Episodes
Wednesday Sep 23, 2020
Bath Episode 09 Parks and Walks
Wednesday Sep 23, 2020
Wednesday Sep 23, 2020
A genteel walk - or 'parade' as it was known in the 18th century! - is a very 'Bath' thing to do and this episode will take you on lots. We visit some of the loveliest parks and explain their history; think Jane Austen at a fireworks display and a brief glimpse of Queen Victoria's ankles. And we suggest some excellent city centre routes which take you past the things you most want to see, plus some more energetic ideas for leaving the city centre and getting out into the surrounding countryside.
Wednesday Sep 16, 2020
Bath Episode 08 Museums and Galleries
Wednesday Sep 16, 2020
Wednesday Sep 16, 2020
Here we present a selection of Bath's best museums and galleries: the Fashion Museum, housed in the Assembley Rooms and featuring clothes, ranging from Elizabethan-era gloves to the very latest 'dress of the year'; the house where astronomer William Herschel discovered Uranus; the Postal Museum, telling the story of Bath's revolutionary postmaster whose profits helped finance the Circus and the Royal Crescent and Bath's two best known art galleries, the Holburne Museum and the Victoria Art Gallery.
Useful links
https://www.fashionmuseum.co.uk
https://herschelmuseum.org.uk
http://www.bathpostalmuseum.co.uk
https://www.holburne.org
https://www.victoriagal.org.uk
https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
Wednesday Sep 09, 2020
Bath Episode 07 Jane Austen's Bath
Wednesday Sep 09, 2020
Wednesday Sep 09, 2020
Jane Austen's novels are a window into life in Regency Bath, a city she lived in for a period and over whose ways she often raised a quizzical eyebrow. Hear what Jane herself did in Bath and how she presented the city in her writing, then find out where in the city today you can have some Jane Austen experiences.
Useful links
https://janeausten.co.uk
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bath-assembly-rooms
https://www.bathvenues.co.uk/pump-room-history
https://visitbath.co.uk/listings/single/pump-room
https://www.romanbaths.co.uk/pump-room-restaurant
Wednesday Sep 02, 2020
Bath Episode 06 The season, 18th century style
Wednesday Sep 02, 2020
Wednesday Sep 02, 2020
Hear what all those elegant visitors were actually doing all day (and evening!) when they came to 'do a season' in 18th century Bath. Find out about the flamboyant master of ceremonies, Beau Nash, and the buildings you can still visit today which will conjure up the atmosphere for you: the Pump Room and the Assembly Rooms.
Useful links
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bath-assembly-rooms
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bath-assembly-rooms
https://www.bathvenues.co.uk/pump-room-history
https://visitbath.co.uk/listings/single/pump-room
https://www.romanbaths.co.uk/pump-room-restaurant
https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
Wednesday Aug 26, 2020
Bath Episode 05 Gorgeous Georgian Architecture
Wednesday Aug 26, 2020
Wednesday Aug 26, 2020
Bath's 18th century building boom left a legacy of lovely crescents and squares which are still today the most impressive areas of the city. This episode takes a look at how they came to be built, at the design ideas behind them and at what life was like inside, for the wealthy owners and also for their servants.
Useful links
https://museumofbatharchitecture.org.uk
https://no1royalcrescent.org.uk
Wednesday Aug 19, 2020
Bath Episode 04 Taking the Waters
Wednesday Aug 19, 2020
Wednesday Aug 19, 2020
It's over eleven thousand years since Bladud is said, thanks to his pigs, to have discovered the healing properties of the waters in Bath. This episode looks at stories of people bathing and 'taking the waters' in the city over the centuries, with a particular focus on the medieval and Georgian periods, then bringing things right up to date at the 21st century Thermae Bath Spa.
Useful links
https://www.romanbaths.co.uk
https://www.thermaebathspa.com
Wednesday Aug 12, 2020
Bath Episode 03 In and around the Abbey
Wednesday Aug 12, 2020
Wednesday Aug 12, 2020
This look at life in medieval and early modern times in Bath centres on a visit to the Abbey and to the streets around it. Find out why the coronation of Edgar, in Bath Abbey in 973, was so crucial for English history (and for all coronation services in the thousand plus years since then) and hear what to look out for on a visit. Learn too about daily life in the city long before the Georgians and their elegant manners changed things radically.
Useful links
Wednesday Aug 05, 2020
Bath Episode 02 Roman Bath
Wednesday Aug 05, 2020
Wednesday Aug 05, 2020
Nowhere in the UK will you see better preserved Roman baths than in the city of Bath! This episode centres on them and on the adjoining museum and explains what you can see there and what they tell us about the life of the Romans who built them: their advanced engineering skills, the key role the baths played in their social and business lives and something about their beliefs and customs.
Useful links
https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
Wednesday Jul 29, 2020
Bath Episode 01 Introduction
Wednesday Jul 29, 2020
Wednesday Jul 29, 2020
Our introduction to Bath, which many people think is the UK's most elegant city, will give you an overview, geographically, historically and culturally, and an introduction to the remaining 13 episodes: the places you will visit, the stories you will hear and the characters who have influenced the city over the centuries.
Wednesday Jul 22, 2020
City Break Ideas Episode 06
Wednesday Jul 22, 2020
Wednesday Jul 22, 2020
Four more city break ideas to tempt you. This week, a US West Coast city known for its very particular vibe, and Germany's oldest university town where you can walk in the footsteps of philosophers and visit a jail built specially for students. We're also featuring a suggestion for a visit to sunny Cyprus and another to a UNESCO World Heritage site in south-east Asia.