England

Undeniably beautiful, Bath is an architectural gem with over 5000 listed buildings. The city's fortune was built on the presence of the only hot springs in England. Georgian aristocrats flocked here to gossip and play, building the glorious honey-coloured terraces that characterise the city today.

Before the 20th century

Prehistoric people probably knew about the hot springs, and legend has it that King Bladud, a Trojan refugee and father of King Lear, founded the town some 2800 years ago; supposedly, a bath in the muddy swamps cured his leprosy. The Romans established the town of Aquae Sulis in AD 44 and built the extensive baths complex and a temple to the goddess Sulis-Minerva. Long after the Romans had departed, the Anglo-Saxons arrived and in 944 a monastery was founded on the site of the present abbey. Throughout the Middle Ages, Bath was an ecclesiastical centre and a wooltrading town and it wasn't until the early 18th century that Allen and Richard 'Beau' Nash made Bath the centre of fashionable society. Ralph Allen developed the quarries at Coombe Down and employed the two John Woods (father and son) to create the glorious buildings you see today. As the 18th century wore on, Beau Nash lost his influence and sea bathing started to draw visitors away from Bath; by the mid-19th century the city was thoroughly out of fashion.

Modern history

Bath was bombed during World War II and several buildings were damaged or destroyed. Fortunately, most of its grand architecture remains to delight the thousands of visitors who visit the city each year.

Recent history

Bath's colourful history ensures a steady stream of tourists to the city. Restoration of its many Unesco protected sites continues, and Bath looks likely to remain one of England's most popular places to visit.

Top Accommodation

Top Restaurants

Bath wears an unpredictable face when it comes to weather. Long cold winters are peppered with mild sunny days; clear and calm mornings can quickly turn ugly and just when the damp seems to have settled in, the sun comes out and things start to thaw. Keeping this in mind, May to September is generally fine and warm, spring is mild and winter, though snow is rare, provides cold, clear, frosty days. The icy rain comes down hardest from December through to February.

Average weather

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Transport

Getting around

Bikes can be hired from Avon Valley Cycles (tel: 461880; www.bikeshop.uk.com; Arch 37). Cyclists can use the 12-mile Bristol and Bath Railway Path that follows a disused railway line. Companies run boats from Pulteney Bridge to Bathampton (50 mins). Bus 18 runs frequently from the bus station, High St and Great Pulteney St up Bathwick Hill past the YHA to the university. Bus 4 runs to Bathampton from the same places. Bath has a bad traffic problem and an infuriating one-way system. Park-and-ride services (Tel: 464446) operate at Lansdown to the north, Newbridge to the west and Odd Down to the south.

Getting there and away

National Express coaches run to London (3.5hrs) via Heathrow (2.5hrs), and to Manchester (6.5 to 10.5hrs) and Oxford (2hrs). Buses X39 and 337/8/9 run to Bristol (50mins) several times an hour. Other useful services include bus X5 and X6 to Bradford-on-Avon (30mins, half hourly), Buses X71 and X72 to Devizes (one hr, hourly) and Buses 173/773 to Wells (one hr, hourly). Map-timetables for individual routes are available from the bus station office (tel: 464446; Manvers St). There are frequent trains to London Paddington (1.5 hrs) and Cardiff (one hr), and several each hour to Bristol (11mins). Trains also go to Oxford (one hr); Weymouth(two hrs) via Bradford-on-Avon (15mins)and Dorchester West (two hrs); and Portsmouth (2.5hrs) via Salisbury (50mins).