Description:

Bath is city in county of Somerset in South West of England, situated 97 miles west of London and 13 miles south east of Bristol.

Bath is famous for it's natural springs, in fact Bath’s hot springs are the only ones naturally occurring in England. Bath was first established as a spa resort by the Romans in AD 43, it became popular as a spa resort in the Georgian era, which led to major expansion and the legacy of the Georgian architecture built from Bath stone and seen throughout the city.

 

Bath was announced a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 in recognition of its international cultural significance. Alongside the Roman Baths and historic Georgian architecture with its many crescents, Bath has a variety of theatres, museums and other cultural venues. It is a major centre for tourism with over 1 million staying visitors and 3.8 million day visitors each year.

Location

 

Bath is situated at the bottom of the Avon valley, near southern edge of The Cotswolds. It has an area of 11 square miles.

The average age of the population of Bath is 39.9, the area is overwhelmingly populated by people from a white ethnic background – 97.2% as opposed to national average of 90.9%.

 

Bath Culture

 

Bath became the centre of society life in England during the 18th Century. During this period the Theatre Royal was built as were developments such as Lansdown Crescent, the Royal Crescent, The Circus & Pulteney Bridge. Today Bath has 5 theatres:- Bath Theatre Royal, Ustinov Theatre, the egg, the Rondo Theatre & The Mission Theatre. The largest concert venue in the city is Bath Abbey. Another important concert venue is The Forum, a 1700 seat art deco building.

 

Bath is also home to the Victoria Art Gallery, Museum of East Asian Art & the Holburne Museum of Art as well as numerous art galleries and antique shops and numerous museums including the Bath Postal Museum, the Fashion Museum, the Jane Austen Centre, the Herschel Museum of Astronomy and the Roman Baths.

Events in Bath

Bath International Music Festival and Mozartfest are annual events. Other events include the annual Bath Film Festival, Bath Literature Festival, The Bath Fringe Festival and the Bath Beer Festival.

 

Parks and Gardens in Bath

 

Bath has several public parks, the main one being Royal Victoria Park which is overlooked by the Royal Crescent and is 57 acres in size. It has a variety of attractions including skateboard ramp, tennis courts, bowling, golf course and putting green, pond & children’s play area. There is also 9.5 acres of botanical gardens contained within the Park. Other parks in Bath include Alexandra Park, Parade Gardens, Sydney Gardens, Henrietta Park, Hedgemead Park and Alice Park.

 

Sports in Bath

 

Bath is also famous for Bath Rugby, a rugby union team that plays in the Guiness Premiership. Bath Rugby play at the Recreation Ground in the city. Bath also has two football teams, Bath City F.C and Team Bath F.C who play in the Conference South. The Bath Half Marathon is run annually through the streets with over 10,000 participants.

 

Tourism in Bath

 

Bath is a popular tourist centre, there are almost 300 places to stay in Bath including over 80 hotels, & 180 bed and breakfasts in Bath. There are also 2 campsites located on the western edge of the city. Bath has around 100 restaurants, and a similar number of pubs and bars. Since 2006, with the opening of Thermae Bath Spa, the city has looked to market itself once again as the only town in the UK offering the chance to bathe in naturally heated spring waters.

 

Getting to Bath

 

Bath is around 13 miles from Bristol, 13 miles south of M4. 18 miles from Bristol International Airport. Bath is served by Bath Spa railway station which was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, which runs trains to London & Bristol and connections to other cities in Wales and the South and South West. Bath is also on National Cycle Route 4 with which the Bristol & Bath Railway Path forms part of this route.

 

 

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