I had wanted to visit Prior Park , especially to see the beautiful Palladian bridge there, during my stay in Bath. Since the park was one of the stops along City Sightseeing‘s Skyline bus tour, I decided to take it to the park and back. I soon learnt that the park was only open during the weekends in winter and as it was a weekday, it would be closed. However, I decided to simply go on the circular bus tour to see parts of Bath outside of its historic centre. I am glad I did that because I very much enjoyed the Skyline tour.
One of the first buildings to catch my eye on the bus tour was St. Mary’s at Bathwick. According to the church’s website, there has been a church at the site for around a thousand years. The present building though was built in the early 19th century.
One of the stops along the skyline tour is the Holburne museum, formerly Sydney hotel, located in Sydney pleasure gardens. The museum houses the art collection, of Sir William Holburne, which was bequeathed to the people of Bath by Holburne’s sister in 1882.
We passed No 4 Sydney Place, where Jane Austen and her family stayed from 1801 – 1804. It has now been converted into 4 self-catering apartments, where visitors to Bath can stay at.
The view of the city from Bathwick hill was lovely. However, I was seated on the other side of the bus so this was all I could capture on my camera.
We passed the old Roundhouse, which was the Bathwick toll house. It had been managed by the Bath Turnpike Trust, which was set up in 1707 for maintaining and improving the roads, and continued to collect tolls till 1878.
The North road was quite scenic, though the audio commentary informed us that this road had been quite unsafe a couple of centuries ago due to the highwaymen along the route.
Our circular tour took us through Widcombe before returning to Bath city centre. For those who enjoy long walks, the 6 mile Bath Skyline walk in summer might be a lovely option.
After being dropped back at the starting point on Manvers Street, I decided to stop by Green Rocket cafe, a vegetarian cafe and restaurant, to have a fresh juice. I went for the cafe’s namesake juice, which had a delicious mix of apple, cucumber, broccoli, celery, parsley and spirulina. It was the last ingredient that made me go for the Green Rocket juice simply because I had never heard of spirulina before and learnt that it is a blue-green algae, considered a super food.
Since the City sightseeing ticket included both of their Bath tours, the Skyline tour and the City tour, I also decided to go on the City tour. This tour started in front of the Abbey.
Guildhall
After a near circular short loop via High Street and Grand Parade, the bus tour took us around the city, stopping at key stops close to several of Bath’s attractions. The city tour is best taken on the first day of one’s visit to Bath to give a better feel for the city as well as cut down on the walking in between attractions. I, on the other hand, took this at the end of my three day visit when I had walked around the city centre a lot and visited the museums I had wanted to so the city tour wasn’t as enjoyable for me as the Skyline tour had been.
I did have a lovely view of the city and took some beautiful photos of places I had walked past previously.
Queen Square
I would highly recommend the Skyline tour as I enjoyed both the audio commentary and the scenic route around Bath. The city tour is better taken on one’s first day or two in Bath.
Disclaimer: The Bath Tourism Office kindly gave me a complimentary pass to Bath and regional attractions, for the purpose of this post. This pass allowed me a free ticket on the City Sightseeing Bath tours. All opinions are my own and I only recommend experiences I have enjoyed.
[I am linking this post to Faraway Files #12 and City Tripping #60]
Perspectives Quilt 
I want to re-visit Bath:) #farawayfiles
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That would be lovely, Tanja! 🙂
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I didn’t know you could stay in an apartment where Jane Austen lived – I’m very tempted by that.
Sounds like your Skyline Tour was a success and the weather was kind to you – look at those beautiful blue skies.
#farawayfiles
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Yes, I also didn’t know that until I looked up No 4 Sydney Place after my bus tour and found that they had converted it into lovely self-catering apartments. The skies were indeed beautiful and blue during my stay in Bath and most of the rest of my trip, though it had started on a grey note in Cardiff.
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I have to know – how did the Rocket Juice taste?! Bath looks lovely, thank you for sharing with #FarawayFiles, Erin
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The taste of cucumber and parsley was what stood out, the other ingredients sort of blended in with a hint of their presence. The juice sure felt like a meal in a glass.
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Hmmmmm… sounds very interesting!
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I’ve been really looking forward to finding out about your trip to Bath – such a wonderful city and it looks as though you had great weather too. Good to hear about the bus trip. I’ve heard great things about the Holburne Museum and I’m very keen to see Prior Park too. Thanks so much for sharing this with us on #FarawayFiles. Happy New Year!
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Thanks, Clare. I was inspired to visit Bath and Wells during this trip, after reading your posts on both. Wish you a happy New Year as well!
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We visited Bath many, many years ago. Seeing your photos makes me think it is time to go back.
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Hope you do visit Bath soon then, Lyn!
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What a lovely trip to Bath Ahila. We haven’t been for a long time so I am looking forward to visiting this year. So pretty, even in winter. Thanks for joining us on #FarawayFiles
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Thank you, Katy. I look forward to seeing your photos from your upcoming visit to Bath!
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I love the idea of staying at No 4 Sydney Place. I haven’t been to Bath since I was little: I would love to go back. Nice post
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Thank you. Had I known about No 4 Sydney Place before my visit to Bath, I would have certainly stayed there at least for a day.
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We took these same two sightseeing bus tours when we were in Bath, on the first day as recommended. Well, I was so jetlagged, that I was lulled to sleep and have no idea what we passed! Thanks for showing me what I missed. It looks lovely. Wish I had been awake to see it with my own eyes.
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Thanks, Michele. Sorry to hear that you were jet-lagged to fully enjoy the bus tours.
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There are so many beautiful places in the world I’d love to visit and Bath is one of them. It looks really beautiful. I think you had a great idea to take the Skyline tour.
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Anda, It was my first time to Bath’s historic city centre and I was wondering why I had not visited it in my previous visits to England. It certainly is a beautiful city that has to be visited.
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Love Bath but never done a bus tour, great idea you have inspired me! #citytripping
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Glad to hear that. Hope you enjoy the Bath City Sightseeing bus tours.
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I am a bit of a fan of using through city bus tours to get my bearings and sometimes as a quick way to get to all the places I want to visit in the city – the Skyline tour sounds a lovely addition though, taking you past a lot of places you wouldn’t otherwise visit. Thanks for linking up with #citytripping
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I can fully recommend the Skyline bus tour, which I enjoyed very much. Had it not been a monday during winter, I would have probably been hopping off at a few of the stops along the route, to check out some of the interesting museums and parks along the way.
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Bath is on my bucket list for this year! Beautiful city ! #citytripping
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Bath is a beautiful city indeed! You will certainly enjoy it during your visit this year!
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This looks like a great way to see the city. Thank goodness highwaymen are a thing of the past there though! I really enjoy those little bits of detail you get on audio tours like this. i had no idea you could stay in the same building Jane Austen lived! I’d like to do that. #citytripping
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Both bus tours were lovely though I enjoyed the skyline tour more.
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Such a good tip about taking this sort of tour at the beginning of a visit to a city. It’s so much easier to prioritise when you have a sense of your bearings, and what you’d really like to see more of. Your pictures of beautiful Bath are lovely. So glad the sun came out for you! #Citytripping
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Thank you, Nell. The weather gods were smiling on me during my stay in Bath. The Bath City Sightseeing ticket actually gives access to two bus tours for the same price, though it has to be used within 24 hours. It is a pity because it would be great to be able to go on the city tour on the first day and the skyline tour towards the end of the trip. The focus of both is different.
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