Adventures around Bathwith PlusBus
If you like rolling countryside and elegant Georgian architecture, a full day exploring Bath will be time well spent. Whether you’re a fan of the Regency TV romp Bridgerton, which was filmed here, or an avid historian chasing civil war battlefields and Roman engineering, there’s plenty to see.
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1. The Skyline Walk
In a city packed with museums and attractions, one of Bath’s most beautiful things to do is totally free. The Skyline Walk is a popular six-mile circuit of the wooded hills and grassy downs on the eastern edge of Bath with green-and-golden vistas across the city’s spires and crescents. The route passes castle-like follies and ancient woodland, wildflower meadows and Georgian tramways.
- The Skyline Walk is rich in wildlife with carpets of wild garlic in spring and buzzards wheeling overhead. Look out for jays and woodpeckers in the trees. It’s also packed with culture, passing sights like Bath’s unique American Museum.
- Don’t be misled by its relatively short mileage: the well-waymarked Skyline Walk is quite energetic enough to earn your Bath bun at the end of it. But there could still be time afterwards for a museum visit or a soak in Thermae Bath Spa, a modern bath complex with an outdoor rooftop pool, fed by the naturally-warm, mineral-rich waters that have lured visitors to the city since Roman times.
- How do I get to the Skyline Walk? One of the best places to join the route is on Bathwick Hill near the Youth Hostel. Catch bus U1, heading for Bath University, and you’ll get a scenic tour of the city on the way.
- From Dorchester Street near the railway station, the bus takes a turn past the Victoria Art gallery and Parade gardens. Then it crosses North Parade Bridge, with great views up the River Avon, to climb up Bathwick Hill. Get off near the Youth Hostel, walk a few steps back downhill and follow the signs.
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2. See where Bridgerton was filmed
Lady Danbury’s neoclassical home in the hit TV series Bridgerton is actually part of Bath’s Holburne Museum. Founded by Sir Thomas Holburne, it’s stuffed with porcelain, silver, Roman coins and jewels that could be straight out of the show. The outside of the house belonging to the Featheringtons in the series was filmed on the iconic Royal Crescent, an elegant curve of thirty terraced Georgian houses.
- How do I get to the Holburne by bus? Several buses run close to the Holburne. Bus D1 and bus 11 both run hourly from Manvers Street, close to the railway station, and stop very near the museum.
- The Royal Crescent is about a mile from the Holburne museum and you can take in other Bridgerton along the way, like the shop that belongs to Madame Delacroix on Abbey Green or the Assembly Rooms, which became Lady Danbury’s ballroom. You can find a detailed tour
- One Royal Crescent is a restored town house, decorated and furnished in a fashionable late-eighteenth century style. Film and sound effects recreate the life of Bath’s Georgian residents.
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3. Visit Prior Park
This incomparable Georgian garden is just ready to explore. Local businessman Ralph Allen built Prior Park in the mid-eighteenth century. He invested in golden Bath stone, got rich and commissioned this picturesque park with its steep wooded valley and Palladian bridge. With thanks to the National Trust and James Dobson for the photo.
- Prior Park is now a lovely landscaped garden, restored by the National Trust to its former glory. There are winding paths through lakes and woods, a grotto, summerhouse and tea shed.
- How do I get to Prior Park by bus? Catch half-hourly bus 2 from Dorchester Street to the gates of Prior Park’s Landscape Garden.