Bath

 

city (1991 pop. 84,283), Bath and North East Somerset, SW England, in the Avon River valley. Britain's leading winter resort, Bath has the only natural hot springs in the country. Engineering, printing, bookbinding, wool-weaving, and clothing are among Bath's industries.

In the 1st cent. A.D., the Romans discovered the natural springs and named the site Aquae Solis (“waters of the sun”). They then built elaborate lead-lined baths with heating and cooling systems (first excavated in 1755). In Saxon times the city was destroyed and the baths buried. From the time of Chaucer until the Tudor era, Bath had a flourishing wool and cloth industry.

In the 18th cent. Beau (Richard) Nash, establishing social standards equal to those of London society, and the architect John Wood and his son transformed Bath into England's most fashionable spa. The Woods, using Bath stone from nearby quarries, built Queen Square, the Circus, and the Royal Crescent, all excellent examples of Georgian architecture. The Assembly Rooms, of the same period, were destroyed by air raids in World War II but later restored. Near Bath is a museum of American arts and crafts.

Bath
Bath shown within Somerset
Population	90,144
OS grid reference	ST745645
- London	116m
Unitary authority	Bath and North East Somerset
Ceremonial county	Somerset
Region	South West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BATH
Postcode district	BA1, BA2
Dialling code	01225
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Avon
Ambulance	Great Western
UK Parliament	Bath
European Parliament	South West England
List of places: UK • England • Somerset

Coordinates: 51°′″N 2°′″W / 51.3794, -2.367

Bath is a city in Somerset, England most famous for its historic baths fed by three hot springs. It is situated 99 miles (159 km) west of Central London and 13 miles (21 km) south east of Bristol.

The city is founded around the only naturally occurring hot springs in the United Kingdom. It was first documented as a Roman spa, although tradition suggests that it was founded earlier. The waters from its spring were believed to be a cure for many afflictions. From Elizabethan to Georgian times it was a resort city for the wealthy. As a result of its popularity during the latter period, the city contains many fine examples of Georgian architecture, most notably the Royal Crescent. The city has a population of over 90,144 and is a World Heritage Site.

History

City of Bath*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iv
Reference	428
Region†	Europe and North America
Inscription History
Inscription	1987  (11th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Celtic and Roman

Main article: Aquae Sulis

The archaeological evidence shows that the site of the Roman Baths' main spring was treated as a shrine by the Celts, and dedicated to the goddess Sulis. The Romans probably occupied Bath shortly after their invasion of Britain in 43 AD. They knew it as Aquae Sulis (literally "the waters of Sul" or "Sulis"), identifying the goddess with Minerva. In Roman times the worship of Sulis Minerva continued and messages to her scratched onto metal have been recovered from the Sacred Spring by archaeologists. These are known as curse tablets. These curse tablets were written in Latin, and usually laid curses on other people, whom they feel had done them wrong. For example, if a citizen had his clothes stolen at the Baths, he would write a curse on a tablet, to be read by the Goddess Sulis Minerva, and also, the "suspected" names would be mentioned. The collection from Bath is the most important found in Britain.

During the Roman period increasingly grand temples and bathing complexes were built, including the Great Bath. Rediscovered gradually from the 18th century onward, they have become one of the city's main attractions. The city was given defensive walls, probably in the 3rd century. From the later 4th century on, the Western Roman Empire and its urban life declined. However, while the great suite of baths at Bath fell into disrepair, some use of the hot springs continued.

Post-Roman and Saxon

It has been suggested that Bath may have been the site of the Battle of Mons Badonicus (circa 500 AD), where King Arthur is said to have defeated the Saxons, but this is disputed. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions Bath falling to the West Saxons in 577 after the Battle of Deorham. The Anglo-Saxons called the town Baðum, Baðan or Baðon, meaning "at the baths," and this was the source of the present name. In 675, Osric, King of the Hwicce, set up a monastic house at Bath, probably using the walled area as its precinct. King Offa of Mercia gained control of this monastery in 781 and rebuilt the church, which was dedicated to St. Peter. Bath had become a royal possession. The old Roman street pattern was by now lost, and King Alfred laid out the town afresh, leaving its south-eastern quadrant as the abbey precinct. Edgar of England was crowned king of England in Bath Abbey in 973.

Norman, Medieval and Tudor

King William Rufus granted the city to a royal physician, John of Tours, who became Bishop of Wells and Abbot of Bath in 1088. It was papal policy for bishops to move to more urban seats, and he translated his own from Wells to Bath. He planned and began a much larger church as his cathedral, to which was attached a priory, with the bishop's palace beside it. New baths were built around the three springs. Later bishops, however, returned the episcopal seat to Wells, while retaining the name of Bath in their title.

By the 15th century, Bath's abbey church was badly dilapidated and in need of repairs. Oliver King, Bishop of Bath and Wells, decided in 1500 to rebuild it on a smaller scale. The new church was completed just a few years before Bath Priory was dissolved in 1539 by Henry VIII. The abbey church was allowed to become derelict before being restored as the city's parish church in the Elizabethan period, when the city revived as a spa. The baths were improved and the city began to attract the aristocracy. Bath was granted city status by Royal Charter in 1590.

17th century

During the English Civil War the Battle of Lansdowne was fought on July 5 1643 on the northern outskirts.

In 1668 Thomas Guidott moved to Bath and set up his practice there. He was a student of chemistry and medicine at Wadham College Oxford. He became interested in the curative properties of the waters and in 1676 he wrote A discourse of Bathe, and the hot waters there. Also, Some Enquiries into the Nature of the water.

This brought the health-giving properties of the hot mineral waters to the attention of the country and soon the aristocracy started to arrive to partake in them.

18th century

There had been much rebuilding in the Stuart period, but this was eclipsed by the massive expansion of the city in Georgian times. The old town within the walls was also largely rebuilt. This was a response to the continuing demand for elegant accommodation for the city's fashionable visitors, for whom Bath had become a pleasure resort as well as a spa. The architects John Wood the elder and his son John Wood the younger laid out the new quarters in streets and squares, the identical facades of which gave an impression of palatial scale and classical decorum. The creamy gold of Bath stone further unified the city, much of it obtained from the limestone Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines, which were owned by Ralph Allen (1694–1764). The latter, in order to advertise the quality of his quarried limestone, commissioned the elder John Wood to build him a country house on his Prior Park estate between the city and the mines. He was also responsible for improving and expanding the postal service in western England, for which he held the contract for over forty years. Though not fond of politics, Allen was a civic-minded man, and served as a member of the Bath Corporation for many years. He was elected Mayor of the city for a single term, in 1742, at age fifty.

The early 18th century saw Bath acquire its first purpose-built theatre, pump room and assembly rooms. Master of Ceremonies Beau Nash, who presided over the city's social life from 1705 until his death in 1761, drew up a code of behaviour for public entertainments.

Bath elected two members to the unreformed House of Commons.

19th century

By the 1801 census the population of the city had reached 40,020 making it amongst the largest cities in Britain.^[1]

Jane Austen moved to the city with her father, mother and sister Cassandra in 1801, and the family remained in the city at four successive addresses until 1806.^[2]

William Thomas Beckford bought a house in Lansdown Crescent in 1822, eventually buying a further two houses in the Crescent to form his residence. Having acquired all the land between his home and the top of Lansdown Hill, he created a garden over half a mile in length and built Beckford's Tower at the top.

20th century

Between the evening of 25 April and the early morning of 27 April 1942 Bath suffered three air raids in reprisal for RAF raids on the German cities of Lübeck and Rostock. The three raids formed part of the Luftwaffe campaign popularly known as the Baedeker Blitz: they damaged or destroyed more than 19,000 buildings, and killed more than 400 people. Much damage was done to noteworthy buildings. Houses in the Royal Crescent, Circus and Paragon were burnt out along with the Assembly Rooms, while the south side of Queen Square was destroyed. All have since been reconstructed.

Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia spent the five years of his exile at Fairfield House in Bath.

21st century

Regeneration efforts include the Bath Spa, Southgate and the Bath Western Riverside project.

Governance

The Liberal Democrat Don Foster is the Member of Parliament for Bath. His election was perhaps the most notable result of the 1992 results, as Chris Patten, the previous Member (and a Cabinet Minister), played a major part, as Conservative Party Chairman, in getting the government of John Major re-elected, but failed to defend his marginal seat in Bath. Don Foster has been re-elected as the MP for Bath in every election since. His majority was significantly reduced from over 9000 in both the 1997 and 2001 general elections to 4638 in 2005.^[3]

Historically part of the county of Somerset, Bath was made a county borough in 1889, and has been independent of Somerset county council control ever since. Bath came into Avon when that non-metropolitan county was created in 1974. Since the abolition of Avon in 1996, Bath has been the main centre of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES). Bath remains, however, in the ceremonial county of Somerset.

The City of Bath's ceremonial functions, including the mayoralty – which can be traced back to 1230 – and control of the coat of arms, are now maintained by the Charter Trustees of the City of Bath. The coat of arms includes two silver strips, which represent the River Avon and the hot springs. The sword of St. Paul is a link to Bath Abbey. The supporters, a lion and a bear, stand on a bed of acorns, a link to Bladud, the subject of the Legend of Bath. The knight's helmet indicates a municipality and the crown is that of King Edgar, the first king of a united England, who was crowned in Bath in 973 on the site of the current abbey.^[4]

Electoral wards

The electoral wards of the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority within Bath are:

• Abbey, Bathwick, Combe Down, Kingsmead, Lambridge, Lansdown, Lyncombe, Newbridge, Odd Down, Oldfield, Southdown, Twerton, Walcot, Westmoreland, Weston and Widcombe.

Geography

Situation and transport

Bath is approximately 15 miles (25 km) south-east of the larger city and port of Bristol, to which it is linked by the A4 road, and is a similar distance south of the M4 motorway. Its main railway station, Bath Spa, lies on the Great Western Railway, the main line between Bristol and London, as well as on the line linking Cardiff with Portsmouth.

Bath is connected to Bristol and the sea by the River Avon, navigable via locks by small boats. The river was connected to the River Thames and London by the Kennet and Avon Canal in 1810 via Bath Locks; this waterway — closed for many years, but restored in the last years of the 20th century — is now popular among users of narrow boats.^[5]

Physical geography

Bath is at the bottom of the Avon Valley, and near the southern edge of the Cotswolds, a range of limestone hills designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The hills that surround and make up the city have a maximum altitude of 238 m (780 ft) on the Lansdown plateau. It has an area of 11 mile² (29 km²).^[6]

The surrounding hills give Bath its steep streets and make its buildings appear to climb the slopes. The flood plain of the River Avon, which runs through the centre of the city, here has an altitude of 17 metres (56 ft). The river, once an unnavigable series of braided streams broken up by swamps and ponds, has been managed by weirs into a single channel. Nevertheless, periodic flooding, which shortened the life of many buildings in the lowest part of the city, was normal until major flood control works in the 1970s.

The city has the hottest geothermal springs in the UK. ^[7] Three of these springs feed the thermal baths.

Climate

In 2003 the annual mean temperature was 10.3 °C, with an average maximum of 14.2 °C and average minimum of 6.5 °C (50.5 °F, 57.5 °F and 43.7 °F, respectively). There were 1645 hours of sunshine, and 957 millimetres of rainfall. The temperatures, sunshine duration and rainfall are higher than the United Kingdom averages (which are 9.5 °C, or 49 °F, 1587 hours and 901.5 millimetres, respectively)^{[citation needed]}.

Demography

According to the UK Government's 2001 census,^[8] Bath, together with North East Somerset (the latter being more or less coterminous with the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), has a population of 169,040, with an average age of 39.9 (the national average being 38.6). According to the same statistics, the district is overwhelmingly populated by people of a white ethnic background at 97.2% — significantly higher than the national average of 90.9%. Other non-white ethnic groups in the district, in order of population size, are multiracial at 1%, Asian at 0.5% and black at 0.5% (the national averages are 1.3%, 4.6% and 2.1%, respectively).

The district is largely Christian at 71%, with no other religion reaching more than 0.5%. These figures generally compare with the national averages, though the non-religious, at 19.5%, are significantly more prevalent than the national 14.8%. Since Bath is known for the restorative powers of its waters, it is interesting to note that only 7.4% of the population describe themselves as "not healthy" in the last 12 months, compared to a national average of 9.2%; only 15.8% of the inhabitants say they have had a long-term illness, as against 18.2% nationally.

Culture

During the 18th century, Bath became the leading centre of fashionable life in England. It was during this time that Bath's Theatre Royal was built, as well as architectural triumphs such as Royal Crescent, Lansdown Crescent,^[9] the Royal Crescent,^[10] The Circus and Pulteney Bridge.^[11]

Today, Bath has five theatres — Bath Theatre Royal, Ustinov Studio, The Egg, the Rondo Theatre, and the Mission Theatre — and attracts internationally renowned companies and directors, including an annual season by Sir Peter Hall. The city also has a long-standing musical tradition; Bath Abbey^[12] is home to the Klais Organ and is the largest concert venue in the city, with about 20 concerts and 26 organ recitals each year. Another important concert venue is the Forum, a 1700-seat art deco building which originated as a cinema. The city holds the Bath International Music Festival and Mozartfest every year. Other festivals include the annual Bath Film Festival, Bath Literature Festival, the Bath Fringe Festival and the Bath Beer Festival.

The city is home to the Victoria Art Gallery,^[13] the Museum of East Asian Art, and The Holburne Museum of Art,^[14] as well as numerous museums, among them The Bath Postal Museum, The Museum of Costume, The Jane Austen Centre, the William Herschel Museum and the Roman Baths.^[15] The Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, now in Queen Square, and founded in 1824 on the base of a 1777 Society for the encouragement of Agriculture, Planting, Manufactures, Commerce and the Fine Arts, has an important collection and holds a rich and popular programme of talks and discussions. See 'Places of interest' below for details of many other places of artistic, cultural and historical interest.

There are numerous commercial art galleries and antique shops in Bath, which is one of the most important centres of the English antiques trade outside London.

For a list of churches in Bath, see here. In addition to the churches listed, Manvers Gospel Hall is located in the city centre.

Bath in the arts

Perhaps the best known resident of Bath was Jane Austen, who lived in the city from 1801 until 1806. However, Jane Austen never liked the city, and wrote to her sister Cassandra, "It will be two years tomorrow since we left Bath for Clifton, with what happy feelings of escape." Despite these feelings, Bath has honoured her name with the Jane Austen Centre and a city walk. Austen's later Northanger Abbey and Persuasion are largely set in the city and feature descriptions of taking the waters, social life, and music recitals.

• Thomas Gainsborough moved to Bath in 1759, where he first became fashionable. He moved to London in 1774.

• Sir Thomas Lawrence first became famous in the city, where he lived from 1782 to 1787.

• Charles Dickens' novel Pickwick Papers also features Bath, and satirises its social life. Pickwick takes the waters and his servant, Sam Weller, comments that the water has "a very strong flavour o' warm flat irons", while the Royal Crescent is the venue for a chase between two of the characters, Dowler and Winkle.

• William Friese-Greene began experimenting with celluloid and motion pictures in his studio in Bath in the 1870s, developing some of the earliest movie camera technology there. He is credited as the inventor of cinematography.

• Moyra Caldecott's novel The Waters of Sul is set in Roman Bath in 72 AD. Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play The Rivals is also set in Bath.

• In 2004, a movie of Thackeray's Vanity Fair was largely filmed in Bath.

• Roald Dahl's chilling short-story, "The Landlady" also takes place in the city of Bath.

• In August 2003 the Three Tenors sang at a special concert to mark the opening of the Thermae Bath Spa, a new hot water spa in Bath City Centre; delays to the project meant the spa actually opened three years later on August 7 2006.

Parks

The city has several public parks, the main one being Royal Victoria Park, a short walk from the centre of the city. It was opened in 1830 and has an area of 57 acres (231,000 m²).^[16] Several events are held in the park every year, including the Bath International Music Festival, and it is favoured as a take-off site by hot air balloon companies. The park features a botanical garden, a large children's play park, and sports facilities, including crazy golf, bowls and lawn tennis. Much of its area is lawn; a notable feature is the way in which a ha-ha segregates it from the Royal Crescent, while giving the impression to a viewer from the Crescent of a greensward uninterrupted across the Park down to Royal Avenue.

Other parks in Bath include: Alexandra Park, which crowns a hill and overlooks the city; Parade Gardens, along the river front near the Abbey in the centre of the city; Sydney Gardens, known as a pleasure-garden in the 18th century; Henrietta Park; Hedgemead Park; and Alice Park. Jane Austen wrote of Sydney Gardens that "It would be pleasant to be near the Sydney Gardens. We could go into the Labyrinth every day." Alexandra, Alice and Henrietta parks were built into the growing city among the housing developments.^[17] There is also a linear park following the old Somerset and Dorset railway line.

Food

Sally Lunn's buns (a type of teacake) have long been baked in Bath. They were first mentioned by that name in verses printed in a local newspaper, the Bath Chronicle, in 1772. At that time they were eaten hot at public breakfasts in the city's Spring Gardens. They can be eaten with sweet or savoury toppings.

Visitors sometimes confuse Sally Lunn's buns with Bath buns – smaller, round, very sweet, very rich buns that were associated with the city following The Great Exhibition. Bath Buns were originally topped with crushed 'comfits' created by dipping caraway seeds repeatedly in boiling sugar; but today seeds are added to a 'London Bath Bun' (a reference to the bun's promotion and sale at the Great Exhibition). The seeds may be replaced by crushed sugar granules or 'nibs'.

Bath has also lent its name to one other distinctive recipe – Bath Olivers — the dry baked biscuits invented by Dr William Oliver, physician to the Mineral Water Hospital in 1740. Oliver was an early anti-obesity campaigner, writing a "Practical Essay on the Use and Abuse of warm Bathing in Gluty Cases". Local legend has it that he bequeathed the recipe for his low calorie biscuits to his coachman, a Mr Atkins, along with £100 and a hundred sacks of flour. Atkins subsequently opened a shop in Green Street, Bath and became a rich man on the proceeds. In more recent years Dr Oliver's efforts have been traduced by the introduction of a version of the biscuits with a plain chocolate coating.

Bath chap, the cheek and jawbones of the pig, salted and smoked is named after Bath, its place of origin, and still available from a stall in the market. ^[18].

Sport

The city's best known sporting team is Bath Rugby, a rugby union team which is currently in the Guinness Premiership league and coached by Steve Meeham. It plays in black, blue and white kit with its sponsors' logo, Helphire, on the front of the shirts. The team plays at the Recreation Ground in the city, where it has been since the late 19th century, following its establishment in 1865. The team rose to national prestige during the 1980s, and it has remained one of the best rugby teams in the country. Its first major honour was winning the John Player Cup four years consecutively from 1984 until 1987. The team then led the Courage league for six consecutive seasons, from 1988/1989 until 1995/1996, during which time it also won the Pilkington Cup in 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995 and 1996. It finally won the Heineken Cup in the 1997/1998 season, and topped the Zürich (now Guinness) Premiership in 2003/2004.

The team's current squad includes several members who also play in the English national elite team including: Steve Borthwick, Lee Mears, Matt Stevens, Olly Barkley, David Flatman and Danny Grewcock. Colston's Collegiate School, Bristol has had a large input in the team over the past decade, providing current 1st XV squad members Barkley, Bell, Brooker, Crockett, Davey, Davis, Delve, Hawkins, Mears and Smith. The former England Rugby Team Manager Andy Robinson used to play for Bath Rugby team and was Captain and later Coach. While in the Bath team, he was a Physical Education, Rugby and Mathematics teacher at King Edward's School, North Road, Bath. Both of Robinson's predecessors, Clive Woodward and Jack Rowell, were also former Bath coaches and managers.

Bath City F.C. and Team Bath F.C. (affiliated with the University of Bath) are the major football teams. Bath City play in the Conference South, while Team Bath play one division below in the Southern Football League. In 2007, Bath City became champions of the Southern Football League, and were promoted. In 2002, Team Bath became the first university team to enter the FA Cup in 120 years, and advanced through four qualifying rounds to the first round proper. Unlike the city's rugby team, Bath City have never attained an elite status in English football; its highest position has been seventh in the Football Conference in the 1992/1993 season. The University's team was established in 1999, while the city team has existed since before 1908 (when it entered the Western League). Bath City F.C. play their games at Twerton Park. Current players include Scott Partridge, Jim Rollo, Lewis Hogg and former South African international goalkeeper Paul Evans.

Cricket is played at the Bath Cricket Club, located, like the rugby Recreation Ground, east of the river, near Pulteney Bridge. The cricket ground is the venue for the annual Bath Cricket Festival which sees Somerset County Cricket Club play several games.

Bath also has a thriving biking community, with places for biking including Royal Victoria Park, 'The Tumps' in Odd Down, the jumps on top of Lansdown, and Prior Park. Places for biking near Bath include Brown's Folly in Batheaston and Box Woods, in Box.

The Recreation Ground is also home to Bath Croquet Club, which was re-formed in 1976 and is affiliated with the South West Federation of Croquet Clubs.

TeamBath is the umbrella name for all of the University of Bath sports teams, including the aforementioned football club. Other sports for which TeamBath is noted are athletics, badminton, basketball, bob skeleton, bobsleigh, hockey, judo, modern pentathlon, netball, rugby, swimming, tennis, triathlon and volleyball.

Bath is also the home of the Bath American Football Club, which has been playing American Football in the city since 2001. It caters for Youth and Junior levels of play.

The Bath Half Marathon is run annually through the city streets, with over 10,000 runners.^[19] The City of Bath Triathlon takes place annually at the University of Bath.

The city has one major skate park; Victoria Skatepark, located near inside the Victoria play park vicinity, and just a few 100 meters away from the Royal Cresent. It features 1 vertical ramp, 1 medium sized ramp, 1 spine, 1 block and a few other bits of park course.

Industry

Today, Bath's once-important manufacturing sector is much diminished, but it has notable software, publishing and service-oriented industries, in addition to tourism. Its main employers are the National Health Service, the two universities and the Bath and North East Somerset Council, as well as the Ministry of Defence, although a number of MOD offices formerly in Bath have now moved to Bristol. In the private sector, the magazine publisher Future Publishing is one of Bath's bigger employers. The firm publishes over 100 magazines, including many in the computer and video gaming sector. Others include Helphire Group plc, an Accident Management Company specialising in non-fault motor accidents, and Buro Happold. The city contains many small single-shop or restaurant-based businesses which serve niche markets and are primarily supported by tourism.

Tourism

Bath's principal industry is tourism, with visits mainly falling into the categories of heritage tourism and cultural tourism. All significant stages of the history of England are 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.

The size of the tourist industry is reflected in the almost 300 places of accommodation—including over 80 hotels, and over 180 bed and breakfasts—many of which are located in Georgian buildings and have five-star ratings. There are also two campsites located very close to the city centre. The city also contains approximately 100 restaurants, and a similar number of public houses and bars. Several companies offer open-top bus tours around the city, as well as tours on foot and on the river.

While many tourists come to Bath to see the city in general, some are attracted to particular aspects of the city, such as the Jane Austen landmarks or the Roman Baths.

The Spa

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.

Twinned towns

Bath has four twinned towns:

• Aix-en-Provence, France
• Alkmaar, Netherlands
• Braunschweig, Germany
• Kaposvár, Hungary

Bath also has a partnership agreement with Beppu, Japan and is a sister city to Manly, Australia.

Transport

Bath is served by the Bath Spa railway station (designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel), which has regular connections to London Paddington, Bristol Temple Meads, Cardiff Central, Swansea, Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance (see Great Western Main Line), and also Westbury, Warminster, Salisbury, Southampton, Portsmouth and Brighton (see Wessex Main Line). Services are provided by First Great Western. There is a suburban station on the main line, Oldfield Park, which has a limited commuter service to Bristol. The charming Green Park station was once operated by the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, whose line (always steam driven) climbed over the Mendips and served many towns and villages on its 71 mile run to Bournemouth; sadly this most splendid example of an English rural line was closed by Beeching in March 1966, with few remaining signs of its existence, but its Bath station building survives and now houses a number of shops.

Bath has three full time Park and Ride sites, Odd Down, Lansdown and Newbridge, with a Saturdays only site at the University of Bath.

Although Bath does not have an airport, the city is not far from Bristol International Airport (approximately 18 miles), which may be reached by car and by bus or taxi, and by rail via Bristol Temple Meads or Nailsea and Backwell.

National Express operates coach services from Bath to a number of cities. Internally, Bath has a network of bus routes run by First Group, with services to surrounding towns and cities. There is one other company running open top double-decker bus tours around the city.

Architecture

Of Bath's notable buildings, Bath Abbey is one of the most striking. Originally a Norman church on earlier foundations, it was rebuilt in the early 16th century and transformed into a late Perpendicular fantasy of flying buttresses with crocketed pinnacles decorating a crenellated and pierced parapet. The choir and transepts have a fine