Bath on a Fine Day

Sometimes when you visit a place the weather is just too good to be inside, so it is as well to have a plan for activities which are out in the fresh air, lapping up the sun.

Bath has a wealth of beautiful buildings and museums to attract the tourist whatever the weather, but on those rare sunny days there are other things to do, out-of-doors. Cars are best left in a Park and Ride or city center car parks, or the city is easily accessed by rail and bus. Then, on a warm day, instead of walking why not take the city sightseeing open-topped bus? This can be used as a way of seeing and visiting all the main sites.

Bath architecture is almost more stunning from the top of a bus than it is from street level and this mode of transport avoids hot pavements and crowds and sometimes gives an extra glimpse into the gardens and homes which are being driven past. Often a better perspective can be gained for photos from higher up as well as the sweep of the Georgian crescents and streets. Then there is always the local commentary to amuse and inform.

For the combination of indoor and outdoor the new Thermae Bath Spa offers options. Warm waters from the thermals beneath the city have been pumped into the complex to produce a lower ground floor Romanesque style pool for swimming against intermittent currents or just wallowing in the spa area. On mid level are a series of four glass steam rooms, each infused with different oils and up on the roof is the fine day option of the open air pool where the views across the rooftops of the buildings to the fields beyond the city can be appreciated. Two hour, four hour or all day ticketing times mean several hours can be spent there just moving from one area to another with a lunch or a coffee from the café between water sessions.

There are several spa treatments and therapies on offer as well. On entry to the Spa visitors are issued with a wristband which automatically scans into a safe locker for valuables and clothes. Robes, towels and flipflops can be hired at extra cost. The Spa complex is in the center of the city close to the Roman Baths and Pump Rooms and can be seen on all the pedestrian signs.

On a really hot day why not take to the river? The Avon flows through the city and is easily accessible for use via the Victorian built Bath Boating Station in Forrester Road. Here skiffs, punts and canoes can be hired by the hour for a gentle drift through cooling waters. There is a car park here and refreshments available. For those less energetic organized river trips are available from Pulteney Bridge in the city center.

Slightly further out of the city (one mile from the train station), is Prior Park Landscape Garden. It is in Ralph Allen Drive. Bus service out to the garden is frequent and access is free to National Trust Members. The eighteenth century landscape was created by Ralph Allen, a Bath entrepreneur, and he was reputedly helped by the poet Alexander Pope and Lancelot "Capability" Brown. The most notable feature of the gardens is the much photographed Palladian Bridge famous for being one of only four in the World still able to be crossed. Set in a sweeping valley there are truly wonderful panoramic views of the City of Bath.

Another five minutes on foot leads to the Bath Skyline which is a six-mile walk rewarding you with woodlands, meadows, follies and endless spectacular vistas.

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