A Day in Bath, England

When in Bath… Do as the Romans in England did. While studying abroad in England, three friends and I took a day trip to the magical, quaint town of Bath, England. The day was full of exploration and most importantly relaxation after a stressful few weeks. These weeks consisted of Oxford tutorials and 12 hour library days in the Bodleian during the week, followed by nonstop traveling on the weekends. Such a tough life, I know… trust me, now I miss the once in a lifetime experience tons!

My mom and aunt are going to bath in the next couple of months, which made me reminisce on that magical day. I LOVED Bath, so I wanted to share how my friends and I spent our day. Since we were in Bath, we splurged a little, but were still able to do everything (including food, transportation, and a spa evening) for $100! This is what we saw & how we did it.

What not to miss when visiting Bath, England:

1. The Thermae Spa 

   The Thermae Bath spa was definitely the most relaxing and my personal favorite part of the day- as well as all of my friends favorite… or should I say favourite. We purchased the twilight package, which was a killer deal. Since there was four of us, we bought 2 of the twilight packages for 2. This costs 46 pounds a person and gave us 3 hours to indulge in the spa and eat a yummy dinner (dinner was included!).

   We found that 3 hours at the spa was plenty of time, and we greatly enjoyed going at night to watch the beautiful sunset atop the spa. I would highly recommend going during twilight just to witness that sunset! Relaxing in the warm water, surrounded by building created centuries ago and the rolling British mountainside as the sun lit the sky with majestic colors was truly magical. I wish I had pictures, but I was too busy soaking it in. 😉 The pictures online on this website do the rooftop, as well as the rest of the spa justice, though. Check out this link for the deal I’m talking about, and if you’re going to Bath, make sure to head to this spa!

2. The Roman Baths

   

   Seeing the Roman baths was extremely neat. It made us impatient about our own spa day that awaited in just a few hours. We were able to see what spa life was like centuries ago and learn about the the intriguing way that the Romans heated their spa. We also discovered how the Romans ended up in England in the first place. Most importantly, we drank the spa’s water with the healing properties- 43 different minerals- that has attracted visitors for years. Yum 😛 We went on a week day, which saved us about 9 pounds!

3. Sally Lunn’s Bakery 

   Sally Lunn is famous for not only being the oldest house in Bath, but her amazing “bun that isn’t a bun”. The bun is a wonderful, delectable pastry that melts in your mouth and something you must experience.  I ate the bun with cinnamon butter. I took a picture of it with my camera, or so I thought. Unfortunately, I did not realize that I had forgotten my camera card… classic Kiersten move.

   We then took a free tour of the museum (the museum is free if you dine in the restaurant!) The museum is small and took just a few minutes to walk through, but it’s definitely worth checking out if you dine there for the history and experience. Check out the website for the restaurant and museum here.

4. The quaint town

   With the classic, quaint old English look, exploring the towns shops and streets is a must. Even if you only have a few minutes to walk around, don’t forget to stop and smell the roses. The beautiful town full of Georgian architecture is worth it. We spent our time looking through the town’s Christmas shops and admiring the famous “circus”, as well as the bath abbey cathedral. The entire town is so quaint and lovely (as the Brits would say). In the beautiful town of Bath, you can’t go wrong on any street you turn down. If you want some advice on more parts of the town to see, I read some great tips here.

How much was it?

Train ride to Bath, England from Oxford, England: (Takes about an hour long each way): $27

Ticket to the thermae spa (let’s say you do the thermae week night special for 2): $60- this also includes dinner!

Ticket to the Roman baths: $17

Food: $10 (For Sally Lunns, this could vary depending on what you get- I ate one of their famous buns and had some tea!)

Total: $114- includes food, transportation, admission to a museum, AND a spa evening

Xoxo,

Kiersten