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Bath

Travoley
Bath
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Bath Travel Guide

  • About Bath
A honey-coloured gem set in the leafy south-west of England; Bath is one of the UK’s most idyllic cities. The centre is characterised by sweeping crescents and twisting streets glimmering with golden stone, and calls to mind scenes of 19th-century high society as described by Jane Austen in two of her novels. There’s also plenty of greenery and a gentle bucolic pace thanks to the city’s position amidst soft English countryside.Bath is famed for its thermal springs, around which the Romans built a magnificent temple and bathing complex, which gave the city its name. The site still flows with natural hot water, while today’s ready supply of top-end boutiques and fine dining compliment the 21st-century thermal bath and spa facilities, pushing the city’s appeal to an all-time high.Bath has the further distinction of being the UK’s only entire city with UNESCO World Heritage status. Around 5,000 buildings are listed for their architectural merit, with the Royal Crescent, the Circus, the Pump Room, the Assembly Rooms and Pulteney Bridge particularly exceptional Georgian masterpieces. Today, any addition to Bath’s pristine brickwork has to slot in seamlessly and be built in the distinctive Bath Stone.Beyond the city confines, gently undulating hills offer endless rambles, and not a few picture-postcard villages. Bath is within easy reach of some of the Cotswolds’ most appealing offerings, such as the pale 17th-century limestone buildings of the historic wool town of Painswick. As to be expected of any university town, Bath’s pubs fill up swiftly at night, while its culinary circuit is increasingly diverse. Dinner options range from affordable brasserie meals to exquisite contemporary dishes served on crisp white tablecloths. For a real treat try the Michelin-starred restaurant at The Bath Priory.Literary and artistic residents make for a rich cultural scene, and Bath’s calendar is peppered with noteworthy festivals, such as Bath Literature Festival and Bath International Music Festival. As for a certain English novelist, she remains one of the city’s most revered figures – her life and work are celebrated every autumn at Bath’s city-wide18th-century extravaganza, the Jane Austen Festival.
  • Bath History
As the legend goes, Bath was founded in 500BC (or possibly much earlier) by Prince Bladud, who cured himself of leprosy in the hot springs and established the city to celebrate the miraculous waters. Whether or not the tale is true, the thermal springs have been prized for their health-promoting qualities for many centuries.The Romans built a temple to the goddess Minerva and ornate baths here around AD50 and the so-called Aquae Sulis developed into an important recreational town. The Saxons took over Bath in the 6th century and erected an important monastery by the site of the magnificent Bath Abbey, which was rebuilt in the 12th century. Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries saw Bath’s abbey demolished in 1539, and reconstructed again in the 16th century.By the 17th century, Bath was a quiet market town. Its unique springs were still the main attraction, but after Queen Anne visited in 1692, 1702 and 1703, their popularity grew enormously. The following century, it gained a penchant for the high life, with a boom in well-bred and genteel visitors. There was also a surge in impressive architecture, all built in the honey-coloured Bath stone, a distinct type of limestone.Famous Bath landmark Pulteney Bridge was completed in 1773, and The Royal Crescent was built between 1767 and 1774. The Grand Pump Room was also built in the late 18th century – a communal place for socialising and sampling the waters. Celebrated English novelist Jane Austen visited Bath around this time, and she went on to live there between 1801 and 1806.During WWII, Bath was spared German bombing raids until 1942. After a change in tactics, some 20,000 Bath buildings were destroyed and hundreds of lives lost.In the latter part of the 20th century, coinciding with the restoration of the Roman Baths, the city has boomed as a tourist attraction with over a million visitors a year.
  • Did you know?
The first monarch to rule over a united England, King Edgar, was crowned in Bath monastery 973. Bath resident, William Herschel, discovered Uranus in 1781. Designed by the Scottish architect Robert Adam, Pulteney Bridge was inspired by Ponte Vecchio in Florence.
  • Weather in Bath
In the summer sunshine, Bath excels: cafés bustle, street artists and buskers entertain, parks bloom, all manner of boats ply the twinkling river, and the city’s trademark golden brickwork glows even more brightly. September is a busy time with the Jane Austen Festival taking over the city. The build-up to Christmas is also a particularly magical time in Bath: the city has one of the largest proportion of independent shops and boutiques in the country (perfect for unique gifts), and its festive markets are delightful day’s browsing.

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