Is Bath the World’s Most Beautiful City?
Royal Crescent is the famous curved street of Georgian buildings in Bath, often called the world’s most beautiful city. It was said to be based on the ‘sun and moon’ design of Stonehenge. Although most of the buildings are no longer resident, they are highly protected and still in use.
One is a museum, and one is a hotel. The street is often used for period TV dramas (it was featured in the episode of Inspector Morse, where he took his lady friend there in the 1997 episode Death is Now My Neighbour (featuring Judy Loe, the widow of Richard Beckinsale and mother of actress Katy Beckinsale).
Opposite Royal Crescent is Royal Victoria Park, a huge green space loved by locals. This 57 acres features botanical gardens, a boating pond and children’s play area.
Keep flower-nosey dogs away from spring bulbs, as they are unsafe near animal friends.
The Roman Baths of Bath (with natural hot springs)
The Roman Baths in the beautiful city of Bath are no longer bathed in, but there is museum to tell you all about their interesting history. One of the world’s best-preserved Roman sites, these were built around 70AD.
The baths still feature natural hot springs (our very own Iceland!) and produce over 1 million litres of water a day at a very warm temperature. Back in the day, Romans would bathe and hold business meetings, using olive oil over soap to wash their skin (then scrape it off with a metal tool!)
This was a real luxurious area, with libraries and snack bars, and even gyms with weights! It was believed that the waters could cure illness, and the entire site was dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva, a blend of Celtic and Roman deities.
In 2007, 17,500 Roman coins were found nearby, showing the wealth of the area back then. But despite the wealth, people of all backgrounds were allowed to use the baths, although men and women had to bathe at separate times.
