"Definitely worth seeing, especially as it’s free + an optional donation."
"Amazing visit. Free to enter donation optional but please help the Abbey with its recommendation of £5 per person."
"Free admission, but donations most welcome and much needed."
"The staff were very friendly, there is no charge to enter (a donation is suggested however), but there is a charge for the tower tour."
"It’s free to visit but open for donation."
"No charge to enter, but donations are welcomed and once you enter you feel that spiritual warmth and happily donate."
"Free Entry. Suggested Donation £2-£5."
Cons:
"You need to pay for tickets, even though it mentions free."
"The cost is not free, it’s £7.50 per person."
"Still charged the same price to enter but couldn’t see a lot of it."
"Large sections were closed for repair."
"Nice on the outside, but mandatory entrance fee. I would suggest Gloucester Cathedral instead where there is a voluntary gift."
"Please note the entrance is not free. For a place of worship it’s extremely wrong to charge entrance."
"It suggests on here that tickets are free but there is actually a £3 entry fee or a premium ticket for £15 with access to additional areas."
Guided Tours
Pros:
"An absolutely wonderful space with inexpensive guided tours, including a museum and gift shop."
"Ben and Gemma gave us a wonderful Tour of the Abbey! 212 narrow steps in total but this was broken down in parts."
"The tour guides an older gentleman and younger lady were captivating and super friendly."
"Incredible experience, would highly recommend getting the tour."
"The tour was exceptional with the guides (Ben & Summer) providing interesting information about the history of the church bells, clock and more."
"The tour to the top of the tower is worth the small cost of the ticket."
"We signed up for the tour (including clock tower). Our guide was amazing & gave of lots of insights - it was very interesting."
Cons:
"There's construction ongoing inside the abbey."
"It was quite popular on Saturdays though, we wanted to do the 4 o'clock tour but it was booked up, so had to go for 5 o'clock instead!"
"One area was blocked off as they where taking pictures."
"Unfortunately I didn’t get true best chance to view everywhere, as there was underfloor heating being laid during my visit."
"We took only the standard tour..not the terrace...so maybe we lose some more interesting bits."
"We had to queue to get in to see Museum of the Moon but the line was quick to move."
"We couldn't go up the tower because of the wind speeds."
Architecture and History
Pros:
"Magnificent Gothic abbey. The climbing to the tower is worthwhile (212 steps) as you can have spectacular views of the beautiful city and see right into the countryside."
"The Cathedral is absolutely astonishing. Lots of history there."
"There’s been three separate churches located on the site of Bath Abbey, the first dating back to 757 AD."
"The Abbey itself boasts incredibly high and decorative ceiling as you'd expect and amazing stained glass windows!"
"The beauty of Bath, the abbey is well located a few yards from a few other attractions (Roman Baths, Pulteney Bridge, etc.)."
"Oliver King, the Bishop of Bath had a dream about angels descending, and he used this as inspiration not only for the design of the angels, but also for a new Abbey."
"Bath Abbey stands as an awe-inspiring testament to remarkable artistry and exquisite architecture."
Cons:
"There were many boarded / closed off areas and tape."
"It has a nice gift shop a little over priced."
"It's in the same square as the Roman Bath so it's easy to see this in the same day."
"A sight to behold but be prepared to queue for entry."
"One of the magnificent buildings to be found in Bath. Love the architecture and atmosphere."
"The roof top gave a beautiful stunning view over Bath."
"The history of the bells and the clock is fascinating."
Staff and Volunteers
Pros:
"I found the staff at the entrance to be very welcoming."
"The volunteer guides are also very friendly, available and full of knowledge."
"The staff inside were super informative."
"The staff were friendly and lovely to chat to."
"The staff were wonderful and kind, more than happy to give information about the history."
"Both Emma and Toby our tour guides were brilliant."
"The staff is super friendly and helpful."
Cons:
"The staff were quite irreverent; actually there is no reverence at all."
"After the ‘hospitality’ of an incredibly pushy volunteer, very cold and ruined my perspective of the local people in Bath."
"They say that the entrance is free but they all pestering you all the time to make a donation. I found it very aggressive."
"The constant passive aggressive bullying for you to make a recommend donation is a bit much though."
"The staff were quite irreverent; actually there is no reverence at all; children running, people laughing and shouting - it might as well be a train station."
"The management need to find a better way of dealing with queues and tickets."
"A little disappointing as the Abbey had been used for graduations...a lot of the Abbey was covered with banners and stacks of chairs."