BATH
6/11/25
On the first full day of our trip, we took the train from Bradford-on-Avon to Bath. It was a super quick (1 stop) train ride. Bath is a fairly small and very walkable town famous for its Roman baths which date back to 60 AD! The town has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Jane Austen lived in Bath for about 4 years (but didn’t like it there!)
Our first stop in Bath was the Bath Abbey. In case you are wondering, an Abby is a church without a Bishop. This particular building went back and forth since the 7th century between being considered an Abby and a cathedral. When the bishop died (and if another wasn’t appointed), it went from being a cathedral back to being an Abby. Being a cathedral was considered better because cathedrals had the financial support of the Roman Papacy. The coronation of the first king of England (Edgar) was held at the Bath Abbey in 973. The current structure dates back to the late 15th century.
We have visited a crap-ton of European cathedrals/ churches/ duomos/ abbeys/ monasteries (whatever) and to be honest, there was nothing special about this one. However, we added on the tower tour (212 steps to the top), which was well worth the extra fee. It lasted about an hour, and the guides were friendly and interesting. They took us up to see the 10 bells (largest is 1.5 tons) and showed how they are rung - they are literally suspended on something akin to a water wheel and pulled by hand by long ropes until the bells flip all the way to the top of the wheel. Ringing them in this fashion creates a much louder sound which can be heard up to 3 miles away. We then went into a tiny space directly behind the clock and learned about the construction and maintenance of the clock. We also went into another tiny room where they explained the construction of the “fan ceiling” which was built around 1499 by Henry VII’s royal masons … not to be confused with his son Henry VIII who killed wives, closed churches & monasteries and took the valuables for himself (he pillaged Bath Abbey 1539 and sent the monks on their way – what a dick move that was!)
Our next stop was the Roman Baths. First things first – you can’t go into the baths! I say this because I honestly didn’t know! Not that I wanted to, but I seriously wasn’t sure. Ok, that said, the baths were pretty cool. It took about 1-2 hours to tour them with the audio guide. They date back to AD 60-70 when the Romans enjoyed the natural hot springs. These are the only natural hot springs in Britain. A beautiful Roman style complex of bath houses and a temple were constructed beginning around AD 70 and continued to be added on to for about 300 years. Considering how old it is, it was pretty impressive how complex it was. Those Romans were smart people!
We ended the day with a walking tour and wondering around the town. The architecture throughout the town is Georgian (very symmetrical style popular in England in the 1700’s) and the buildings are all made of the same tan limestone. Two famous buildings/landmarks are the Royal Crescent (a sweeping curve of 30 fancy houses) and the Circus (it’s not a circus – it’s a perfectly round street inspired by Roman designs). We saw them both, checked the box and moved on.
The Pulteney Bridge was built in 1774 and patterned after the Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence – but frankly, much smaller and less impressive. It has little shops on both sides which were closed by the time we walked across the bridge (we might have been more impressed if we had been able to visit the shops!). The bridge crosses the River Avon which is actually really pretty. There are little water falls and nice parks along the river.
There are a lot of cute/interesting streets and squares with street musicians, markets, and artists. It is really a nice town to just wander. We had dinner at Sotto Sotto and it was OUTSTANDING. It was in a cellar – of course, we were sold when we heard the word cellar, but it turned out to be the cellar of a church, not a wine cellar (which is what we, of course, had assumed!) The church was no longer on top, so it was really just an underground restaurant with cool vaulted stone walls. If you are ever in Bath, I would highly recommend having dinner at this restaurant – be sure to make a reservation.
Our overall assessment is that Bath is definitely worth visiting if you are ever in southwest England. It is super safe, extremely clean, very walkable and interesting. A day trip is adequate to see the main sites, but it would be a nice town to stay for a few days or more.
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