I TOOK a sudden notion to have a relaxing bath in Bath; watch the last of the summer sun set over
Somerset; and gorge on cheese in the Cheddar Gorge. So flew to Bristol, hired a car and enjoyed one of the
best autumn breaks Britain has to offer.
Low cost flights (from £40 return) by easyJet and Flybe have made Bath much more accessible and
affordable to Ulster travellers in search of a distinctively 'different' destination. Also, three
days fully inclusive car hire in Bristol starts from £67.40 with holiday autos.

Bath is just a half-hour drive from Bristol Airport on a surprisingly narrow road through villages with names like Chew Magna.
Why Bath? Well, as regular readers will know, I've become a dedicated follower of the fashion for spa
breaks, and have spent many self-indulgent hours over the past few months 'taking the waters' in spa hotels
in Turnberry, Edinburgh, Mijas and Marbella.
Bath, as Britain's oldest and most famous spa town, was therefore an obvious 'must' for me. It was here
that the Romans built the famous thermal bathhouses that not only gave the place its name, but also
introduced the unwashed ancient Brits to the quintessentially Roman concept of SPA - Sanitas Per
Aqua - Health Through Water.

However, Bath is an equally delightful destination for those who have no inclination whatever to be simmered
in swirling suds, or to drink the health-giving (but smelly, tepid and dear) Bath Water in the celebrated
Pump Room at the very heart of this elegant Georgian city amid the rolling Somerset hills.

Before my visit, Beauty of Bath was just the name of a variety of delicious eating apple that I used to
scrump from an orchard in my wayward youth. Now, having been immersed for five happy days in the
wonderfully restored and revitalised city, the phrase has taken on new significance.

It's a lovely place with such good shopping, so many attractions and such fine food that your Bath-time is
sure to be as pleasurable as mine.
A TICKET to ride on an open-top bus gives a bird's eye view of the attractions that have earned Bath the title 'Best British City Break' outside London (beating my beloved Edinburgh into third place, so it must be good!).

At around £5 for the whole family, you can hop on and off at the 16 stops along the top tourist trails of
this compact, walkable city and use the ticket for free travel on all other local bus routes for 24 hours.
My favourite stop-overs were the Roman Baths and Museum; the Pump Room; the awesome Bath Abbey; the
Museum of Costume; and the lovely little Postal useum.

As a veteran of a score of sightseeing tours from ingapore to Seattle, I cannot remember having a
better bus guide than Bath's erudite and entertaining ony. Gifted with an old-style actor's voice and
elegant delivery in keeping with his subject, he described the allure of Bath to generations of
visitors from Roman, Mediaeval and Georgian times to he present day.
I must say I was amazed at the remarkable state of reservation of the many architectural gems in what is
now, deservedly, a World Heritage Site. There are ,100 buildings from the Georgian period alone. Most
of these were built using the distinctive oney-coloured Bath Stone from nearby quarries that
gives the city a welcoming, glowing warmth.
Bath & North East Somerset Council has decreed that he façades of all new buildings should use local
stone. It is therefore a real joy to see how new
shopping arcades and apartments can be designed to lend in so successfully with existing buildings.

Northern Ireland's laughable Planning Service couldlearn a lot from Bath; eyesores like the Clinton
Centre in Enniskillen, the backside of the Forestside shpping Centre in South Belfast and all the other
carbuncles on the face of Ulster's vernacular rchitecture could have been avoided.

Bath has cherished its built heritage and that's why ur bus was packed with Americans and Japanese who had
come across the globe. They joined me to marvel at amous places like the much-photographed sweep of The
Royal Crescent and the unique circular development offive-storey Georgian terrace homes - topped with
mammoth stone acorns - called The Circus. (A small boy rom Bristol seated near me expressed disappointment
that it wasn't a 'real' Circus with clowns.)
Just to prove that Bath does not get everything right The Circus was designed by the city's greatest
Georgian architect, John Wood, to be viewed as an we-inspiring uninterrupted circle of buildings. Alas,
trees have been allowed to grow in the central park nd obstruct the view he created - now you cannot see
the Wood for the trees!
Most impressive of Bath's portfolio of visitorattractions is the Roman Baths, winner of six awards
in the past five years.
People from every corner of the world, includingBangor West, wander among the 2000-year old bathhouses
with audio-guides clasped to their ears like thosehuge mobile phones from the early 1990s.

This is where Roman legionnaires soaked their aching,eet and limbs in the healing waters of the hot
springs spurting from the foothills of the Mendips.They dedicated a temple to the goddess Minerva on the
spot and a succession of buildings were constructed
over the centuries, many of which survive to this day.This is a really good half-day visit which just about
justifies the hefty adult admission charge of nearly atenner (Bath residents get in free, which means we are
subsidising the locals, which is fine by me). Thegraphics and computer animations are among the best
I've ever seen on an historic site.
However, after two hours of walking on uneven pathwaysand queueing in stairwells, I was sorry that I wasn't
allowed to take the plunge into the steamy bubbling aters of the swimming-pool-size Great Bath to cure my
backache. I'll just have to wait until spring 2005 forthe opening of the adjacent Thermae Bath Spa complex
of pools and treatments which are being marketedworldwide by Belfastman Peter Rollins.

So that's why I sought relief and refreshment in theadjacent Pump Room, another of Bath's must-see
attractions. This famous dining room of the 1790s isas popular with tourists today as it was with kings,
queens, aristocrats, prime ministers, politicians andauthors like Jane Austen and Wordsworth, in its Golden
Age.

Unlike the wealthy patrons of yester-year, today'stourists don't always want to spend £5.50 on a pot of
tea and a modest Bath Bun, so most Pump Room visitorsjust opt for a glass of the Bath Water that pours from
the ornate fountain in a bay window.

It's pricey at 50p a half-pint, since a uarter-million gallons a day bubble up for free from
under the earth's crust at a constant 116 degreesFahrenheit (which is nearly a hot as the temperature I
had when I had chickenpox back in June). Even at thisprice, most people find it so unpalatable that they
just take one sip, make a silly face, and abandon it.
Personally, as a connoisseur of spa waters, I found
Bath Water with its 43 minerals a bit bland. It
tasted no worse than a glass of flat Alka Seltzer that
has been put on top of a bedroom radiator as a
morning-after hangover cure and forgotten for a week.
Not that teetotallers like me would know about such
things.

Hotel heaven
THE Bath Spa Hotel was an obvious choice for me since
it has all the essentials of a good citybreak hotel -
a great central (but quiet) location, hassle-free
parking, five-star comfort, service and facilities,
plus a choice of restaurants, a characterful bar and
nice public rooms.

In addition, I was delighted with its big indoor pool,
spacious spa pool and sauna attended by expert staff
like Steve, who can teach you to swim, play tennis and
use the hi-tech gym equipment to best effect.

I loved the seven acres of immaculate gardens and
arbours dominated by a man-made grotto of limestone
dating back to 1835 when the hotel was originally
built as the private mansion of Indian Army General
Augustus Andrews. It has since served as a college,
hotel, hospital, nurses home and as one of Winston
Churchill's secret strategic centres during WWII.

Since Princess Diana officially re-opened it as a
five-star hotel with 104 rooms in the 1990s after a
£22 million restoration programme, it has won dozens
of awards including The Sunday Times Best British City
Hotel 2003 and, most recently, American Express
Favourite British Luxury Resort Hotel 2004.

I'm going to add the Trew's Travels Award for Most
Pleasant Cosmopolitan Staff 2004, thanks to the
efficient, friendly service of the Italian concierge,
Austrian and Australian waitresses, Indian waiters
plus all the local staff with their refined Zummerzet
accents.

"We pride ourselves on our high standards of service,"
the charming Marketing Manager Carole Devonshire told
me when she proudly showed me around. "Most of our
awards are the result of exceeding the expectations of
our guests. They repay us by voting for the Bath Spa
in travel magazine reader polls."

I can vouch for the constant quest for quality.
Everything, from the elaborate floral arrangements
(they have their own florist) and Molton Brown
toiletries to the delicately smoked haddock on the
extensive breakfast menu and the nice nibbles in the
Collonade Bar, proclaims excellence.

Standards like these don't come cheap, but having got
to Bath on a low cost flight, there's no better place
to spend your savings! As a favourite of American tour
operators, they are often very busy in high season,
but you should check out their website,
www.bathspahotel.com , for special offers.

I owe a big thank you to two lovely ladies who pointed
me in all the right directions during my visit. Kate
Blagrove of Bath Tourism Plus is very keen to welcome
more people from our part of the world to enjoy their
packed programme of Festivals and Fairs - check out
www.visitbath.co.uk . Yorkshire-born Blue Badge Guide
Jan Hudson gave me the best possible two-hour
introduction to her adopted city and is the source of
the most useful insights which appear here!

Foodie goodies
BATH has more Michelin starred restaurants than any
small city in Britain and oodies are spoilt for
choice. I saw local chefs buy their farmhouse Cheddar
cheeses from the Guildhall Market; Bath was also the
first location in Britain to host a gourmet Farmer's
Market - now there are 300 of them.

The Alfresco Restaurant in our hotel was a great
choice for an outdoor meal on a balmy early autumn
evening. A generous Caesar Salad followed by an
enormous portion of slow-cooked Chinese pork and pak
choi leaves with wok-fried noodles left me replete.
It's unusual for me to pass on dessert, but I made up
for it the following evening at the busy Martini on
George Street. This is the favourite Italian
ristorante of Guiseppi, one of the Bath Spa Hotel
concierges - and now I know why.

After the nightmare of trying to find a parking place
in unfamiliar one-way streets (solution: take a bus or
taxi) it was great to relax amid the Friday Night buzz
of a really good eaterie. Our shared selection of
Italian starters was huge and our big bowls of fresh
pasta with seafood was excellent. My real Italian
ice-cream evoked memories of childhood treats in
Fusco's, Morelli's, Caproni's and Cafolla's.

Other restaurant recommendations: The Hole in the
Wall, Sally Lunn's and the Moon and Sixpence. Three
miles south of Bristol Airport is a big roadhouse/pub
with a massive sign stating TWO FOR ONE where you can
enjoy BOGOF meals (Buy One Get One Free) of amazing
quality. The succulent lamb from the nearby village of
Priddy with a mountain of fresh vegetables and crisp
chips, was the finest traditional pub meal I've had in
years. Well worth a detour.

By John Trew