GETAWAY
Meandering in the MENDIPS
Janette Sykes takes a (pre-lockdown) break in one of Somerset’s most tranquil locations
Beauty of Bath: Pulteney Bridge over the River Avon
Long-time caravanner Janette Sykes is a regular contributor
WHATEVER WOULD GENTEEL Jane Austen have made of modern-day Bath? Hordes of tourists, booming street music, fast food, and a man in top hat and tails (purporting to be Mr Darcy) at the entrance to a museum dedicated to her life and work.
Fortunately, it’s easy to escape some of the excesses of 21st-century life that cluster around the core of the city’s Abbey, Roman Baths and Pump Room, and get a flavour of what the UNESCO World Heritage Site was like when the great author chronicled life here two centuries ago.
We dodged the crowds on a warm and sunny (pre-lockdown) September day by following the City Trail on foot, which takes about 90 minutes and meanders through the elegant streets.
The trail (available to download from worldheritagetrails.co.uk/whtb.pdf) starts at Bath Abbey. This building dates from the 15th century and was one of the last Gothic churches built before the Reformation. It’s an impressive sight, despite the crowds.
Panoramic views
Equally appealing is the elegant, harmonious sequence of Queen Square, King’s Circus and the imposing Royal Crescent, with its panoramic views across sweeping lawns and the southern slopes of the city.
These, along with Great Pulteney Street and Pulteney Bridge, designed by Robert Adam, are considered to be among the very finest examples of Georgian town planning.
Back in the city centre, we lunched on sandwiches and scones with clotted cream at Hands Georgian Tearooms on Abbey Street, before retracing our steps to Pulteney Bridge. There, we embarked on an hour’s relaxing cruise, to the weir at Bathampton Mill and back.