The modern name ‘Bath’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon ‘Baðun’ which means to bathe (i.e. immerse in water).
This is simply a description of what went on, because although the Romans legions left their town ‘Aquae Sulis’ in 411ad, the people stayed and the hot springs remained a place of importance.
The Romans themselves had kept the Celtic Brythonic name ‘Sulis’ who was goddess of these magical springs.
So as you can see, the name ‘Bath’ goes back a long way.
The Crystal Palace on Abbey Green looks really wrong from the outside. Really wrong! However, inside is pleasant and they serve cracking ales. The food is not particularly inventive, but is well cooked and great value. A thoroughly decent pub in a great location. Shame about the exterior frontage though.
This lovely town offers a number of ways to be seen.
Boat tours up and down the Avon are great, but because of the wier, the choice is a tour up or a tour down, but no boat can do both. The Up tour includes the grubby back of Pultney Bridge, the peter of Palladian perfection designed by Robert Nash.
The downriver tour includes more of the town, but both are worth a punt.
We also have bus tours (big bright red things, you cannot miss them) with extensive commentary.
However, Bath is primarily a city for walking tours so your first stop should be to the tourist information centre to see what is happening on the day you are visiting.
Inside the cathedral there is a ‘climbing tour’ where you are lead up through the bell tower to the top. Over 200 steps but the experience is definitely worth it.
This respected eaterie has been serving Nepalese to the lucky people of Bath since 2004. The original basement grew to small, so they upped sticks in 2008 and moved to a new basement in Pierrepont Street where the reputation has just got better and better.
We first went for a meal after reading a review which praised the food to the heavens. We were warmly welcomed and I ordered Momos Pork dumplings for starters and Dal Bhat Tarkari (set veggie menu for one). My better half went for Kukharako Thukpa which is a noodle soup eaten by Sherpas.
The momos was fantastic, easily beating any chinese steamed dumpling I ever tasted. Then the main courses also delighted. The noodle soup was hearty but simple fayre, while my selection of daals and curried concoctions were utterly delightful. It really is as if they have taken the best of chinese and indian styles and blended a new combination from both. Some very fresh flavours of their own were added in to make a really great experience.
I was off the beer, so chose a drinking yogurt flavoured with saffron. It was a new taste for my palette, but one I want to experience again very soon. Wow!
At the end, the bill turned out to be a smiley face moment too. Nothing was overpriced and we left happy and sated.
12 Pierrepont Street
Bath
BA1 1LA
Bath sits on the train line and is only 90 minutes from London Paddington (on a good day!)
By car, Bath is just 10 miles south of junction 18 of the M4 motorway. Visitors arriving from London and Heathrow Airport by car will find this route fast and efficient, if not exactly spectacular.
Bath town centre has a bad rush hour traffic problem due to narrow Georgian Streets and a labyrinthine one way system. The town centre is small though, so walking is always an option.
Bath chairs are sadly no longer available as a mode of transport in the town where they were invented.
A top quality BandB on Upper Oldfield Park. You have a 15 minute walk from the town centre, which includes a 5 minute uphill climb, so consider a taxi if you are pulling luggage behind you. The views are fantastic and worth the climb.
The reception rooms are really beautifully furnished and the whole place is very stylish indeed. The welcome was warm, and the bedroom was pretty much perfection. We liked the whole thing and cannot think of a single thing about the room we would change. There was even a well stocked honesty bar. We stayed in April 2011 and our only issues were the greasy sausages at breakfast and the bill which was maybe a tenner over the odds.
Dorian House
1 Upper Oldfield Park
Bath
BA2 3JX
There are only four bridges in the world that are lined with shops, and Bath has argueably the most beautiful of all. Robert Adam’s Palladian creation has a form and elegance that really wows. However, that is only a front (as a boat trip will reveal, the back is black with grime and desn’t have any ornamentation. The shops completely hide the river to people walking along Great Pulteney Street, few of whom will even notice they have crossed the river Avon.
From the side however, the view is lovely.
Finding a hotel in Bath is easy, but finding a great hotel is a little more complicated. That is why we were delighted when we found The Windsor on Great Pulteney Street. Only a cople of minutes walk from the city centre, but with a real elegant charm. Nice welcome, lovely decoration and a huge breakfast.
69 Great Pulteney Street
Bath
BA2 4DL
Tel: 44 (0)1225 422100
