Bath

Quick Facts

Type: Countryside
Best Date to Visit: (Summer) July- August, (Winter) December
Expense: Fair
Things to Do: Sight Seeing, CHristmas Markets, Hot Spring
Points of Interest: Roman Bath, Bath Abbey, Royal Crescent, Pulteney Bridge, Jane Austen Centre, ect
The Good: Unique features such as the Natural thermal waters
The Bad: Small, can be explored in a day

Brief

Bath is a small provincial town in the countryside southwest of England. Known for being a settlement for the Romans, largely occupied by 18th century Georgians whos infrastructure still stand today, the town is currently being modernised with new buildings (keeping a traditional architecture) and now extensively being visited for shopping and dining. Other recognized aspects of Bath are its Rugby, various schools, literature and its natural hot springs.

The Place

Bath is a growing modern English town that has its historic attractions. It’s main appeal is the ‘Roman Baths’ which is a well preserved public bathing area. Attractions such as the Royal Crescent, Pulteney Bridge, Jane Austen Centre and Bath Abbey are the other popular interests in the town. Although the Roman Era are mainly introduced as the prime pioneers, it is the stone Georgian buildings which surround the town, however newer modern buildings have been completed for new shop complexes and many other establishments. Bath also sit upon a wave of various beautiful parks and is parallel to the river Avon which in itself has dazzling views.

The ‘Roman Baths’ is a sight to see, and I believe is a golden attraction for the country. The entrance fee is affordable, about £15-£25 for adults, about £10-£20 for seniors and students whilst children’s tickets costing £8-£18 depending on the season of visit, however there are also family and seasonal tickets as well. Tickets include entrance to the Baths, an extensive museum exhibit, an audio phone and a free taste of the spring water which I can describe as an earthy weak sparkling water. Best time to visit are said to be in the morning as the lines are not too long and the building not too busy. Firstly upon entering the building you appear in some sort of ticket room where you either collect or buy your ticket, this takes a short 5 minutes and afterwards you collect an audio form and some leaflets. After that you proceed straight to the terrace view of the bath itself and with your portable audio roam at your own pace. The whole museum is on a structured one way route type system, which is good for crowd control and so you don’t miss a thing. Throughout the exhibition there are many different videos, artefacts and even actors re-enacting along the way. Apart from the hot spring bath the best thing for me was the head (mask) of the patron goddess ‘Sulis Minerva’ who was worshiped by the British-Romans at the location. The life sized bronze head which was only seen by high priests at the time, is probably the most valuable and highly preserved item they have. Around the route there are plenty to see and even many places to take photos and in the end you will be able to visit the Gift shop which quite surprisingly has many soaps and shampoos instead of gifts.

Another attraction in Bath is Pulteney Bridge and the views of the Avon river, there are many different views locations within this area to rest and enjoy the scenes, one area which was really good was ‘Bath Garden’ along the Grande parade road, there were many different art work and floral display, but the downside was that the garden itself had an entrance fee of £1.50 which although not much turned many tourists away.

Bath is also a great place for a city getaway with an exceptional shopping avenue which include modern chains and prestige market stalls. Bath is also one of not so many places which host Christmas markets in the which is not yet popular in the United Kingdom but increasingly popular around Europe around the festive season.

My Conclusion

In conclusion Bath is a days visit and not an overnight trip. The village is very small and can be explored again and again in just a few hours. A definite place for tourists to visit even if it is just for a few hours. There are many tours which include this town as an itinerary and I believe people visiting the UK should plan a day excursion here.

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