WT1 - WALK: Bath, The Great Spa Town

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the opening of Thermae Bath Spa, the city’s modern spa. People have been bathing in Bath’s naturally hot, mineral-rich thermal waters for at least 2,000 years. This informative and entertaining walking tour, led by a Blue Badge-qualified tour guide, will take you on a deep dive into Bath’s long and fascinating history as a spa town. 

You will learn about how the waters healed Bladud, Bath’s mythical founder, of his leprosy. You will hear how everyone from the poor to royalty visited Bath through the centuries seeking cures for all sorts of ailments – from gout to infertility – by bathing in the supposedly health-enhancing waters. Did the waters actually cure anything? All will be explained. 

The tour will also cover drinking the waters in the Pump Room, take in almshouses and hospitals where pilgrims and patients heading to the baths would stay, and highlight a well-known biscuit invented by Dr Oliver in the 1700s for those in his care. The tour will explore past bathing practices, and touch on some of the après-spa attractions devised to keep visitors entertained in the city’s Georgian heyday. Bath’s reinvention as a modern-day wellness destination will be examined, as will the significance of its recent second UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription as one of the Great Spa Towns of Europe. 

Organised by Fred Mawer Tours (https://www.fredmawertours.co.uk).