WELCOME TO THE TRAVEL GUIDE 2 BATH   

Hello and thank you for stopping by.  On this site you will find a host of information on things to see and do in the historic City of Bath.  Whether you are a first time visitor, a regular to the City, or a local, thetravelguide2bath can help you plan a sightseeing trip, suggest the best places to eat or help you find a plumber if you spring a leak! Whatever you are looking for in Bath, we’re sure you will find the answers here.

Bath  is a historic Roman city. It is also a World Heritage site, situated 100 miles west of London and 15 miles (25 km) south-east of the nearest big city, Bristol. Bath is famous for its Hot springs, Roman period baths, Medieval heritage and stately Georgian architecture. Set in the rolling Somerset countryside, Bath offers a diverse range of attractions for its millions of visitors each year: restaurants, theatres, cinemas, pubs and nightclubs, along with interesting museums, and a wide range of guided tours.  

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THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN BATH

Bath has a wealth of interesting, educating and fascinating places on offer that you can visit.  From the world famous Roman Baths to a museum dedicated to Bath’s very own native Author, Bath can offer something for everyone. The City is full of stunning architecture, nourished by natural hot springs and is home to some of the country’s finest shops, making sure you will never be at a loss of things to do. Surrounded by beautiful countryside, deep in the heart of the West Country, and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, Bath is a wonderful place to see, or live.  Click the link below for information on some of our favourite things to do while in Bath. 

Roman Baths 

The Roman Baths is Britain’s only hot spring. Around the spring the Romans built a magnificent temple and bathing complex that still flows with natural hot water. As you explore this ancient wonder which is also a World Heritage Site, you will meet Roman costumed characters and hear the stories from the people that worked there over 2000 years ago. For more information and tickets click this link: http://www.romanbaths.co.uk 

The Jane Austin Centre 

Jane Austin set 2 of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, in the city of Bath.  She lived in Bath from 1801 – 1806. The Jane Austin Centre offers a fascinating insight into her life and explains what Bath was really like during that period. For more information click: http://www.janeausten.co.uk/ 

Assembly Rooms and Fashion Museum 

The Ball Room, Octagon, Tea Room and Card Room of the magnificent Assembly Rooms were used in the eighteenth century for dancing, music and card playing, tea drinking and conversation and are still in use for functions and conferences. They really are worth a visit and the interesting Fashion Museum is located within the Assembly Rooms as well. For more information and opening times: http://www.fashionmuseum.co.uk/

Bath Abbey 

Construction began in 1499 and Bath Abbey is the last of the great medieval churches still remaining in England. The West Front is unique as it depicts the dream that inspired the Abbey's founder, Bishop Oliver King, to pull down the ruined Norman cathedral and lift the building up on its foundations, just as it stands today.  

Over the past twelve and a half centuries, three different churches have occupied the site of today’s Abbey: An Anglo-Saxon Abbey Church dating from 757, which ended up being pulled down by the Norman conquerors of England soon after 1066. A massive Norman cathedral was put in its place around 1090.  It was larger than the monastery could afford to maintain and by the end of the 15th century it was in ruins. The present Abbey church was founded in 1499, ruined after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 by order of Henry VIII. For information visit: http://www.bathabbey.org/ 

Shopping in Bath 

Where does one start? Bath can offer the discerning shopper everything. It boasts small independent boutiques, unique and quirky gift shops to some of the familiar top named stores. As you walk along the Georgian, cobbled streets, and twist and turn into picturesque passageways, you will realize how awesome this City really is. For a guide to the best shopping in Bath visit: http://www.bath.co.uk/_code/sections/shopping/default.asp 

THE SURROUNDING AREA OF BATH

The beauty of the city expands outside as well. The surrounding countryside boasts amazing scenery such as the Mendip Hills, winding picturesque villages and stunning gorges. Here is a small suggestion of other sites to see just a short drive away from Bath City. 

Chedder Caves & Gorge  

Cheddar Gorge cleaves apart the hillside north-east of Cheddar village, allowing the B3135 to climb 900ft in 3 miles through Britain’s most dramatic landscape to the top of the Mendip (Hills) plateau. Cheddar Caves are at the bottom (south west) of the Gorge. For further information and to book tickets visit: http://www.cheddarcaves.co.uk/ 

Wookey Hole   

Did you know that Somerset boasts it’s very own resident witch?  Somerset, in the South of England, is a land of mysteries. Here at Wookey Hole, where a river flows out of the underworld, pagan and Christian legends intermingle. Here, too are mysteries of man himself. How did the early cavemen, who inhabited these caves, really live from day to day? And what makes a modern diver explore the caverns beyond the sunlight?Even the earliest men who lived in the valley of Wookey Hole 50,000 years ago, hunting bear and rhinoceros with stone weapons, must have been in awe of the great caves for they had already existed for millions of years. When, much later, the Celtic peoples of the Iron Age were moving into Britain, they found the caves a safe and even comfortable place to live - inside, the temperature is a constant 11° Celsius.Yet by the 15th century only bones, broken pottery and legends remained. Then, in 1914 the archaeologist Herbert Balch, having completed a two year excavation of the caves, published his findings, and the age of real exploration had begun... Intrigued? Visit: http://www.wookey.co.uk/index.htm 

Longleat 

Longleat is a truly unique experience in its own right. Longleat boasts an African Safari Park, the magnificent Longleat House, safari boat rides, a maze, adventure castle, longleat railway and all set in beautiful grounds and gardens to name just a few reasons why a visit to Longleat is worth it. And, it’s all reachable in a car only 40 minutes from Bath. What are you waiting for? Visit: http://www.longleat.co.uk/default.htm