BATH, SOMERSET
The hot spring in Bath was in use long before the Romans arrived in Britain in 43 CE; a local tribe had been worshipping a goddess they called Sulis there for many years. The Romans did go on to build a huge bathing complex, fed by that same hot spring. But it was much later, during King George III’s reign in the 18th century, that Bath finally transformed into England’s most popular spa town. Today, the city’s best-known landmarks include the Roman Baths, an ancient complex of pools where Romans bathed while paying their respects to Sulis Minerva, the goddess of healing. Artefacts on display include a bronze statue of the deity.
HARROGATE, NORTH YORKSHIRE
When Harrogate’s sulphuric waters were discovered in 1571, visitors gathered in the marshy areas where the water flowed to the surface. By the 1700s, wellheads and ornate bath houses had been built, and the town’s grandest structure was the Royal Pump Room — now a museum — where wealthy visitors sipped the healing waters beneath an ornate roof. Today, the Turkish Baths, located in the former Royal Baths complex that first opened in 1897, are a great spot for a soak. Highlights include the original terrazzo flooring, and today’s treatments are significantly more appealing than those from the 1800s, such as peat baths.