Travel to Bath, England – Episode 657

Hear about travel to Bath, England as the Amateur Traveler talks to Karen Warren about her new hometown.

Karen says, “I am actually currently living in Bath. I moved here about 6 months ago. Before then I had only been here 2 or 3 times. It just looked like a good place to live and I’ve been quite overwhelmed with what I’ve seen since I’ve been here. The whole town is a UNESCO world heritage site. The Romans used to come here 2,000 years ago because of the amazing hot springs. We’ve probably got the best-preserved Roman baths in the world. It’s also an amazing Georgian town associated with Jane Austen if you are a literature lover. Lots and lots of amazing architecture but we’ve also got museums, gardens, restaurants, pubs, etc. And we’re surrounded by some amazing countryside.”

Bath has been popular going back to Roman times because of the thermal baths. It regained popularity after a Princess Anne (later Queen Anne) visited to take the waters in 1688 and stayed popular into Georgian England.

Karen starts us at the Roman baths. You can visit but can no longer bathe in. You can go into the Georgian baths. Next to the baths is the pump room where Jane Austen’s characters would go to meet each other and drink the waters. You can still go there for lunch or afternoon tea. While you are at the baths you can wander around the medieval abbey.

Jane Austen fans should visit the Jane Austen center near the Circus and the Royal Crescent. No.1 Royal Crescent is another museum that is decorated as it would have been in 1776-1796. Near there are the Assembly Rooms where people would go for balls and formal occasions in the 1700s and 1800s.

She recommends a visit to the Victorian Art Gallery and Pulteney Bridge which has shops along the bridge. The Holburne Museum near there is an old hotel turned into an art gallery. Just past that is the Sydney Gardens which was a garden that people would pay admission to see in Jane Austen’s time.

Bath sits in a valley, so Karen recommends the 6-mile Skyline tour that is a walking trail in the surrounding hills. If you are up for a walk it has great views of the area. You can also access the trail via a hop-on-hop-off bus. The American Museum is at the top of the hill with its quilt collection and fabulous gardens.

Next Karen takes us out into the surrounding countryside.  She recommends a visit to the medieval town of Bradford-on-Avon and the preserved town of Lacock which has been used in many films like Harry Potter.

She recommends we skip the very busy Stonehenge and go instead to the stone circles at Avebury. She also recommends a visit to some of the other ancient sites in the area like West Kennet Long Barrow, the Uffington White Horse, and the Wayland’s Smithy.

If you have extra time check out one of the local wineries or cideries. 

Bath has a rich history and a rich literary history. It is also just a beautiful place, whether you care about history or not.

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Show Notes

worldwidewriter.co.uk
Bath
Where to Find Jane Austen in Bath
Roman Baths
Northanger Abbey
Thermae Bath Spa
Gainsborough Bath Spa (not The Grosvenor Hotel)
The Jane Austen Centre
Earl Grey’s Mixture
Circus (Bath)
Royal Crescent
Bath Assembly Rooms
Museum of Bath Architecture
The Pickwick Papers
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Victoria Art Gallery
Pulteney Bridge
Holburne Museum
Sydney Gardens
The Mayor of Bath’s Corps of Honorary Guides
American Museum & Gardens
Prior Park
Bath’s Original Theatre Royal and Masonic Hall Museum
Postal Museum
Anne, Queen of Great Britain
Bradford-on-Avon
Lacock
Stonehenge
Avebury
West Kennet Long Barrow
Silbury Hill
Uffington White Horse
Waylands Smithy
Thatchers Cider
Emma
Stourhead
In the Footprints of Great Writers: Discover Literary Bath

Community

Erik discovered the Amateur Traveler blog

“Click here to save $40 on your first Airbnb stay.”

I should have been reading your blog and not just listening to your podcasts! We just booked our first AirBNB. Oh well.

Jeff writes about Alaska National Parks – Episode 652

As always, enjoyed the podcast with Gary on Alaska NPs. If you ever think about wanting to do some of the fly ins and need someone to help reduce the costs, please consider me. It’s one state I’ve not spent much time in.

As couple of FYIs, you mentioned National Grasslands as designations in the NPS. They are actually US Forest Service.

Also, Indiana Dunes being redesignated a National Park from National Lakeshore as Gary mentioned is not an “upgrade”. All designations are treated the same. They follow the same laws, policy, and regulations except two (Preserves and Recreation Areas). In 1972, Congress stated in the Redwoods Act Amendment that all NPS units are created equal despite the designation they may have been given. Sorry, just a fallacy, I’ve spent trying to put to bed.

Travel safe,
Jeff

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