BATHE in the GLORY of BATH, England

BATHE IN THE GLORY OF BATH,

ENGLAND

by Caroline-Artemis Laspas

Set in the rolling Mendip Hills in the west of the UK, sits the Roman town of Bath. Legend has it that the son of King Bladud passed through the wet bog marshland and upon return to his father his leprosy was cured. He told his father that it was a magical place and therefore essential to establish a settlement in the area…. Aquae Sulis was born, the Roman town that became today’s City of Bath-Upon-Avon!

This ancient Roman city with a stunning Abbey and original Roman Baths at its centre is a delightful place to visit. With some of the best preserved Roman ruins in the modern world, it is no surprise that Bath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Georgian times the city truly thrived and the rich yellow stone buildings are superb examples of neo-classical Palladian architecture that can be admired in abundance.

Our hosts in Bath were the Indigo Bath Hotel, set in a beautiful honey coloured Georgian terrace, the boutique Hotel Indigo Bath is one of the contemporary collection of properties on offer from IHG. With a quirky blend of modern décor and facilitates mixed seamlessly and elegantly with the history of the historic Grade I listed buildings it occupies, the boutique hotel offers 166 rooms in a quiet part of the town, making it the perfect and convenient base to explore this wonderful city.

The Indigo Bath welcomed us with a warm and friendly smile together with lots of advice on what to see and where to eat. Our ‘architectural’ themed room was spacious and comfy with a stunning bathroom including a pedestal bath as well as a rainforest shower.

Other themed rooms are Romance & Mischief, the Garden rooms located in the courtyard and the Literary Hideaways, but each with the must haves for any boutique stay.

The hotel bar offers local ciders and gins and transformed into the breakfast room serving a broad array of breakfast choices. The Elder restaurant focuses on local sustainable wild food and game!

Bath has many interesting things to see and places to go, but as a Spa town, anyone discovering the city must try its magical waters. The spa has 3 natural spa water sources; the Kings Spring, the Hetling Spring and the Cross Spring. Combined, these water sources delivering more than one million litres of water every day and have turned Bath into a unique experience and the only place in the UK where you can bathe in naturally mineral-enriched thermal spring waters.

This heaven of tranquillity in the heart of the city sees the naturally warm waters from deep within the earth turn into a modern spa experience set in both modern and restored 18th century buildings, helping to bring the history of the spa alive. The highlight is the outside rooftop pool. With a bathing temperature of approximately 34ºC (93º Fahrenheit), the water soothes your body as well as invigorates in the Jacuzzi seats or pummels under the water spout. It is hard to pull yourself away from the view of the hills on the horizon and the multitude of rooftops all around you, but with more treatments on offer as part of your experience, head to the Minerva Pool located in the semi-basement.

Photos on this page are curtesy of The Thermae Bath Spa

Again bathe in the water containing over 42 naturally occurring minerals that has been heated 2kms beneath the earth. In fact the water at source is too hot to swim in at 45 ºC (113 º Fahrenheit) and so it needs to be cooled before you can step into this blanket of warm therapeutic water.

The Wellness Suite offers a range of state-of-the-art spa experiences; Hot and Cold showers; a ‘Minerva’ themed steam room, an elegant Georgian Garden themed steam room, a dry Infra-Red Sauna, an ice chamber, and purpose-built Massage Suite and a Celestial Relaxation Room complete with twinkling lights. The later was created to honour astronomer William Herschel who lived in Bath and discovered the planet Uranus. (There is the Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath to visit too!)

Daily spa sessions are available to the public, but for a special event, the Cross Bath is a unique, intimate open air venue for small groups of up to 10 people where the spring source can be seen flowing out of the ground.

After a relaxing morning, there is nothing better than to stroll around Baths many narrow pretty streets with unique boutique shops with enticing windows and to try the many wonderful local cafes and restaurants.

Be sure to include a walk around the stunning Circle, a circle of Georgian town houses with wrought iron railings allowing you a glimpse of a time gone by. Further on, the sweeping Royal Crescent is an impressive arc of Georgian townhouses with a vast lush green in-front of them, allowing you to truly appreciate the grandeur of the architecture.

Walking back into town along Gravel Walk, we came across a small open doorway leading into a ‘secret’ garden. What we found was a delightfully recreated typical Victorian garden, the layout dating back to the original design from 1770, filled with typical English plants and a decorative hedge at its centre.

Any photo you would have seen of Bath will almost certainly include the beautiful Pulteney Bridge built in 1769 that crosses the River Avon. The bridge incorporates small shops and places to eat many with views across the weir below.

There are a multitude of interesting museums to visit in Bath, but we choose two; the Roman Baths and the Fashion Museum. Others include The Museum of East Asian Art, The Bath Postal Museum, The Jane Austen Centre and the Herschel Museum of Astronomy.

The Roman Bath Museum: The Roman Baths and the Temple of Sulis Minerva date back to the 4th century AD, when it was a therapeutic centre for hundreds of visitors. Today, this unique museum is a fascinating insight into ancient engineering as well as the importance of the hot spring waters to Bath. The King’s Spring which you can see naturally flowing out of the ground, supplies the Roman Baths with 1,170,000 litres of water each day at a hot 46°C. It feeds the grand King’s Bath which was built in the 12th century AD. In the past it has been used as a therapy pool, but is now the central feature of this stunning example of Roman architecture and the museum.

Since 1993 energy from the spa has been used to heat most of the site, but a new project under construction will the see it used throughout the site including at the new Clore Learning Centre and World Heritage Centre.

In 1AD, the Romans who were accomplished engineers built a stone walled reservoir around the Sacred Spring in order to control the water flowing out of the spa. The same system is still used with the overflow diverted into the River Avon.

With many ancient roman artefacts on display, the museum is well laid out and very interesting. Also on display is one of the largest hoards of Roman coins ever found. The 17,577 silver coins date from 32BC to 275AD and were found in 8 leather bags, buried in a Roman building close to the Baths.

Don’t forget to stop off and taste the spring water from source (cooled a bit, but still quite warm)!

The Fashion Museum The Fashion Museum Bath was originally the Museum of Costume and has been in its current home of the Assembly Rooms since it opened in 1963. It is home to a world-class collection of both historic and fascinating historic dress.

Although small is packs a punch with a history of Fashion in 100 objects. These dates back to the 1600’s to present day. Some key pieces are marked moments in time some with a personal story. There is also a room where you can try on outfits and era gone by! Accessories and shoes are also part of the amazing collection also spanning from the 1700 to modern day Nike trainers!

With a wide variety of places to eat and drink, one place unique to Bath is its famous tea house of Sally Lunn. Not only is this one of the oldest houses in Bath but its kitchen museum shows the actual kitchen used by the legendary baker Sally Lunn who created the first Bath Bunn. You can enjoy the Sally Lunn Bunn warm with either sweet or savoury toppings in the house itself!

Across Bath there are many wonderful options to host MICE events from the Roman Baths themselves, the Pump Room, The Assembly Rooms and The Indigo Bath Hotel, which has several options for hosting meetings and events. The rooms are full of character and cosy like the rest of the hotel, with some rooms offering their own bar for more intimate events.

There is even a complete town house to rent out which incorporates all the modern meeting facilities as well as wonderful character. Sit in the traditional kitchen

Bath is a magical city and unique in England. Accessible in just 2hrs from London, it should be on everyone’s list of place and explore, discover and ultimately enjoy when visiting the UK and is a perfect and diverse destination for the MICE sector both local and from abroad.