Bath and the Cotswolds: Roman baths and honey stone villages

Why go

Bath and the Cotswolds give you the gentle, timeless side of England. You can soak in naturally warm spring water on a rooftop, walk Jane Austen's streets and then spend a day among villages where little seems to have changed for centuries. It is a calm, romantic contrast to London.

Bath's main sights

The **Roman Baths** are the star: a remarkably preserved Roman bathing complex built around a hot spring, with a museum and a steaming green pool. Book a timed ticket in busy months. Next door, **Bath Abbey** has fan vaulted ceilings and tower tours. Walk up to **The Circus** and the sweeping **Royal Crescent**, where **No. 1 Royal Crescent** shows Georgian home life. The **Jane Austen Centre** tells the story of the author's years in the city, and the **Pulteney Bridge** with shops built across it is a favourite photo.

For a modern soak, **Thermae Bath Spa** has a rooftop pool filled with natural thermal water, magical at dusk. Book ahead at weekends.

Food and drink

Try a **Sally Lunn** bun in one of the oldest houses in Bath, a Bath bun, and afternoon tea in the **Pump Room**. Pubs like **The Raven** and **The Star Inn** are classic, and the city has excellent independent restaurants.

The Cotswolds

The Cotswolds cover a large area across several counties. Highlights include **Bibury** with its row of weavers' cottages on Arlington Row, **Castle Combe**, often called the prettiest village in England, **Bourton-on-the-Water** with low bridges across the river, **Stow-on-the-Wold**, **Chipping Campden** and **Broadway**. Market towns like **Cirencester** and **Burford** have great pubs and antique shops. Walkers can follow parts of the **Cotswold Way**, which runs from Chipping Campden to Bath.

Getting around

Bath is walkable and its station is in the centre. Trains from London Paddington take around ninety minutes. The Cotswolds are harder without a car: trains stop at **Moreton-in-Marsh**, **Kemble** and **Kingham**, and local buses link some villages, but services are limited, especially on Sundays. Small group day tours from Bath and London are the easiest way to see several villages in one day.

Where to stay

In Bath, stay near the centre or along the Georgian streets for easy walking. In the Cotswolds, an inn in **Stow-on-the-Wold**, **Moreton-in-Marsh** or **Chipping Campden** lets you explore by bus and on foot. Weekends book up fast in summer.

Day trips

From Bath, **Stonehenge** and **Avebury** are easy on a tour, **Wells** has a beautiful cathedral, and **Bristol** is just fifteen minutes by train for its harbourside and street art. **Lacock**, a National Trust village used in many films, is close too.

Tips

Visit Bath midweek or out of peak summer for quieter streets, and come in late November or December for the Christmas market. Plan the rest of your route with our free trip planner.

Seasons and events

Spring brings blossom and lambs to the Cotswold hills, summer brings village fêtes and long evenings in pub gardens, and autumn colours the beech woods. Bath's Christmas market fills the streets around the Abbey in late November and December, and the **Jane Austen Festival** each September sees hundreds of people promenade through the city in Regency dress. In the Cotswolds, the annual **Cheese Rolling** at Cooper's Hill near Gloucester is a famous and eccentric spring tradition, best watched from a safe distance. Find more cafés, pubs and stays across the region on our places to visit page.