Driving in Bath, and what it means for your tyres
Few UK cities ask more of a set of tyres than Bath. Lansdown, Widcombe Hill, Bathwick Hill and the climb up to Combe Down mean a lot of hard braking on the way down and a lot of torque on the way up, which wears the front pair faster than most drivers expect. If your car lives on one of the slopes, check the front tread more often than the back.
The Georgian centre has high kerbs, tight turns and on-street parking in residents' zones almost everywhere. Kerbing a wheel on a narrow terrace is one of the most common causes of sidewall damage we see. A bulge or a cut in the sidewall cannot be repaired, so it is worth a look after any hard knock.
Bath runs a Class C Clean Air Zone in the centre. Private cars are not charged, but older vans and taxis can be, which matters if you run a small business vehicle in the city. Park and ride sites at Lansdown, Newbridge and Odd Down take a lot of visitor traffic off the centre.
Mobile tyre fitting in Bath
Mobile fitting suits Bath well, because getting a car to a garage and back through the centre can take most of a morning. A mobile fitter brings the tyres, fits and balances them at the kerb and takes the old ones away. Tell us at booking if you park in a residents' zone or on a steep street, so the fitter can plan where to work safely.
Workshop fitting near Bath
Prefer a workshop? Garages on the network around Bath show their distance from you before you book, along with the fitted price. A workshop visit is the better choice for jobs that need a ramp, such as wheel alignment after a run-in with a kerb.
Where this page covers
Roughly 8 miles around the centre of Bath, across BA1, BA2.
Areas: City centre, Widcombe, Bathwick, Larkhall, Lansdown, Weston, Newbridge, Oldfield Park, Twerton, Bear Flat, Odd Down, Combe Down
Main roads: A4 London Road, A36 Lower Bristol Road, A367 Wells Road, A46 to M4 junction 18