Bath uphill: gardens, Uranus and the path around the city
A garden with a Palladian bridge, the house from which Uranus was found, and a ten-kilometre path around the city — all off the main axis.
- Where
- Above the centre
- How long
- Half an hour to an hour each
- Price
- The Skyline
Hidden Bath is mostly above the city: Prior Park garden and the Skyline path on the southern and eastern hills, Beckford's Tower on top of Lansdown and Alexandra Park above the station, with only the Herschel Museum and the old Green Park station down on the flat, at the western edge of the centre. Three of the six charge nothing.
Prior Park
An eighteenth-century landscape garden on the slope south of the centre, with a chain of lakes and a Palladian bridge — one of only four of its kind in the world. Capability Brown worked on it too, and from the upper end the city lies below in the valley. Entry is charged; National Trust members go in free.
The Herschel Museum of Astronomy
The town house at 19 New King Street from which William Herschel discovered Uranus on 13 March 1781, with a telescope he had built himself — the first planet found by telescope. Herschel was a musician who did his astronomy at night, and he ground the mirrors for his telescopes himself, for hours on end. A ticket is €15.
The Bath Skyline
A circular path of six miles, about ten kilometres, over the hills east and south of the city, maintained by the National Trust. It runs through meadows, woodland and farmland, and at several points opens onto the whole city. It starts on Cleveland Walk on Bathwick Hill, 1.3 kilometres from the station; the ground has steep climbs, a rocky stretch and steps, so proper shoes matter.
Three more
- Beckford's Tower — a neoclassical tower of 1827 on top of Lansdown, raised by the writer William Beckford; 154 steps lead to the belvedere at the top. It opens only on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holiday Mondays, so on a weekday there is no way in.
- Green Park Station — a former railway station with an iron-and-glass vault, now a covered market. On Saturdays from 9 to 1.30 it holds a farmers' market, with produce from within forty miles of Bath.
- Alexandra Park — a viewpoint on Beechen Cliff, ten minutes' steep climb from the station up the Jacob's Ladder steps. From the top the abbey and the Royal Crescent sit in the same view.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
What in Bath is worth it but not on the top-ten list?
Prior Park with its Palladian bridge, the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, and the Bath Skyline walk. Of the three, only the walk is free.
Which of these open only at weekends?
Beckford's Tower — Saturdays, Sundays and bank holiday Mondays — and the farmers' market at Green Park, on Saturday mornings. The rest can be done on a weekday.
What is the Herschel Museum?
The house at 19 New King Street from which William Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781, the first planet found by telescope. A ticket is €15.
Ready for Bath?
Where to next
Bath in 1 day
→Two slots hold the day: the baths when they open, the spa before the pools close.
Stonehenge · 46 km
→A five-thousand-year-old stone circle, seen from a path rather than from inside
How well does Bath suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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