Bath Weekend Escape

Bath is such a beautiful city, I love the fact that all the buildings seem to match each other and the victorian film vibe that you get just walking around the streets.

Best time to go: in this case I think all year long! Bath is always nice! However If you want to visit the countryside area or nearby Somerset maybe spring and summer are more attractive.

General Advice: you can visit Bath just for a weekend escape or as part of a road trip. If you are visiting just for a weekend and you are travelling from London, you can take the train from Paddington and the journey only takes 1 hour and 20 minutes.

A great idea for a road trip is to visit Bath, Cheddar Gorge, Wells and Castle Combe (Cotswolds south area).

The recommended hotel in Bath is “Hotel Indigo”, a very charming hotel with a great decor and a fantastic restaurant (Elder) that you should try regardless of where you are staying!

Day 1: Bath

On your first day you have to visit the famous Roman Baths and other well known architectural beauties. The good thing is that you can do the full itinerary walking and everything is really close.

• Roman Baths: a very well-preserved thermae constructed on the site between 60-70CE in the first few decades of Roman Britain. Its presence led to the development of the small Roman urban settlement known as Aquae Sulis around the site. The Roman baths were used until the end of Roman rule in Britain in the 5th Century CE. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the original Roman baths were in ruins a century later. The area around the natural springs was redeveloped several times during the Early and Late Middle Ages. The Roman Baths are preserved in four main features: the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House, and a museum which holds artefacts from Aquae Sulis. However, all buildings at street level date from the 19th century. The tickets cost GBP27 on weekends per adult, on weekdays they are GBP25. I would recommend to buy the tickets online and even though it is expensive, it is completely worth it to visit at least once in your life.

• Bath Abbey: a parish church of the Church of England and former Benedictine monastery founded in the 7th century, it was reorganised in the 10th century and rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries; major restoration work was carried out by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the 1860s.

• Pulteney Bridge: the bridge crosses the River Avon and was completed in 1774 connecting the city with the land of the Pulteney family which they wished to develop. Designed by Robert Adam in a Palladian style, it is exceptional in having shops built across on both sides.

• The Royal Crescent: a row of 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping crescent designed by the architect John Wood, the Younger, and built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture.

• The Circus: a historic ring of large townhouses forming a circle with three entrances. Designed by architect John Wood, the Elder, it was built between 1754 and 1768, and is also regarded as a preeminent example of Georgian architecture.

After a long day walking, book a few hours at the Thermae Bath Spa and enjoy the open air rooftop swimming pool. The spa offers different packages that include treatments but there is also one option to enjoy the 2 swimming pools for GBP40 on weekends and GBP35 on weekdays. The ticket includes flip flops and robes.

For dinner you can try "Noya's Kitchen”, a very tasty Vietnamese restaurant that offers different options depending on the day of the week, or if you want something more elegant you can try “Elder” at hotel Indigo, a bit expensive but amazing food.

Day 2: Cheddar Gorge

For the second day there are 2 alternatives.

• First, if you have gone to Bath by car I would recommend to visit Cheddar Gorge, which is just 45 minutes driving from Bath. Cheddar Gorge is a limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills that creates an impressive landscape and a very curvy road that is worth driving along a couple of times up and down. Once you have done that you can stop at Cheddar to have a walk and of course... to buy cheese! You can buy cheese at "The Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company” or "The Original Cheddar Cheese Co”, we bought cheeses at both places and the verdict was that the cheeses from the latter were better. The village is very picturesque and if you have time you can either have a nice walk or visit the caves. The most iconic walk is the Cheddar Gorge clifftop Walk. This is a circular walk that takes you to the top of the Gorge, with panoramic views over the rolling Mendip Hills.

• The second option if you cannot visit Cheddar is to go to stay in Bath and visit Sham Castle and Bath Skyline.

From the city centre you can take a walk to the Bath Skyline from where you can enjoy stunning views of the city. You can either just briefly visit the area or do the 6 or 3 mile circular walks. From there you can visit Sham Castle, an intriguing folly that was originally created to improve Ralph Allen’s view from his town house, this is one of the many viewpoints along the National Trust’s skyline walk.