Bus Challenge No 30!

Into Bath again, on a beautiful, warm and sunny Indian Summer's day, this time to visit a couple of Bath's hidden gems, as part of the national Heritage Open Days scheme.

First stop was Fairfield House: "Fairfield House, in Newbridge, Bath, was the residence of His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, during the five years he spent in exile (1936–41). Following his return to Ethiopia, he donated it to the city of Bath in 1958 as a residence for the aged." Wikipedia

Then on to Cleveland Baths, the oldest open air swimming pool in the country. The Grade II subscription pool was open by 1815 with a cottage and crescent of stone built changing rooms around one side of the pool. The Pools are on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Registers and the Cleveland Pools Trust are striving to restore this historic place.

"Hidden away in Bathwick, on the banks of the River Avon, are the Cleveland Pools – the country’s only surviving Georgian lido. The 'great and the good of Bath' had played a major role in their original creation following an advert in the Bath Chronicle newspaper on 20th July 1815 asking for subscriptions from those gentlemen wishing “...to provide a place in connection with the River, where those who swim and those who do not will be alike accommodated ". Contributions poured in and the Pools were an immediate success." www.clevelandpools.org.uk

Not a difficult bus journey, but as I discovered new corners of Bath, today fitted the aim of my Bus Challenges!


Total bus journey time = 50 mins