A Muslim visitor can choose from three Mosques. The main one is Al Muzaflar Mosque on Pierrepoint Street near the bus and rail stations. It has a capacity of 250 with five prayer rooms for men and two for women plus Wudu ablution taps and sinks. Along with prayer the Mosque offers training and development, educational classes such as an IQRA Islamic School and Arabic language classes. And there is a library and computer room. It also hosts social gatherings and even has a tented back garden in case of rain.
Perhaps it was the hills which drew the Romans back in the first century.
More likely it was Bath’s hot springs around which the conquerors built a giant bathing complex as the focus of the town they called Aquae Sulis. But Bath’s architectural beauty is a legacy of the Georgians rather than the Romans. In the eighteenth century led by royalty and the fundraiser Beau Nash ‘taking the waters’ became fashionable again. Bath is crammed with museums but some of the greatest enjoyment comes simply from the streets with their pale gold architecture and sweeping vistas.
The aforementioned Beau Nash found the money to pave roads, light streets and endow the Royal Mineral Water Hospital, which survives as the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases. It is also known as “the Min.” The seasonal influx of the wealthy elite acted as a magnet for artists, actors and musicians. The city became a “hospital of the nations”, a fashionable round of promenades, assemblies and visits to the pump room. Nash became an arbiter of good taste, laying down rules of etiquette that were not to be broken.
Georgian architects – albeit inspired by Rome – were responsible for the city’s Palladian look: wide boulevards, elegant squares, crescents and terraces built in honey-coloured sandstone, dotted throughout with parks and gardens. Two architects in particular – John Wood senior and John Wood junior – created Bath’s principal architectural landmarks: the Circus and the Royal Crescent, and you must not leave Bath without seeing them. The Circus is a circular terrace of high buildings enclosing a grassy island while the stunning Royal Terrace is a semi-circle of some thirty houses set on a hillside in the Upper Town overlooking sweeping parkland. No 1 is now a museum open to the public having been restored to look as it would have done in the 18th century.
A large magnolia tree shades the entrance to another noted address, the Royal Crescent Hotel which comprises two central houses of the crescent. In the 1790s this was home to King George III’s son “the Grand Old Duke of York” of nursery rhyme fame. Here you can play croquet on the lawns, read a book beneath an apple tree, relax in the spa or dine on local specialities of monkfish, pigeon or lamb in the Dower House restaurant. Be sure to sample Bath buns in the flower-decked garden on a sunny day or take an afternoon tea cruise on the River Avon aboard the hotel’s sleek launch, the Lady Sophina.
The Upper Town reveals museums and galleries at every turn, notably the Museum of Costume (in the Assembly Rooms), the British Folk Art collection, the Royal Photographic Society galleries and Bath Postal Museum. Children especially love the Victorian era, the focus of Mr Bowler’s Business at the Bath Industrial Heritage Centre on Julian Road. This establishment provided services including engineering, plumbing and gas fitting, bell hanging, locksmiths as well as making cherry and ginger drinks. Last stop on this circuit is the Building of Bath Museum where you can learn how each golden limestone house was put together. Venturing downtown the first port of call for any visitor is surely the Roman Baths Museum in Stall Street. This great Romano-British bathing complex centres around a hot mineral spring from which water gushes at a rate of a million gallons a day. The remains have survived remarkably well over the centuries and the museum contains many objects discovered in more than two hundred years of excavations in the area. And if you feel like sampling the waters the new Thermae Bath Spa on Hot Bath Street is the place to head for. The open air rooftop pool is the highlight of any visit. By day and by night the views over the city and surrounding hills are superb. In North Parade Passage lies Sally Lunn’s Refreshment House and Museum, the city’s oldest house built circa 1622
. In the cellars of this timber-framed building is the original kitchen where the legendary French woman created her famous brioche Bath buns made with sugar and eggs. Re-energised by tea and buns you can complete the downtown attractions with stops at the Guildhall, Book Museum and Postal museum and the Royal Photographic Society. Nature lovers will have a field day strolling in Parade Gardens which overlook the River Avon and Pulteney Bridge, the city’s version of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. Here you can check out the garden’s three dimensional flower bedding, watch concerts in the bandstand or simply sit in a deckchair in the shade, watching the world go by.
Uptown the sprawling Royal Victoria Park overlooked by the Royal Crescent, boasts a fine collection of trees, tennis courts, boating pond, putting green and 12 and 18 approach golf courses. And just a leafy stroll away are the nine-acre Botanical Gardens, home to an unusual display of plants on limestone, a rock garden and a pool.
Halal dining is not hard to find. Halal certified restaurants in town include Al Falafel, Southern Chicken and Rajpoot on Argyle Street. This welcoming Indian Bangladeshi restaurant has an established reputation for tandoori and curry dishes. The Podium on Northgate Street has restaurants serving Mexican, Chinese and Italian food. And nearby at the Francis Hotel’s Brasserie Blanc the accent is on high quality yet informal French cuisine. And for a special occasion the Shelbourne restaurant at Bowood Spa Hotel and Golf Course near Calne offers dishes such as Poll Dorset Lamb, spiced tomato couscous and ratatouille. Alternatively, you could head out to Ston Easton Hotel some 11 miles from Bath in the Mendip hills…perhaps by helicopter! Here the award winning Sorrel restaurant housed in a superb Palladian mansion, offers dishes using produce from its Victorian Garden. In summer you can dine alfresco on the front terrace. Also in summer Ston Easton Park hosts “Ballet in the Park” in association with The Covent Garden Dance Company.This stunning ballet is performed during a gourmet three course dinner under the summer stars and a stretch marquee.
The highlight of the city year is the Bath International Festival of Music, two weeks of musical events in late May and early June. For concerts and operas the festival uses the spa town’s handsome old halls including the Assembly Rooms, the Guildhall and the Theatre Royal. While on the subject of music, don’t miss Herschel House and Museum, home of the celebrated astronomer and composer William Herschel. At one time William was Director of Music in Bath and became well-known for his home-made telescopes. Together with his sister Caroline this English “Leonardo da Vinci” made many astronomical discoveries including the planet Uranus in 1781. Be sure to visit the garden which is planted with medicinal herbs. If you have more time to spare there are many places of interest nearby. To the west lies the city of Bristol, the historic port and regional capital. Beyond the Severn Estuary runs down to the sea and the coastal resort of Weston-super-Mare. Turning south, the Mendip hills give way to the Somerset levels and the towns of Glastonbury, Wells and Salisbury. Longleat House, with its gardens landscaped by Lancelot “Capability” Brown lies 22 miles south. It is a treasure trove of silver, antiques and paintings by the likes of Titian, Tintoretto and Wooton. And east of Bath near Calne lies the aforementioned Bowood Hotel Spa & Golf Course which has an ancestral home in its extensive grounds. Bowood is a grade I listed Georgian country house with interiors by Robert Adam and a garden also designed by Capability Brown.
Under the limestone Mendips that tower over Somerset is a labyrinth of caves formed by constant flooding. Once upon a time the caverns were inhabited but today they are the focus of adventurous spelunkers eager to explore the underground streams and roads. At Wookey Hole and Cheddar Gorge state-of-the-art lighting techniques highlight geological features and illustrate the history and myths associated with the area. At Chewton Cheese Dairy nearby you can watch traditional Cheddar cheesemaking and get to taste the nutty products. Last but not least is Stonehenge, one of the worlds greatest monuments dating from Neolithic times. Its purpose remains a mystery to this day – a giant astronomical clock? A trade centre? A city state? And at Avebury massive stone circles dominate the village. Wherever you will roam you will encounter mysterious earthworks, standing stones and ancient trackways. It all makes for intriguing exploration and presents a startling counterpoint to the neo-Grecian harmony of Bath.

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