Bath

Everything about Bath is impressive, even the simplicity of its name. 

A city of timeless beauty, it developed around ancient thermal springs whose medicinal effects have been known and used for almost 2000 years. Bath is a World Heritage Site and deservedly one of the UK’s top tourist attractions.

Bath has a rich and diverse history. Legend states the town was founded by the father of King Lear, Prince Bladud, who was expelled from court for being a leper. He worked as a swineherd and is said to have cured himself by imitating his pigs, rolling in the warm mud around the hot springs. Restored to his inheritance, he established the City of Bath so others might also benefit from the curative waters. The more certain historical roots of the town come from the Romans. Always quick to spring on a good idea they built a fort there in the first century AD, and named it Aquae Sulis (the waters of Sulis.) Follow in their footsteps at the Roman Baths Museum and dare to dip your toe in the steaming pools beside the pavements. Bath made a real splash in the 18th Century after a visit from Queen Anne in 1701. Beautiful and fashionable people flocked to take the healing waters and enjoy the social side of spa life.

The town grew rapidly and became the setting for some of Jane Austen’s most popular novels, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Visit the Jane Austen Centre to discover more about the importance of Bath in the great novelist’s life and works.
Pulteney Bridge is one of the most unique buildings in a beautiful city. It divides Bath gracefully in half and is one of three bridges in the world to be lined with shops on either side. Built by Robert Adam in 1771 it is a delight to photographers and shoppers alike. 
Relive Bath’s glory days as a social hot spot with a trip to the Pump Room. Eighteenth Century ladies and gentlemen gathered there before lunch to drink the regulation three glasses of mineral water a day for medicinal purposes. 

Modern visitors can still sample the water from the Kings Spring but may prefer to relax with a cup of tea and a Bath Bun to the strains of the Pump Room Trio. Afternoons were spent in the Old Assembly Rooms, the ladies took refreshment in the Tea Room and the gentlemen gambled heavily in the Card Room. Now restored to its former glory it houses the excellent Museum of Costume. Bath’s Millennium Project aims to reopen the thermal springs to the public for the first time since 1978. This year will see the city reconnected with its essential reason for existence.  
Heal yourself with a trip to the Roman Baths.
Revisit the fashions of the last 400 years at the Museum of Costume.
Sample the curative waters of the King’s Spring at the Pump Room.
Step into Jane Austen’s world at the Jane Austen Centre. 
Browse in the specialist shops that line Pulteney Bridge.