Bath or Glasgow?

Neither city is a place for beach days, but the water you can reach is different. Around Bath, the summer swim is in the river, at a weir on the Avon or at spots upstream, while the nearby sea at Weston is shallow and brown, and good sand means a long drive to Dorset or Devon.

Glasgow has the Firth of Clyde about an hour away by train, with promenades at Largs, Troon and Ayr and views across to Arran. The sea there is colder, so this coast is for a walk and fish and chips rather than for swimming.

Glasgow gives you more range at the table. South Asian cooking is its strongest card, Italian families shaped its cafés and chip shops, and you can move between Finnieston's modern Scottish seafood and game, brunch in the West End and small local places in Shawlands and Strathbungo.

Bath is narrower but has a West Country character of its own: farmhouse cheese, Somerset cider, the Sally Lunn bun, the farmers' market in the old Green Park station and afternoon tea in Georgian rooms. You will find little food from other cuisines, almost no street food, and kitchens close early.

Bath has the stronger set of sights, because the city itself is the monument. The Royal Crescent, the Circus, Pulteney Bridge and the Assembly Rooms form one complete Georgian townscape in honey-coloured stone, with the Roman Baths and the Abbey's fan vaulting at its heart, all a few minutes' walk apart.

Glasgow's culture is Victorian and spread more widely, and its strength is its collections rather than any one famous landmark. Kelvingrove and the Burrell hold enormous and varied collections, and Mackintosh's buildings and the Necropolis above the medieval cathedral give the city a character that is entirely its own.

Glasgow is by far the better night out. Merchant City cocktail bars, the late bars and student clubs around Sauchiehall Street and a well-respected underground techno and house scene keep things going until the clubs close in the small hours.

Bath's evenings are built around the pub, such as a coaching inn or a real-ale house on Walcot Street, and on weeknights most visitors are back at their hotel early. Locals who want a big night take the train to Bristol.

Glasgow sits on the edge of real mountain and loch country. Loch Lomond and Ben Lomond are well under an hour away, the Trossachs lie just beyond, the West Highland Way begins on the city's northern edge, and the ferry to Arran leads to rugged island walking around Goatfell.

From Bath, the countryside starts at the end of the street. The Skyline loop, the Kennet and Avon towpath and the Two Tunnels Greenway are easy to reach on foot or by bike, and the Cotswolds and Cheddar Gorge are close by. The landscape is gentler, though: rolling and pastoral rather than wild.

Both make excellent bases, but they lead to different journeys. From Bath you head into ancient and rural England: Stonehenge and Avebury, Wells and Glastonbury, Lacock and the Cotswold villages. Bristol is a short train hop, but many of the best stops are far easier with a car or on a tour.

Glasgow's big outings mostly run by train: Edinburgh in under an hour, Stirling Castle, Linlithgow Palace and New Lanark. Ferries add island days on Bute and Arran, so its trips mix capital-city sightseeing with the sea.

Glasgow keeps children busier inside the city. The Riverside Museum's trams and tall ship, the Spitfire at Kelvingrove and the Science Centre on the Clyde are all hands-on, and most are free, which helps on the rainy days you will certainly get.

In Bath the Roman Baths and the playground in Royal Victoria Park are the main draws, and families soon end up taking the train to Bristol or driving to Longleat. Both cities have steep streets that make pushing a buggy hard work.

Bath is simpler to get around because there is so little ground to cover. Its main sights and shops sit within a twenty-minute walk across a largely pedestrianised centre, with the station at the foot of the town. You only need transport for the country villages beyond.

Glasgow is bigger, with a walkable grid at its core, a small circular Subway to the West End and a wide suburban rail network for the South Side and the coast. Buses run by several separate companies can be confusing, but you never need a car unless you are heading to the Highlands.

Shopping in Bath means small independents in Georgian lanes. There are bookshops and jewellers around the Abbey, antiques on Bartlett Street, furniture makers and salvage dealers on Walcot Street, and little shops along both sides of Pulteney Bridge. Milsom Street and SouthGate add the familiar names, but there are no big department stores.

Glasgow's centre gives you a much bigger shopping scene. A pedestrian loop of Buchanan, Sauchiehall and Argyle Streets is lined with department stores and major British brands, and there is fashion in Princes Square and jewellers in the Argyll Arcade, both under Victorian glass. The West End lanes are good for vintage clothes, and the Barras market in the East End is rough but full of character.

Bath costs more on almost every count. Far more people want to sleep in a town this compact than it has beds for, so a central room costs more than in Glasgow and climbs again on summer weekends and around Christmas. Its two headline experiences, the Roman Baths and the thermal spa, both charge a hefty entry. A walkable centre and pub lunches soften the bill, and a weeknight stay or a bed in Bristol, fifteen minutes away by train, cuts it the most.

Glasgow is the cheaper stay overall. Rooms usually cost less than in Bath, although they climb when a big concert or football match fills the city, and curry houses and pub lunches keep meals reasonable. You can spend a whole day between Kelvingrove, the Burrell, the Riverside Museum and the Hunterian without paying for entry. The cost that adds up is rail fares for day trips.

Glasgow is one of Britain's great music cities, with gigs nearly every night from the Barrowland Ballroom to small rooms and riverside arenas. It also has folk sessions in pubs and Celtic Connections in winter, and Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet and two symphony orchestras are based in the city.

Bath's stage life revolves around the gilded Georgian Theatre Royal and its touring plays, opera and pantomime, along with concerts in the Abbey and festivals of literature, music and Mozart. On a typical evening, though, there is far less choice of live music.

This is Bath's speciality. Natural hot water rises beneath the city, and you can bathe in it at Thermae Bath Spa's rooftop pool, which looks over the Abbey and hills, or in the more intimate Cross Bath. The town's gardens and tearooms keep the pace slow.

Glasgow is a loud, energetic city rather than a place to unwind. Its Victorian Turkish baths are mainly for members, so relaxing there usually means a hotel spa, a quiet park or a trip out to the lochs.