better than the one hotels give out for free. More square footage in the TI is devoted to their retail shop than information. And a far handier map is for sale just steps away for $2.50.
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| Bath’s ancient Roman spa has more appeal than its 21st century spa. Enlarge photo |
Part of Bath’s desperate greed is because their spa project ran about $50 million over budget, and they’re trying to pay that back. Locals as well as tourists are being hit. A local told me that on the town’s picturesque Pulteney Bridge, which is open only to buses and taxis, the city hall was photographing unknowing tourists as well as sloppy locals and fining each vehicle that crossed $120. For a while, the city was netting $60,000 a day just on Pulteney Bridge infractions. (By the way, anywhere in Europe, tourists driving in city centers can unknowingly cross a no-go line and be hit with a huge fine by mail.)
Britain is really expensive, and apparently it’s tough for locals, too. Everyone is talking about the recession (they raise prices “because of the recession,” which makes no sense to me), the high cost of oil (they blame the USA), and the housing and mortgage bust (just like ours). Local minimum wage is about six pounds ($12) per hour, which I think has even less buying power than the minimum wage in the USA. Knife violence (four killings just yesterday) and the singer Amy Winehouse (she keeps slapping bouncers and being photographed with “blobs of white stuff in her nose”) seem to dominate the tabloids. Each day this week, wasted Amy has been shown oblivious to the sober world on the cover of the leading papers (the National Enquirer types dominate on the tube).
Part of the high cost of living is the fear everyone has of being sued or burned up in a fire. I can’t walk down a hall without having to open big, heavy fire doors. Whenever I encounter something really inefficient or absurd, locals say, “risk assessment.”
School kids are taking fewer historic field trips. Why? “Risk assessment…it’s too legally risky for the schools.” Some walking tours don’t go if it’s raining. Why? “Risk assessment…danger of an umbrella poking someone’s eye out.” A male local guide refuses to do a tour if he has only one, female customer. Why? “Risk assessment…she may claim he molested her.” Why is the water not really hot in my room? “Risk assessment…we don’t want guests to scald themselves.” Why can’t I open my window more than four inches? “Risk assessment… a baby fell out of a window once right here in London.” What?! “We have even more lawyers than you do. It’s ruining our country. A burglar can sue me if he’s rifling through my home and he trips on a stray cord.”
As long as you have money, there’s no risk that you won’t have a good time here in England. But bring your pointy umbrella and a lawyer just in case.
(By the way, if you haven’t seen it yet, our daughter Jackie is writing a fun blog of her own about her high-school-graduation, no-parents-in-sight trip through Europe.)
Wow! Lawyers own England. I just returned from Germany where it did not seem to be the same. I saw plenty of potentially “risky” situations you would not see in America because of personal injury lawyers.
Rick You are really venting. That’s good for us………. My last trip to England it was very expensive…from little things like parking to “rings” at Blackpool (10# for 10 to toss) …………….I love visiting but have to limit now due to the cost……
wow Rick that’s really some interesting stuff – was planning a trip to England but now I don’t think so! is Ireland the same? please tell me it’s not – it was to be my next dream trip.
Lynn, please do not change your England plans because of what one person writes, I have been to England 3 times and really enjoyed it…Rick tends to be negative on certain countries and the one’s he loves, he very seldom finds anything wrong with…many people distort things ( like history, art ) in order to think like them, however, please give England a chance….it’s lovely
Well, yes that was quite a vent! But it’s tough times everywhere right now. I wouldn’t let Rick’s one vent stop me from going to the UK if that was my dream. Maybe I wouldn’t go to Bath, but I surely would still go. In a world where you are charged more money to check your bag on an airline are we really surprised that we have to pay for the maps? One of the things that has always amazed about the UK and Europe are the tourist information offices. We don’t have anything like this in the US. I just googled Chicago Tourist Information. I got lots of nice web sites, but no address that you could go to and speak to a person. Then I tried Madison WI and was thrilled to find that the U of WI and the convention and visitors bureau did have a site, but the hours are M-F 9:30-4:30 Sat. 11-2 and closed Sunday. So, yes, I know that tourism is a big part of their economy, but if the economy is off then sadly, you make it up some how. You just have to adjust your expectations about the services. Pam
Thanks, Rick, for the extra tips on Bath. Travel sure is changing. Take care.
Lynne, forget England – head to eastern Europe where prices are still reasonable, and the people are still very friendly. Ireland is also very expensive, but at least the people are warm and friendly – especially the west coast of Ireland!!!
Dear God, my worst nightmare has come to fruition. Forget McDonalds, forget Starbucks, if what Rick writes is true, then the worst of all American innovations has finally found a foothold in Europe- our out-of-control tort system!
Netherlands is quite reasonable, as is Germany and East Europe for prices. Ireland is expensive but best time is late August and early September when you can swim in the sea, not as busy also. Have to get best value for hard earned vacation time and money. I don’t like feeling ripped off anywhere….have a good trip Lynn. That’s my post max for today (2)
Wow, Rick…I don’t think I’ve ever heard you rant like that before. I have long dreamed of going to the UK–to the point of reading their newspapers online, but it sounds as if it truly has become the ‘Nanny State’. Risk assesment? Indeed. Thanks again for your astute observances.
US gas stations found out years ago that there was more profit in selling maps than in giving them away. European TI’s have caught on to the trick. My first free London tourist map was perfect in 2001. The 2001 edition was mostly ads with a smaller and less usable map. Luckily, tourists need tourist offices less than guide book authors do. Research attractions and book lodgings in advance and stay out of tourist offices altogether.
I just returned from 2nd trip to England this year. Yes, it is very expensive. I knew that going in and planned accordingly. I stayed at a B&B and did all the museums in London which are free. I found one of the best ways to enjoy any city here or overseas is to spend a lot of time just walking and observing. All of which cost nothing! So, my advice to anyone who wants to go to the UK or elsewhere is to do your homework and most of all have fun!!!
England was expensive. I did not find Bath any more or less expensive. You just eat light, walk around town, use Rick’s books and maps and you will be fine. The free walking tours are great! The people watching are free! Ask questions of the local residents. They will point you in the right direction or give you advice then you don’t need the TI. I don’t even know where it is in Bath as we didn’t need anything. Your B&B hosts can give you “free” advice. Go to England. It was our first trip to England. It was a VERY DELIGHTFUL, WONDERFUL experience (except for my two falls)ouch!! We purchased a Great English Heritage Pass that also included National Trust sites. Well worth it. The English people are very friendly no matter where you go as well as the residents in Wales. GO!
Rick, it’s nice to see you recognize how absurd things can become in a highly litigous society. Now maybe you’ll hammer your friends on the left to get behind tort reform here in the U.S. before we end up like England. Ooops, that may not work since the Dem’s are heavily supported by trial lawyers and you’d probably find it difficult to get behind a conservative cause!
Another interesting post. As the spouse of an English lass, we travel there a lot and it always an expensive proposition. If budget-conscious travelers can’t stay with in-laws, they might consider avoiding areas like York, Bath, London, or the Cotswolds, which are hardly ‘backdoors’ anymore. For example, Norwich is a charming city with a surprising amount of its medieval heart still intact. The Norfolk Broads and market towns will also give a sense of England much different than its greatest hits. You will have a greater chance of meeting Brits rather than Americans griping about tort reforms.
I love posts like this! I’m a real true blue fan of yours, Rick, and this post shows how you get annoyed with outrageousness, so it makes me feel sort of good ~ it validates the way I get annoyed with outrageousness too!
I lived in England for a time, and this definitely rings home! But I’d caution other commenters–I don’t think that Rick is saying don’t visit England at all; just that there are aspects that you want to be on the lookout for. I would wager that every country has things that could prompt a good ranting, and it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go!
Truc, I agree that every country has things that could prompt a good ranting, however, some people only pick on certain places….let’s talk about important things…like CRIME rates in Europe…who has the highest and lowest, or which country has the most con artists etc..those are things that deserve a major rant….as I am ranting right now….
Rick, I do not know if your travel plans include Edinburgh, but if so, then I would love to buy you a pint at the Bow Bar. How it fails to make your guidebook is beyond my comprehension. Leslie’s is lovely, but the Bow is the best in town.
England is expensive but I would still recommend it. I spent 5 nights a couple of months ago and spend 112 pound on accomodations which I think is pretty reasonable. The exchange on the dollar hurts but when you’re there, don’t think about it and have fun! Food and what not is still reasonably priced I found and I think my week in England and Wales was cheaper than my weeks in France and Italy.
Risk assessment? I just got back last night from a one-week walking tour in Scotland and England (St. Cuthberts Way). The weather was…very UK, meaning very wet. I slopped through more mud and muck than I do here in a year. If they had been worried about lawyers and lawsuits, we wouldn’t have gone out even one day. The trails were that wet, slick, and dicey. Yet, we went out every single day (and I’ve got the muddy boots to prove it). There were times any one of our group could have tumbled over and slid down a long embankment. And most of our group were over 60! One woman, did in fact, fall and break her ankle — 200 yards from our hotel on the sidewalk. If the UK is worried about too many lawsuits, that word hasn’t gotten to this tour company. :)
It is profoundly reductionist, and foolish, to decry the worst excesses of the law while overlooking the abundant benefits it has brought. The standards and comforts that a tourist can confidently enjoy in England, like in the U.S., are largely the result of a strong legal system that challenges corruption, predation, fraud, negligence, etc. Of course the extreme can lead to absurdities, but the standards that result from the justice system are easy to recognize, and a comfort to enjoy. The ‘tort reform’ urged by Republicans in this country is nothing short of a naked attempt to immunize corporate America from being held responsible for the injuries its products, and its greedy actions, cause. But for the threat of the justice system, how many children would die of defective toys; how many communities would be poisoned by toxic effluent, and how many drivers would crash on the roads? I can understand why Exxon doesn’t want to disgorge its billions to pay for small matters like destroying the environment and an entire ecosystem. I can’t understand why anyone else, save greedy shareholders, would join them.
Hi, I’ve lived in the UK and spent some time in Bath. It’s a wonderful city and would encourage everyone on a tour of the UK to attend. Rick’s blog points out many of the annoyances of travel — feeling nickeled and dimed whereas a true local can avoid fees. But please remember that the amounts of money that Rick is talking about are immaterial to most travelers compared with air fare, lodging, transport, etc. If you truly want to ensure you can get by without little fees, stay home. Traveling is a joy, but there are always little inconveniences. As would say, embrace the adventure and realize that your waking moments cost more than $10 / hour while traveling in Europe. It’s more important to see the great sites and have a wonderful experience, than avoid them to not pay small fees. And, the new spa that costs so much money in bridge fees is truly delightful to take a bath in Bath!
Rick, I realize you are in Europe on business, and please keep doing the favors for your customers, that you have done so successfully over the years. In our 30 years of extensive travel, we didn’t have as many problems total as you had in Bath. When we travel we know it is their home, if we don’t like it we can leave. We are there to learn about their home and way of life, and we try not to tell everyone that our home is best, even though we are positive that it is. ==== Blackstone I agree up to a point. Those actions that you blame on corporations should be treated as crimes, not as a golden parachute for someone who didn’t read the warning on the pack of smokes, or who hadn’t heard the comment “coffin nails†for the last 100 years. The problem is we don’t have a Justice System, we have a legal system, built and operated by and for the wallet and ego of the lawyers. If a guilty person is freed, or an innocent person found guilty, shoot the lawyers involved.
Again I say, ” Humberd for the Common Sense Party candidate.”
Ken, all those good things you say are appreciated, but I am still awaiting my first campaign donation from you. With no pay, there can be no play.
Noah, thenaks for a great reminder for all of us! I would love to take a bath in Bath. In my daughter’s bathroom, there is a framed print of the Bridge . . . a little Bath in her bath. In Baden-Baden, I bought us small tiles with Bad imprinted. We each have a little Baden-Baden in our baths. :-)
Mr. Humberd, thank you for pointing out if you do not like a place then you shouldn’t go there, have tours there, write books about and make TONS of MONEY. And it is funny that some only pick on certain countries and not all they are visiting in….I am really starting to wonder…Thanks Jim
Yes, England is expensive, but as several posters mentioned, there are ways to get around it. We went last September and stayed at the London School of Economics dorms (around 52GBP *and* that includes an insanely large breakfast), spent most our time sight-seeing and people watching in the parks and museums and eating in pubs rather than fancy restaurants. Not once did we feel like we penny-pinched our way out of a great trip. Of course, if you want a deluxe trip, just save up the $$ for it. You’ve got time…last time I checked England wasn’t going anywhere.
Rick,I agree with many of your thoughts about Bath. We were in the Bath TI on July 5 booking a room when you happened to come in. My wife spoke to you briefly. We were there at the same time as you and can vouch for the validity of your comments.
Humberd, the check is in the mail!
I had to laugh reading your comments and the comments of others. We all have bad experiences at times and places that are overly expensive are wonderful invitations to ignore them. Having traveled Europe extensively and found myself completely in love with the continent, I must say that the only country that I have no interest in ever visiting again is England. Repeated negative experiences have left me without any interest in passing through that country again except for using their airports as pass throughs to other countries with heritages just as rich, people just as sweet, and where my money takes me further. Though tis the country of my ancestors birth, I shant be passing that way again. Rick, thank you, thank you, thank you for all you do!
Sorry, a bit off-topics but… Pam, We DO have Tourist Information offices in the U.S., except they are called Visitors’ Information and you will find them near the first town as you enter a state, along the highways. Also every town of any size has a Chamber of Commerce Visitors Office. Almost everything in both kinds of center is free including excellent maps and guidebooks, and usually handy magazine-type booklets full of discounts on hotel and motel rooms and other services. And pleasant clerks who want to help you.
I don’t understand at all what “Thank you Jim – Jul 15, 2008 2:34 PM†was talking about. Certainly nothing that I have ever said or ever written, on Rick’s Blog, or anywhere else. We are not Pollyannish about our travels, but there is really no place where we have visited in 70 countries and Islands that we would not be happy to revisit tomorrow. Of course some are more interesting than others, but when we travel we know it is their home, if we don’t like it we can leave. We have never been mistreated, we have never rushed to get away from anywhere. We are there to learn about their home and way of life, and we try not to tell everyone that our home and our culture is best, even though we are positive that it is. We have been asked a thousand time, what is your favorite country, what is the best place to visit. My answer, “There is no best, each is unique, there are many differences.†==== “Thank you Jim,†please explain your point. If your point was that I dislike people who move, not travel, to some country, then complain about everything, that I agree with.
The little jabs at Rick not being even-handed are not quite fair or accurrate. It is human to mostly see the points one disagrees with while ignoring the “balance”. Someone posted that Rick is picking on England and he didn’t pick on Iran. This is my point. Extremists hear what they want to hear. Rick mentioned in a negative way, much in Iran: Toilets, womens head gear, restrictive religion, death posters, toilets, leaders taunting the USA and Israel, Israel threats, denial of holocaust, toilets, instant coffee, lack of freedom at colleges, food, horrible, crazy traffic, USA flags made out of Israel flags, drug addiction, casual sex, toilets, complicated money, kleenex as napkins and more toilets. I’m sure there was more negatve stuff Rick mentioned, but this is off the cuff. I would like to ask my Conservative friends to consider their reflexive comments before they make them. Yeah, I know. But maybe it will be possible to re-consider them once you have made them?
Mr. Humberg, Jim here,,,I just wanted to say I enjoy what you say about, if you do not like a place you can leave…and not COMPLAIN….we have all traveled and noticed that some countries have more litter, crime etc…it appears England was awarded with the most litter and Italy as always has the most crime…does that mean I do not go to these places? No…however, when someone complains excessively about a place and then stands to make financial gains from this country, I become angry….if you do not like a place, do not go there etc. I dislike sewing circle syndromes
i think what depresses me most about england is that i find with each subsequent visit, it’s bit more like the usa (strip malls, asda for instance). and lordy is it expensive! but it’s just so jam packed with interesting sights, that it remains my favorite destination. the reality is that the cost of living is outrageous. our english friends tell us the price of energy and fuel is predicted to skyrocket in the next few months. for the tourist, many things (food, lodging for instance) cost double what they do in the states, and our initial thought is to blame the weak dollar, but the reality is it’s inflation and taxes that are to blame. the cost of eu membership is also taking it’s toll. stronger countries like the uk are said to be shouldering the economic responsibility for the rest of the poorer members. i wonder how long before eu members start dropping out?
I’m from England,but now live in Canada. I visit my family in England every year. Its unfortunate that your trip to Bath has left a sour taste in your mouth regarding the whole country. I always tell people going to England to visit the countryside and avoid larger cities, where they will gauge you; just like New York and LA do. Devon and cornwall are beautiful places to visit, Gloucester is also a really nice place to go, the smaller towns have a lot of history and the locals tend to me more accomodating and the prices more reasonable.
I’ve taken two trips to England in the past two years, and while it is expensive, I found the history and scenery delightful and the people friendly. I saved money by filling up on hotel breakfasts and taking other meals in sandwich and pasty shops, supermarket deli counters, and bakeries. I concentrated on free sights and inclusive tickets like the York Pass. As an Episcopalian and a choir geek, I was happy to attend evensongs and Sunday services to see the great cathedrals. The BritRail Pass and intercity buses were fine ways to save money.
Rick, I love it that you’ve traveled so much that you can find fault in the littlest things that we beginners would never notice. Small tips like the handy map in Bath. Shocking to hear that England is more litigious than the USA – no walking tours when it’s raining?! Keep on posting!
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