Ahh Bath! Historic and beautiful, filled with boutique shops and indulgent cuisine around every gold stone corner, you’d be forgiven for thinking that a trip to Bath might be an expensive one!

Thankfully, there are actually plenty of free things to do in Bath, or at least on a very tight budget. So if you are planning a little weekend away to the Roman spa city, or even visiting as part of an extended trip to the Cotswolds (which I would absolutely recommend), be sure to bookmark these ideas for some fantastic cheap and free things to see and do in Bath.

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They say the best things in life are free, and this certainly applies to visiting Bath too. Many of the city’s most famous sights can be seen and enjoyed without having to spend a penny!

Furthermore, navigating the city is fairly easy to do on foot, with most of the popular sights within a reasonable walking distance to one another. If you are planning to pack all of these free things to do in Bath into a weekend or even a day trip, I’d advise dropping some pins on Google Maps so you can see which places are closest to each other and plan your route out. This will help you to save time and pack as many fun activities into you day in Bath as possible!

• The architecture has links to the Druids, not only through it’s circular shape which bears similarities to Stonehenge, but if you look closely you’ll see smaller details in the emblems on the walls such as serpents and nautical symbols.
• The Circus was designed by architect, John Wood, who never actually saw the finished building! Unfortunately he passed away not long after construction began and the project was completed by his son several years later.
• Actor Nicholas Cage used to live in one of the houses in the Crescent.

If you like to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre, add a walk through Bath’s Botanical Gardens to your itinerary.

Located in Bath’s Victoria Park, the Botanical Gardens are a green haven, featuring acres of pathways through beautifully curated trees, shrubs and blooms. Go for an early morning or afternoon stroll here and enjoy some tranquil bird song and fresh air without spending a penny! If the weather is good and you aren’t in a rush, bring a favourite book and find a nice spot to sit and read.

You won’t have trouble finding somewhere to eat in Bath, with more familiar chains as well as some fantastic indie coffee shops and restaurants around most corners. However, if you’re sticking to a budget, finding somewhere cheap to eat in Bath may be a little more challenging.

Here are a couple of recommendations for great quality food (and shopping too) that won’t break the bank.

I had to give a little mention to a local favourite street-eat; Chaiwalla!

Chaiwalla serves up authentic veggie and vegan, Indian style street food, that packs serious flavour and bang for your buck. The samosas, wraps and falafel served here are a thing of legend in Bath, and you’ll often find a big queue outside this Chaiwalla around lunchtime. For less that £10 you can pick up a filling wrap and samosa or a delicious salad box – what’s not to love about that!?

Plus the owners clearly have a sense of fun too, having recently launched a samosa into space (which subsequently landed in France!).

Bath is a pretty well connected city in the South of England and is easy to reach by car or rail from nearby towns and cities. If you are staying in the Cotswolds area for a weekend break of staycation, you can easily visit Bath for an afternoon or day trip. 

By car: Travelling to Bath from London by car is a pretty straightforward drive from the M25 onto the M4 westbound. The journey should take around 2 hours 30 minutes, but be prepared for traffic around London which could change this!

If you want to break the journey up and have some time to spare you could easily stop off at Windsor or Stonehenge on the way.

By rail: There’s a direct train from London Paddington station to Bath Spa station that takes around 1 hour and 25 minutes, making rail one of the easiest and quickest ways to get from London to Bath. There are also a few alternative routes that involve connections, which may take a little longer (around 2 hours).

Find the cheapest rail fares by avoiding peak travel times and booking your tickets as far in advance as possible. 

By car: From the North West and the Midlands, travel southbound on the M6 to join the M5 all the way down to J15 and jump onto the M4 eastbound. At J18 head south on the A46 where you should be able to follow the signs to Bath city centre.

From the North East you’ll need to travel south on the M1 to the M42 where you’ll be able to connect onto the M6 and follow the directions above.

By rail: If you’re travelling from the Midlands or further North to Bath, you’ll likely have to make a connecting train journey. The journey from Birmingham to Bath by rail will take around 2 hours, and from Manchester you’ll be looking at a slightly longer journey time of around 4 hours.

There are plenty of accommodation options for a staycation in Bath, so be sure to do plenty of research to find something that suits your needs best. City centre options are convenient, and there are a number of luxury hotels if you have the budget, but if you’re reading this blog on cheap things to do in Bath, chances are that you’re after a good deal on accommodation too!

If you don’t mind staying outside the city there are some really great and affordable self catering properties with plenty of charm. With the Cotswolds AONB so close by you can find some lovely cottages, cabins, huts and campsites with gorgeous countryside views.

Exhausted all the things to do in Bath? Not to worry! If you’ve got a long weekend, or maybe a week or two in Bath, there are some great things to do near the city too:

If city breaks are more your style then these cities are close enough to Bath to visit for a fun day trip:

•  Bristol
• Cheltenham
• Cirencester
• Oxford
• Gloucester

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