Bath is one of those cities in England that we hear about in all the regency movies and shows. From the iconic Royal Crescent, to the history of Jane Austen and her years living there, to the idyllic honey-colored buildings. These are only a few reasons to take a day trip from London to Bath.
The best thing about Bath (in my opinion) is that you can just wander around to find something to do or see. It is a very walkable city, and has amazing, beautiful architecture. You can’t go wrong no matter where you go.
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Getting There
Did you know it only takes 1 hour and 20 minutes to get to Bath from London Paddington via train? And if you book in advance, you can probably get a solid deal for tickets. I like to use Trainline for train tickets from London because they seem to have the best deals and you can compare prices at different times of day. We paid around £60 each, which honestly is annoying because I can fly to Europe for less. But it was something I wanted to do badly enough!
Once you arrive, when you walk out of the station, there is a bus terminal going all over the city. We took a bus into city center and then walked to the Jane Austen center (our first stop). It isn’t so far to walk if you are up for it and want to skip the bus, but it was only £1.20 for a bus ride and you can tap on. Once you’re in the middle of town, walking around to everything is pretty easy. There are some hilly parts of town, so keep that in mind if you
Jane Austen Center
We booked these tickets in advance and went straight there from the train station. If you don’t want to be locked in to a specific time, you can always show up and pay at the center. Tickets cost £18 for adults, less for children. We spent an hour or so here, and our favorite part was dressing up in Regency style clothing and taking photos at the end!
Jane Austen lived in Bath for a few years of her life, so it was really neat to learn more about her life. She died very young and still managed to write many works that are considered classics today. Of course, back in those times, women weren’t encouraged to be writers, so her name wasn’t even listed – it just said written by a woman. Her books became well-known after she died.
Something of note: they’ve just opened a Jane Austen center in London! I’m curious to know if they talk more about her life spent in London or if it is very similar to what they have in Bath. But if you are interested to know more about her, you can do so in London as well!
The Circus and Royal Crescent
When you leave the Jane Austen Center, if you take a right and walk up the hill, you will run right into the Circus. This is more just for a photo op of the old Georgian townhomes that were built into a circle. It’s really beautiful and interesting to see the architecture that has been preserved for so long. Again, this is the honey-colored stone that you will see all over Bath.
Take a left into the Circus and keep going – you will inevitably come to the Royal Crescent. This was the thing I was most excited to get a photo of/with. I’ve seen this same landmark in so many movies and shows. It is iconic in my mind! Again, this is more a photo op, but they do have a museum of sorts where you can go into one of the townhomes along the Crescent. We didn’t go inside but you can check it out here.
Pulteney Bridge
This is a great photo spot and a nice place to stop and enjoy if the weather is nice. If you are doing this day exactly as I have it listed here, you will cross over the bridge on your way to your afternoon tea – but don’t miss the water because the bridge is basically a street lined with shops! If you cross the bridge on the road, you won’t even see the water. Just make sure you look and walk to the side before crossing.
Afternoon Tea
Walk a bit outside the city center and you will come across the Roseate Villa. If I had stayed a night in Bath (which I actually highly recommend) I would definitely look into staying here. Inside the villa is the Henrietta Bar where you can enjoy a beautiful afternoon tea. We spent 3 hours tasting multiple teas, having a cocktail, and enjoying all the food that came with. We managed to plan our reservation perfectly with the rain shower that passed over! It costs £50 -ish per person, but prices vary if you wanted a cocktail or champagne with it.
Thermae Bath Spa
This was a recommendation from a friend, but also something that was on my radar before going to Bath. Bath is named for the thermal baths that naturally occur in the area. You can book in advance or try to do a walk-in. I tried booking in advance but there were no openings when we wanted to go. We decided to show up and see if we could manage the walk-in and got super lucky! It cost £44 per person for 2 hours and 20 minutes.
They don’t allow phones inside (you have to put them inside a locked phone case that they give you upon entering). So I have no photos to share, but it was lovely. There are 2 large thermal pools, one on the rooftop with gorgeous views! The other on the bottom floor. In between, there are different types of saunas and steam rooms. It was truly so nice and relaxing. They provide robes and lockers, but be sure to bring your own footwear or buy a pair of disposable slippers for a few pounds.
Scallop and Shell
Another recommendation and one that I am sad to say we needed a reservation for (on a random Monday evening). This is supposed to be the place in Bath for fish and chips and any other seafood you might want. The menu looks amazing and the atmosphere was really nice with the kitchen area being open to the rest of the restaurant. I’m still so sad we weren’t able to sit down here, and I’m sorry to say, the pub we ended up getting food at isn’t worth a mention. Next time I’m in Bath I’ll be sure to reserve beforehand.
Shopping
One last thing I want to mention: there are tons of cute shops and bakeries on the high streets. We stayed at the afternoon tea too late and a lot of things were closed when we came back outside. Be sure to set some time aside to browse and maybe buy a couple of locally made goodies. My friend wanted to go to a cheese monger, but they closed 10 minutes before we got there. Definitely regrets on that!
Have you been to Bath or is it on your list? I can’t wait to return to this city and enjoy some more of it! If you’re interested in more day trips form London, be sure to go to my Windsor blog post next!
