The first thing you notice when visiting Bath is the superb gold-coloured Georgian buildings. We walked from the mainline Bath Spa Station to Green Park Station. The latter building no longer serves as a railway station, but is a Grade II listed building, which houses a large market place. Inside there were craft stalls and small local businesses. My daughter enjoyed browsing the craft stalls and buying something to take home. Being an artist herself, she appreciates the skills of craftspeople. Inside we found a small cafe and stopped for coffee and cake.
We then walked up to the iconic Royal Crescent, through Brock Street to the Circus. It is easy to view all this splendid architecture as the city is compact. From there we went to Bath Assembly Rooms, which are cared for by the National Trust. This of course has been one of the settings for the TV drama Bridgerton. Within the building is the Fashion Museum, where there is a wonderful collection of fashionable costumes from 1600 up to the present day. I can recommend this museum; it is well worth a visit.
Passing the Jane Austin Centre we went to the impressive Bath Abbey with its magnificent vaulted ceiling. On entering, I was in awe with the breath-taking sound of a choir, which was rehearsing The Messiah, to be performed at Easter. Christian worship has taken place here for more than 1000 years. Any visitor to Bath needs to see inside this building. Nearby is the iconic Roman Baths, which is also a must for the tourist. Sally Lunn’s House is a restaurant, which is the oldest house in Bath and the birthplace of the Sally Lunn bun. There was a very long queue outside this establishment, so we went instead to The Bath Bun, a cafe in Abbey Green and enjoyed our bath buns there!
We then went to the Parade Gardens for a fine view of the weir in the River Avon and Pulteney Bridge. The bridge was inspired by the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. It is not difficult to appreciate why this city, which was the home of Jane Austin, has been the setting for so many period dramas. It is all so beautiful and there is really too much to see in one day.
