Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
uphill on a steep tarmac path eased with steps and a handrail, at the top
of which you enter Summerhill Road.
Leave this by turning right into narrow Sion Hill, then follow this road as
it curves leftwards and brings you to the High Common and a footpath on
the right enclosed by iron railings sloping downhill beside a golf course. At
the bottom cross Weston Road and walk down the left-hand edge of the
Royal Victoria Park. At the bottom take the street to the left which leads
past the Victoria Monument.
Beyond the monument bear left on a crossing road, then right on a
tarmac path with the curving Royal Crescent seen just above across the
neatly trimmed greensward. On a crossing tarmac path go left, then turn
right along Brock Street. This takes you to The Circus, a tight circle of
houses which you skirt to the right and exit at the first opportunity into
Gay Street. Walk down this to Queen Square, turn left into Wood Street
which leads into Quiet Street. From Quiet Street bear right into Bur-
ton Street, walk straight ahead along Union Street and into elegant Stall
Street, along which you turn left to see Bath Abbey facing you and the
Pump Room and Roman baths on the right. As the finest of many fine
buildings in
Bath
, the abbey is a sight to remember, and a fitting climax to
a long and lovely walk.
Bath of course has plenty of accommodation, refreshments,
shops, post offices, British Rail, and so on. For tourist information turn right by the abbey
entrance - the tourist office is just across the square.
Congratulations, you've just completed the Cotswold Way!
BATH
Bath was known to the Romans as
Aquae Sulis
- the waters of the sun - and it was
these waters that brought the city its fame. They rise at a constant temperature of
120°F (50°C), at a flow of around 250,000 gallons (1,136,500 litres) per day. The Ro-
mans were here for 400 years, but after them the Saxons found the place 'a ghostly
ruin'. They rebuilt the town, founded an abbey, and in
AD
973 Dunstan, Archbishop of
Canterbury, crowned the first King of all England here. The magnificent abbey seen
today, resplendent with carvings and fan-vaulted ceilings, was begun in the 15th cen-
tury to replace an even larger Norman cathedral.
Modern Bath, of course, has more to offer than the fame gained by exploitation of its
waters. It is one of the most architecturally satisfying of all English cities: the elegant
showpiece symmetry of the Royal Crescent, the Circus, Queen Square and Lansdown
Crescent (built of cream-coloured local stone) all come from the 18th century, after
Queen Anne had set the fashion and Beau Nash had made Bath the social heart of the
country. If the social aspect of taking the waters has long since vanished, Bath has
perhaps gained in the overall charm of the heritage that remains. That heritage is of
