Bath and the Cotswolds
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Bath and the Cotswolds - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Corinium Museum
Not much of the Roman town remains visible, but this museum displays an outstanding collection of Roman artifacts, including jewelry and coins, as well as mosaic pavements and full-scale reconstructions of local Roman interiors. Spacious and light-filled galleries that explore the town's history in Roman and Anglo-Saxon times and in the 18th century include plenty of hands-on exhibits for kids.
Park St., Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 2BX, England01285-655611Sight Details
Rate Includes: £6.40 -
2. Cotswolds Distillery
Founded in 2014 by a New Yorker inspired by the area's barley fields, the Cotswolds Distillery is a gem of the area. Although the long-term goal was to make whiskey, that aging process takes time, so in the interim, the distillery experimented with 150 different botanical spirits, including 60 recipes for gin. The best of those experiments was put into production as the Cotswolds Dry Gin, and the first whiskey was ready three years later. The distillery now offers a variety of tours and masterclasses as well as tastings. Distillery tours take place daily at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm, and cost £20. You can combine a visit with lunch at the Still House Café onsite. It's located in Stourton, 8 miles northeast of Moreton-in-Marsh.
Whichford Rd., Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire, CV36 5EX, England01608-38533Sight Details
Rate Includes: Tour and tasting £20 -
3. Fashion Museum and Assembly Rooms
In its role as the Assembly Rooms, this neoclassical building was one of the leading centers for social life in 18th-century Bath. Jane Austen came here often, and it's in the Ballroom that Catherine Morland has her first, disappointing encounter with Bath's beau monde in Northanger Abbey; the Octagon Room is the setting for an important encounter between Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth in Persuasion. Built by John Wood the Younger in 1771, the building was badly damaged by wartime bombing in 1942 but was faithfully restored. Its stunning chandeliers are 18th-century originals. Throughout the year, classical concerts are given here, just as they were in bygone days. The Assembly Rooms are also known today for its Fashion Museum, displaying apparel from Jacobean times up to the present. You can see examples of what would have been worn in the heydays here, as well as glamorous frocks from the 20th century—a dress of the year is an annual addition. Besides admiring the changing exhibits, you can have fun trying on corsets and crinolines. An audio guide is included in the admission price.
Bennett St., Bath, Bath and North East Somerset, BA1 2QH, England01225-477789Sight Details
Rate Includes: £10, Closed Mon. -
4. Gloucester Cathedral
In the center of Gloucester, magnificent Gloucester Cathedral, with its soaring, elegant exterior, was originally a Norman abbey church, consecrated in 1100. Reflecting different periods, the cathedral mirrors perfectly the slow growth of ecclesiastical taste and the development of the Perpendicular style. The interior has largely been spared the sterilizing attentions of modern architects and is almost completely Norman, with the massive pillars of the nave left untouched since their completion. The fan-vaulted roof of the 14th-century cloisters is the finest in Europe, and the cloisters enclose a peaceful garden (used in the filming of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone). Don't miss the Whispering Gallery, which has a permanent exhibition devoted to the splendid, 14th-century stained glass of the Great East Window. Tours of the tower (269 steps up; £8) are available, as are guided tours (£5.50). Gloucester is 13 miles southwest of Cheltenham and reachable from there on frequent buses and trains.
12 College Green, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL1 2LX, England01452-528095Sight Details
Rate Includes: £5 suggested donation; guided tours £5.50, Whispering Gallery closed during services -
5. Hidcote Manor Garden
Laid out around a Cotswold manor house, Hidcote Manor Garden is arguably the most interesting and attractive large garden in Britain. Crowds are large at the height of the season, but it's worthwhile anytime. A horticulturist from the United States, Major Lawrence Johnston, created the garden in 1907 in the Arts and Crafts style. Johnston was an imaginative gardener and avid traveler who brought back specimens from all over the world. The formal part of the garden is arranged in "rooms" separated by hedges and often with fine topiary work and walls. Besides the variety of plants, what's impressive are the different effects created, from calm open spaces to areas packed with flowers. Look for one of Johnston's earliest schemes, the red borders of dahlias, poppies, fuchsias, lobelias, and roses; the tall hornbeam hedges; and the Bathing Pool garden, where the pool is so wide there's scarcely space to walk. The White Garden was probably the forerunner of the popular white gardens at Sissinghurst and Glyndebourne. If you have time, explore the tiny village of Hidcote Bartrim with its thatched stone houses; it borders the garden and fills a storybook dell. The garden is 4 miles northeast of Chipping Campden.
Hidcote Bartrim, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, GL55 6LR, England01386-438333Sight Details
Rate Includes: £15, Closed Dec.–mid-Feb. and weekdays in Nov. -
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6. Highgrove House
Highgrove House is the much-loved country home of King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort. Here the king has been making the 37-acre estate his personal showcase for traditional and organic growing methods and conservation of native plants and animals since 1980. Joining a tour of 26 people, you can appreciate the amazing industry on the part of the royal gardeners who have created the orchards, kitchen garden, and woodland garden almost from nothing. Look for the stumpery, the immaculate and quirky topiaries, and the national collection of hostas. You can sample the estate's produce in the restaurant and shop or from its retail outlet in Tetbury. Be sure to book well ahead and bring a photo ID as well as your pre-booked ticket. Allow three to four hours for a visit to the garden, which is 1½ miles southwest of Tetbury.
Off A433, Doughton, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8TN, England0300-1237310-toursSight Details
Rate Includes: £29.50, Closed Oct.–early Apr. -
7. Holburne Museum
One of Bath's gems, this elegant 18th-century building and its modern extension house a superb collection of 17th- and 18th-century decorative arts, ceramics, and silverware. Highlights include paintings by Gainsborough (The Byam Family, on indefinite loan) and George Stubbs (Reverend Carter Thelwall and Family), and a hilarious collection of caricatures of the Georgian city's fashionable elite. In its original incarnation as the Sydney Hotel, the house was one of the pivots of Bath's high society, which came to perambulate in the pleasure gardens (Sydney Gardens) that still lie behind it. One visitor was Jane Austen, whose main Bath residence was No. 4 Sydney Place, a brief stroll from the museum. There's also an excellent café and tea garden on site.
Great Pulteney St., Bath, Bath and North East Somerset, BA2 4DB, England01225-388569Sight Details
Rate Includes: £11 -
8. Number 1 Royal Crescent
The majestic arc of the Royal Crescent, much used as a film location, is the crowning glory of Palladian architecture in Bath. The work of John Wood the Younger, these 30 houses fronted by 114 columns were laid out between 1767 and 1774. The first house to be built, on the corner of Brock Street and the Royal Crescent, was Number 1 Royal Crescent. The museum now crystallizes a view of the English class system in the 18th century—the status, wealth, and elegance of the upstairs in contrast with the extensive servants' quarters and kitchen downstairs. You can witness the predilections of the first resident, Henry Sandford, in the cabinet of curiosities and the electrical machine, as well as a Georgian love of display in the sumptuous dessert table arrangement in the dining room. Several varieties of historic mousetraps make their appearance downstairs. Everything is presented with elegant attention to authenticity and detail.
1 Royal Crescent, Bath, Bath and North East Somerset, BA1 2LR, England01225-428126Sight Details
Rate Includes: £13 July–Sept., Nov., and Dec.; £11 Feb.–June and Oct., Closed Jan. and Mon. -
9. Roman Baths and the Pump Room
The hot springs have drawn people here since prehistoric times, so it's quite appropriate to begin an exploration of Bath at this excellent museum on the site of the ancient city's primary "watering hole." Roman patricians would gather to immerse themselves, drink the mineral waters, and socialize. With the departure of the Romans, the baths fell into disuse. When bathing again became fashionable at the end of the 18th century, this magnificent Georgian building was erected. Almost the entire Roman bath complex was excavated in the 19th century, and the museum displays relics that include a memorable mustachioed, Celtic-influenced Gorgon's head, fragments of colorful curses invoked by the Romans against their neighbors, and information about Roman bathing practices. The Great Bath is now roofless, and the statuary and pillars belong to the 19th century, but much remains from the original complex (the Roman characters strutting around, however, are 21st century) and the steaming, somewhat murky waters are undeniably evocative. Tours take place hourly for no additional charge, and you can visit after 6:30 pm in July and August to experience the baths lighted by torches. Wear sensible shoes as the ancient stones are uneven and can be slippery. A state-of-the-art Learning Centre helps students learn about the town's history and heritage. Adjacent to the Roman bath complex is the famed Pump Room, built in 1792–96, a rendezvous for members of 18th- and 19th-century Bath society. Here Catherine Morland and Mrs. Allen "paraded up and down for an hour, looking at everybody and speaking to no one," to quote from Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. Today you can take in the elegant space—or you can simply, for a small fee, taste the fairly vile mineral water. Charles Dickens described it as tasting like warm flatirons.
Abbey Churchyard, Bath, Bath and North East Somerset, BA1 1LZ, England01225-477785Sight Details
Rate Includes: £25.50 weekdays, £27.50 weekends -
10. Snowshill Manor
Three miles south of Broadway and 13 miles northeast of Cheltenham, Snowshill is one of the most unspoiled of all Cotswold villages. Snuggled beneath Oat Hill, with little room for expansion, the hamlet is centered on an old burial ground, the 19th-century St. Barnabas Church, and Snowshill Manor, a splendid 17th-century house that brims with the collections of Charles Paget Wade, gathered between 1919 and 1956. Over the door of the house is Wade's family motto, Nequid pereat ("Let nothing perish"). The rooms are bursting with Tibetan scrolls, spinners' tools, ship models, Persian lamps, and bric-a-brac; the Green Room displays 26 suits of Japanese samurai armor. Outside, an imaginative terraced garden provides an exquisite frame for the house. Admission is by timed tickets, so in peak season be sure to pre-book online or arrive early.
Off A44, Snowshill, Gloucestershire, WR12 7JU, England01386-852410Sight Details
Rate Includes: £12; garden only £8.50, Closed Nov.–mid-Mar. -
11. Sudeley Castle
One of the grand showpieces of the Cotswolds, Sudeley Castle was the home and burial place of Catherine Parr (1512–48), Henry VIII's sixth and last wife, who outlived him by one year. Here Catherine undertook, in her later years, the education of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey and the future queen, Princess Elizabeth. Sudeley, for good reason, has been called a woman's castle. The term "castle" is misleading, though, for it looks more like a Tudor-era palace, with a peaceful air that belies its turbulent history. In the 17th century Charles I took refuge here, causing Oliver Cromwell's army to besiege the castle. It remained in ruins until the Dent-Brocklehurst family stepped in with a 19th-century renovation. The 14 acres of gardens, which include the roses of the Queen's Garden (best seen in June) and a Tudor knot garden, are the setting for Tudor fun days in summer. Inside the castle, visitors see the West Wing, with the Long Room where exhibitions illustrate the castle's history, and the East Wing, which contains the private apartments of Lord and Lady Ashcombe, where you can see paintings by van Dyck, Rubens, Turner, and Reynolds. Art tours can also be booked in advance. Rare and exotically colored birds strut in the pheasantry. The 11 cottages and apartments on the grounds are booked for a minimum of three-night stays. The castle is a mile southeast of Winchcombe.
Off B4632, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, GL54 5LP, England01242-604244Sight Details
Rate Includes: £19.50, Closed Nov.–Feb., Last admission at 3 pm -
12. The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum
From the 1880s onward, Cheltenham was at the forefront of the Arts and Crafts movement, and this is still demonstrated by the fine displays of William Morris textiles, furniture by Charles Voysey, and wood and metal pieces by Ernest Gimson at this museum and art gallery. Decorative arts, such as Chinese ceramics, are also well represented, and British artists, including Stanley Spencer, Vanessa Bell, and Jake and Dinos Chapman, make their mark. The Summerfield Galleries demonstrate life through the ages in easily digestible chunks. Exhibits on Cheltenham's history complete the picture; one is devoted to Edward Wilson, who traveled with Robert Scott to the Antarctic on Scott's ill-fated 1912 expedition. The museum café, the Wilson Kitchen, is open daily for lunch, coffee, and cake.
Clarence St., Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 3JT, England01242-528764Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free; £5 suggested donation, Closed Mon. -
13. Thermae Bath Spa
One of the few places in Britain where you can bathe in natural hot-spring water, and in an open-air rooftop location as well, this striking complex designed by Nicholas Grimshaw consists of a Bath-stone building surrounded by a glass curtain wall. The only difficulty is in deciding where to spend more time—in the sleekly luxurious, light-filled Minerva Bath, with its curves and gentle currents, or in the smaller, open-air rooftop pool for the unique sensation of bathing with views of Bath's operatic skyline (twilight is particularly atmospheric here). Two 18th-century thermal baths, the Cross Bath and the Hot Bath, are back in use, too (the latter for treatments only). End your session in the crisp third-floor café and restaurant. It's essential to book spa treatments ahead of time. Towels, robes, and slippers are available for rent. Note that changing rooms are co-ed. Weekdays are the quietest time to visit. You must be 16 to bathe here and 18 to book a spa treatment.
Hot Bath St., Bath, Bath and North East Somerset, BA1 1SJ, England01225-331234Sight Details
Rate Includes: £38 weekdays, £43 weekends
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