Bath

“Finally,” you cry, “he’s written about an actual tourist destination.  Somewhere we might actually want to go.  Maybe he’ll write about the Roman baths, I’ve heard they’re interesting.”

Except, um, no.  Unfortunately, the Roman baths cost in the region of £15 to get in, and I’m not made of money.  Instead, here’s what to do in Bath without spending any money at all beyond the train fare.

Date of trip: Sunday 11th March 2018
Journey time: Approx. 1hr10 (change at Didcot Parkway)
Fare: £13 (Off-Peak, with Railcard)

So, nope, not the Roman Baths.  I can say they looked interesting from the outside, and that there’s the Pump Room where you can take the waters.  But I tried the water as a child, and it tasted disgusting, so I don’t think I missed much this time.  (Then again, I used to think olives tasted disgusting too, but that’s neither here nor there.)

What else, then?  Let’s start with the Abbey (technically free, although they do ask you to make a donation on the way in).  Sorry, yes, this is another church (not a cathedral, at least not since the Dissolution of the Monasteries), but this is probably the most stunning of the ones I’ve visited for this blog, so can you blame me?  There are leaflets about the history that take you on a guided tour, but they’re not particularly detailed; there is an online audio guide that you can download, which I wish I’d known about.  Climbing the tower is also an option, but again there’s a fee, and it’s not open on Sundays.

Even without the guide, and the tower tour, it’s hard not to be taken aback by the cavernous space inside the abbey (that fan vaulting, though).  Indeed, I’d argue that this is more worthy of a visit than the Roman Baths, but then I haven’t been to the Roman Baths, so I’m both a poor judge and very biased.  (If you want an actual comparison, Lonely Planet is that way.)

 

Two attractions are nearby: Pulteney Bridge and the Victoria Art Gallery (the latter free except for special exhibitions).  The bridge, over the Bristol Avon (not to be confused with the Avon at Stratford), has shops all the way across on both sides, to the extent that from the street that crosses it you’d barely know there was a river at all.  It’s from the river banks that it’s most dramatic, which on one side are accessed down a quaint little staircase (also shout-out to Brigit’s Bakery down that staircase, which was sells excellent reasonably-priced quiches).  The shops themselves were also interesting—ooh, look, antique maps—but many closed on Sundays; in fact, “don’t go on a Sunday” is probably the best suggestion I have for Bath.  As for the art gallery, I was going to go back to that later, except…

… except GWR, who are another reason you should not go on a Sunday.  I’m not sure what’s going on with them, but the last few times I’ve tried to take one of their trains on a Sunday there have been many cancellations at a few hours’ notice with no discernible pattern to them, the cancellations apparently due to staff shortages.  As a result, in order to avoid getting stuck until late in the evening, I returned an hour early.  So in place of what might have been an interesting paragraph about the art gallery, you get a train rant instead.  Sorry; blame them.

Other stuff.  There’s the Fashion Museum and the Jane Austen Centre (Austen lived in the city for a while, but wasn’t very productive while there), but both of those cost money.  There are the shops, including the new SouthGate centre which was designed to mimic the city’s Georgian architecture, and which succeeds so well at this you can barely tell where the centre ends and the rest of the city begins.  And there’s the Royal Victoria Park, opened by the then Princess Victoria, who was apparently so impressed she gave it the “Royal” prefix.  There are botanical gardens there that are open for free, but visiting in early March after an abnormally cold winter is perhaps not the way to see them at their best.  Cute squirrels, though.

And, oh, yes, I’m forgetting something.  Up at the top of the hill is the Circus, a circle  of Georgian townhouses with three equally-spaced roads leading in.  Take the appropriate one back out again and you’ll get to the famous Royal Crescent, which is bloody impressive.  I’m not hugely knowledgeable on architecture, so I’ll leave a detailed description to the experts, but it’s definitely bigger than you expect.  (You can go into one of the houses, but again money.)  Also worth noting is the ha-ha wall, which is designed to make the lawn in the crescent look like part of the park while also preventing anyone getting in.  Oh, to be wealthy.

Bath is one of those cities that thrives on tourism, which means that it can feel like an expensive place to be.  (For another example of such a city, see the title of this blog.)  But it’s definitely a place you can spend a day out without breaking the bank. And one day when I actually have money I’ll go back and tell you about the Roman Baths.