I moved to Bath all of two weeks ago to start my journey with Foot Trails. Christmas shopping trips and city centre lunches left me feeling I had seen most of the city, with not an awful lot left to be discovered. To get to know our style of walks and the city, the Foot Trails team decided it would be a great idea and opportunity for me to take one of our trail cards out for the morning.
It was about halfway through my ‘Georgian Wander’ trail, when my false sense of familiarity meant I’d paid less than the necessary attention to my instructions and ended up circling one of the many picturesque squares. I soon realised that much of Bath is hidden away behind the majestic frontages of the city.
Retracing my steps and actually reading the Foot Trails notes, I quickly got back on track.
The walk took me past the beautiful sights one expects to see in Bath: the architecture of the Royal Crescent, the grandeur of the Holburne museum, but it was the lesser known and more private crescents that captivated me – one even had a small field of sheep in front of it!
My new found knowledge of Bath amazed me. One minute I was walking along grand promenades, or down narrow 15th century passageways, the next I was in the middle of the country side, with a hill-top view across Somerset. Watching boats duck under the charismatic Pulteney Bridge, finding a flourishing grape vine entwined around an ornately carved entrance way, and passing many temping eating places (I shouldn’t have had such a big breakfast!) I quickly learnt why this walk takes our guests away from the usual country paths and lanes and into the city.
The walk started and ended at the sumptuous boutique hotel Foot Trails guests stay in for this trail. I was lucky enough to be given a private tour as part of my learning experience (which is quickly turning out to be much more fun than school!) earlier in the week. It was hard to resist the temptation to lounge in the beautiful drawing room, especially after a hilly 4 miles, but my desk called, and it was back to the beautiful views of the river Avon from the office to get back to helping guests plan their Foot Trails experience.
Anna
