Nice places near Bath?

Mrs & Miss (dan) and I are heading to a wedding in Bath in a couple of weekends time and were thinking of staying in the area for a few days for a short break. Any recommendations of a nice area to visit?
Ta!

lots of b&bs and hills around Camerton

St Catherine is a really nice area, steep hills though if you're on bikes. Also Castle Coombe is in the same vein of picturesque quaint village setting.

I was going to say Castle Combe, although it is tiny, far smaller than I'd imagined.

The area around the Cheddar Gorge is very scenic too.

be sure to book for a chill at the spa, well worth the cash for a pre wedding spruce or a post wedding detox

There are so many pretty little villages around there.

Does partner-of-dan ride? The scenery is fantastic.

I can't suggest any specific places, just so many rolling hills, farms etc. I would aim for the small villages with decent B&Bs. The larger market towns are struggling these days - v run down and rather sorry for themselves.

I've never been to bath! But a friend of mine has decided to move down there to live with her boyfriend, she hasn't got a clue about the area. Does aný one have a recommendations on where she should go? Eg bars, resturants, shopping?

No bikes, little Miss (dan) not big enough for the bike seat yet.

this bar nice: http://www.opabath.com/

Bradford on Avon is a nice little place, and I second cheddar gorge - good for a drive through and fun in an english-touristy-way.

shitter

Go to Trowbridge, its fucking amazing.

london isn't too far from bath ?

Cycle from Bath to Bristol then head up to the Downs. Ah but you won't have bikes. Bugger.

Can also ride / walk from Bath to Bradford Upon Avon along the canal. I used to run it.

I remember liking Wells a lot, too.

Dyrham Park and Lacock are both rather nice and pretty close, as is Bristol :) (your visit may coincide with the Hot Air Balloon feista, which is quite a spectacle)

As for Bath itself, aside from the obvious (Abbey, Baths, etc) Mr B's is definitely worth a visit - http://www.mrbsemporium.com/index.htm.htm and if you are after a bike shop Cadence is the one to go to.

Lots of Bath and Bristol riders over on http://trackdropouts.com/forum too

Cheers for tips on cycle routes! Might go try them out.

Chipping Sodbury. or Yate. they have a fine selection of poundstores and a recently opened branch JD Sports in Yate nowadays.

Bradford on Avon is very nice

Marshfield is very nice too - we stopped off at this tea shop on the Trackdropouts Sunday ride:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&xhr=t&q=marshfield&cp=0&nord=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1280&bih=687&ion=1&safe=on&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

There is also an ice-cream dairy in Marshfield (the blackberry ice-cream being highly recommended)

Go to Trowbridge, its fucking amazing.

Ha ha! Bradford-on-Avon is nice

If you're bringing a little one and you still want a bike fix, I suggest you hire some bikes and a trailer from Avon Valley Cyclery. Then head out along the canal path to Bathampton and grab a bit of lunch at The George Inn. If you've got a very little one you should be able to fit a car seat into the trailer.

A visit to Royal Victoria Park is always fun if the weather's nice. Probably the best children's play area around. Also some nice walks around the ponds and through the botanical gardens. Kids love to feed the ducks.

If you do head out to Cheddar, stop off at the Stockhill woods on the way. Bring a picnic and relax in the huge forest. Very buggy friendly with lots of fire roads mixed in with the singletrack. Plenty of benches hidden around the place. It's my favourite place to take my kids who are 4 and 2. They love blatting about on their bikes, jumping on the log piles and generally letting their imaginations run wild.

A visit to Avon Valley Country Park is popular too. plenty of soft play stuff and loads of animals to see.

For pubs in Bath I'd reckon The Bell on Walcot st. or The Star on The Paragon. More your old style pub than poncey wine bar.

Enjoy your stay.