A Day in Bath, England

Last week I made an impulse decision to book a quick train to Bath, England. As a newbie to all things England, I feel like this is the perfect location first trip since my move to England. The train ride was less than an hour and the city is just the right size to dip my toes in the proverbial water of local travel. Since I have no plans of leaving, I better get comfortable! So I want to outline my day spent in Bath and give my advice on how to best spend a day in the city.

Booking an earlier train to Bath is going to be your best bet (and not just because my 0745 train was delayed for over an hour for a fire on the tracks in Reading), ideally get there no later than 9am. This guarantees less people and a less crowded start to your day. As soon as you exit Bath Spa Station you should immediately turn right and walk across the street, where you will see Diana's Cafe with a cute interior and, if you can get a spot on the booth, a perfect place to people watch. I recommend getting the Breakfast Sandwich with "the brown sauce" (don't ask what it is, but it is so good). I went on one of the hottest recorded days of summer (genius..) so I opted for an iced latte. After my fueling, the first thing I knew I wanted to do was to was see the Roman Baths.

These are the most popular tourist attraction in Bath, as it is named so because of them, so I would recommend getting there early and buying tickets online (not required, but guarantees you entry for that time slot). I got there at 10:15, the earliest time, and had much fewer people there than I expected, even for a Saturday. Because it was a weekend, the tickets were more expensive, at £26 for an adult. This took me about an hour and a half to complete, and I would definitely suggest the audio tour and taking your time! Some of the coolest bits of history I have seen in a while!

The obvious next place to go is Bath Abbey. Unfortunately, it is £6.50 per adult for entry, but I think it is worth it to see and learn about all of the 800+ gravestones and memorials covering every wall in the Abbey.

As it was early afternoon, I stopped by La Baguette for a sandwich and water. It is takeaway only so I headed through Pulteney Bridge to Beazer Garden Meade to sit in the grass and people watch while I ate. The entrance was a bit hard to find, so dont miss the stairs just after the bridge! I was hoping to eat in the Parade Gardens, but I was not willing to pay £2 for entry so this was a great alternative (and you get to watch people kayaking down the river).

Then I made the trek in the British heat to The Circus, where a Jane Austen Festival was going on. People dressed up in period clothing were everywhere and I did not even know this was happening when I booked the trip, so I really had no clue what was going on! After a little walk around I made my way to the Royal Crescent where I sat in the shade and recharged (my legs and my phone).

At this point it was getting late (and hot), so I walked down to The Green Rocket for a drink. The Elderflower Fizz is so great and the staff are so kind! Definitely recommend sitting outside and seeing the views of Bath Abbey and the Parade Gardens. This was the perfect end to my day and I really got an opportunity to soak in how amazing the opportunity to move to a different country and experience different culture is. Overall, I absolutely think Bath should be on everyone's "Must-See" list, even if you can only make it out there for a day.

I have added the location of all the places I went in red below for mapping purposes :-).

Go Travel!

TRN