About

Celebrate World Heritage Day in Bath with free walks, talks and activities for all. This year’s World Heritage Day event will focus on Bath’s landscape setting – one of the key reasons why Bath is a World Heritage Site.

The Guildhall’s Ballroom will be buzzing with stalls and activities from 11am to 3pm, with lots to see and do for all the family. Highlights include:

• Handle archaeological objects from the Roman Baths collection and see how the landscape has influenced centuries of life in and around Bath

• Learn about Bath Abbey, which has stood at the heart of the World Heritage Site for over 1,000 years

• Explore past and present views of the city in artworks from the Victoria Art Gallery collection

• Find out how Beckford’s Tower sits within its landscape setting, and have a go at decorating a pebble

• Discover the National Trust’s projects in Bath and make a badge to take home

• See well-known and unusual views of Bath from the Bath Record Office archives

• Create a landscape collage using a ‘torn paper’ technique

Pick up a Bath World Heritage map or download the free app, and head out to explore what makes Bath a World Heritage Site

The Mayor of Bath’s Honorary Guides will lead 50-minute guided tours to see Bath’s landscape setting. Leaving from the Guildhall, the tours will run regularly from 11.30am to 2.30pm. They will include a visit to the Abbey’s plant room, normally closed to the public, to see its innovative new heating system, powered by waste water from the hot spring. There will also be a programme of talks in the Aix-en-Provence Room throughout the day.

Bath is rare in having two UNESCO World Heritage Site inscriptions. In 1987 the city was made a World Heritage Site due to its hot springs, Roman archaeology, Georgian buildings and natural landscape setting; and in 2021 Bath received a second inscription as one of the Great Spa Towns of Europe.

Talks programme (Aix-en-Provence Room)

11.15 to 12.00 Bathscape – the green setting of the World Heritage Site.

12.15 to 1.00pm Bath Preservation Trust - Purposeful Perspectives – Views by Design

1.15 to 2.00pm Museum of Bath at Work – How to make a local alphabet

Displays and Activities 

Adelard Group 
Britain’s first scientist. See a film, chat to people and discover more about this amazing scientist from Bath. 

Bathscape 
Join Bathscape and friends for nature-based activities. Bath Abbey ‘A constant presence in a changing city’.

Bath Abbey has stood at the heart of the World Heritage site for over 1000 years. Our research volunteers will tell you about the part that skill, ambition, loyalty and chance played in its success through the centuries. 

Bath Medical Museum 
Bath’s geological history has created a series of land forms that has left us with a landscape that is both beautiful and unique. The ‘springs’ hot and cold have been exploited to build a medical and tourist industry. Have fun with a hands-on activity. 

Bath Preservation Trust 
Meet the team at Beckford’s Tower and find out about how the Tower sits within its landscape setting. Have a go at decorating a pebble that you can take with you as you discover Bath’s amazing scenery. 

Bath Record Office 
See some well-known and some unusual views of Bath in its landscape setting from the archives. Ask the team your burning questions about the history of Bath & North East Somerset. 

Cleveland Pools
 Find out what is in store this summer for the restored Bath Lido. Museum of Bath at Work Find out how the museum tells the story of Bath through 12 local history alphabets and try to make a local alphabet where you live, using the A-to-Z questionnaires. 

National Trust
Find out about the exciting projects and properties in Bath - Assembly Rooms, the green corridor project with Bathampton Meadows, the restoration at Prior Park and the priority habitats of Bath Skyline. Make a badge to take home! 

Roman Baths 
Handle original archaeological objects from the Roman Baths collection and see how the landscape has influenced centuries of life in and around Bath. Heritage Learning Team Create a landscape collage using a ‘torn paper’ technique! 

Victoria Art Gallery 
Making of modern Bath, discover past and present changing views of the city with artworks from the collection. 

World Heritage Centre 
Meet some of the team, pick up a map, download the free app and head out to explore what makes Bath a World Heritage Site.