Whether you are a resident of Bath, a regular visitor to the Somerset city, or you have never stepped foot there before, you will probably be aware that the city is famous for its Roman Baths and its impressive architecture, which includes buildings like the Royal Crescent, the Circus and the Pump Room.
However, there is so much more to Bath than these well-known attractions. Here are some of the most interesting and unusual facts about Bath, which are not as widely known:
Thanks to its unarguable beauty, the city of Bath has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987. This is a great accolade for the city, but anyone who has ever been to Bath knows that it is well deserved. The fact that Bath is so filled with treasures from times gone by is probably also why the hot air ballooning experience in Bath is so popular.
In 1781, the famous German astronomer William Herschel was at his home in 1781 when he made an amazing discovery. He detected the presence of Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun, in the night sky. His home in the city is now the site of the Herschel Museum of Astronomy.
If you visit Bath, you can exchange your own money for the city’s own currency, which goes by the name of Oliver, and which is used as a discount voucher.
It is said that the famed novelist, who gave us some of the greatest novels of all time, once visited The Saracens Head pub in Bath. This pub is well known in its own right, being the oldest pub in the city, having been established way back in 1713.
A number of famous films and TV shows have been filmed in Bath, the most notable perhaps being the hugely popular TV show Inspector Morse, but other huge productions, including Les Miserables (2003) and The Duchess (2007) have been filmed in the city.
If you visit Bath and you are looking for a unique experience, you may want to search out a bar named Sleight. This is the city’s only Magic Bar, where a magician performs impressive feats live.
Pulteney Bridge is one of Bath’s biggest attractions, not only because it is a fine piece of architecture, but because both sides of the impressive bridge are lined with shops where visitors can buy all kinds of products. What makes this so special is that there are only three other bridges in the world that have shops across the full span of both sides.
So, there you have it – some of Bath’s finest secrets, and the key to having an even better time when you next visit the city, is to view it all from a hot air balloon!
