CITY DESTINATION: Bath - From Roman Spa to Cultural Heritage

CITY DESTINATION: Bath—From Roman Spa to Cultural Heritage  

By Jorge Jefferds June 16, 2015

By the valley of the River Avon, more than 2,000 years ago, Romans built several baths, stunned with the curative properties of the water. In this part of England, they settled, calling the new site as “Aquae Sulis”, which literally means “The Water of Sulis,” reverencing the goddess.

The Royal Crescent

Today, the roman settlement is a city called Bath. Located in Somerset, South West England, 97 miles from London, the metropolitan area prides of having about 88,000 residents and the title of Cultural Heritage.

The city’s theatres, museums and other cultural and sporting venues have helped to make it a major center for tourism with more than one million staying visitors and 3.8 million day visitors to the city each year. There are several museums including the Museum of Bath Architecture, Victoria Art Gallery, Museum of East Asian Art, and the Holburne Museum. 

Victoria Art Gallery

The city has two universities; the University of Bath and Bath Spa University with Bath College providing further education. Sporting clubs include Bath Rugby and Bath City F.C. while TeamBath is the umbrella name for all of the University of Bath sports teams. 

Every meaningful stage of the history of England is represented within the city, from the Roman Baths (including their significant Celtic presence), to Bath Abbey and the Royal Crescent, to Thermae Bath Spa in the 2000s. In fact, since 2006, with the opening of Thermae Bath Spa, the city has attempted to recapture its historical position as the only town in the United Kingdom offering visitors the opportunity to bathe in naturally heated spring waters.

Bath Abbey

There are many Roman archaeological sites throughout the central area of the city, but the baths themselves are about 6 meters (20 ft) below the present city street level. Around the hot springs, Roman foundations, pillar bases, and baths can still be seen, however all the stonework above the level of the baths is from more recent periods.

Most buildings in Bath are made from the local, goldencoloured Bath Stone, and many date from the 18th and 19th centuries. The dominant style of architecture in Central Bath is Georgian; this evolved from the Palladian revival style which became popular in the early 18th century. Many of the prominent architects of the day were employed in the development of the city. The original purpose of much of Bath’s architecture is concealed by the honey-colored classical façades; in an era before the advent of the luxury hotel, these apparently elegant residences were frequently purpose-built lodging houses, where visitors could hire a room, a floor, or (according to their means) an entire house for the duration of their visit, and be waited on by the house’s communal servants.

Bath Abbey Interiors

The Roman Baths are one of the finest historic sites in Northern Europe. Situated six meters below street level, the place offers a range of Roman bathing and leisure facilities along with part of the religious complex. Also, there are displays of Roman and Celtic objects found locally, building models, projected images of Roman characters and costumed Roman characters who like to chat to visitors.

The Pump Room was the original eighteenth century meeting place and for Assemblies. Nowadays it is used as a restaurant and the spa water can be drunk in here. The Roman Baths are open daily, closed 25 and 26 December. The opening hours vary throughout the year, and include late evenings during July and August. 

Entrance to the Roman Baths

For accommodation and food, Bath counts on 300 places – including over 80 hotels, and over 180 bed and breakfasts – many of which are located in Georgian buildings. Two of the hotels have 'five-star' ratings. There are also two campsites located on the western edge of the city. The city also contains about 100 restaurants, and a similar number of pubs and bars.

The flight to England should, actually, bring you to Bristol Airport. This terminal is about 20 miles from Bath making it the city’s closest airport. It currently serves over 113 destinations worldwide. The A4 Bristol Airport to Bath Bus Service provides a direct link between Bath and Bristol Airport. The service stops at various points in Saltford, Keynsham and South Bristol, operating hourly with the total journey time taking just over an hour.

Alternatively, the Bristol Airport Flyer express coach service will take you from the airport to Bristol Temple Meads train station, where you can catch one of the many frequent train services into Bath. The coach service runs on a regular basis, seven days a week with complete journey time approximately one.