Learn

How the landscape was formed from the limestone and waters beneath. How it supports such a richness and diversity in wildlife. How it has been settled and used for more than 6,000 years. How the landscape shaped Bath, as a spa town and place of wellbeing. How it inspired artists and industrialists. There’s so much to learn.

Study our map and you’ll see how easy it is to access the Bathscape area, and just how much there is for you to discover in this simply stunning countryside. Through learning resources, guided walks, nature watching and other Bathscape events, you can find out a whole lot more about this unique and beautiful area. A great place to start is listening to our podcast.

And because the Bathscape Scheme’s ambitious restoration and conservation work depends on a team of 800 local volunteers, we also provide training opportunities to learn a range of new skills connected with the landscape. If you’d like to join our volunteers please get in touch via our volunteering page.

For primary school teachers and home educators we have a section just for you. Our learning resources includes lesson plans, curriculum links, planning tools for visits and a guide to making your school grounds more wildlife friendly.  Find the resource pack for primary school teachers here.

To find out more, sign up for our newsletter, call us on 01225 477 265 or email info@bathscape.co.uk.

Architecture and history

The Story of Ralph Allen’s Estate (Robin Dixon)
To see all of Bath and for all Bath to see Ralph Allen’s House and Gardens at Prior Park  (Robin Dixon)
Newton Park (Karen King)
A Tale of Two Manors: How Bath City Farm Reflects the History of Twerton  (Kirsten Elliot)
The Royal Crescent Lawn and The Royal Crescent Ha-Ha (Stephen Little)
Discovering Bath’s Lost Canal – Somersetshire Coal Canal (Derrick Hunt & Liz Tuddenham)

Geology and landscape

William Smith in Bath – The Cradle of Geology   (Peter Wigley)
The Landscape of Bath (Rebecca Brooks)
The Hot Springs of Bath (Rebecca Brooks)

Wildlife

Bats of the Bathscape (Dan Merrett)
Bathscape Squirrels (Dan Merrett)
Trees of Royal Victoria Park and Bath Botanical Gardens (Antonia Johnson)

Social history

Suffragettes in Bath (Anne Twitchett)
Sydney Gardens Peace Oak (Sue Palmer & Ann Cullis)
Emperor Haile Selassie in Bath and Reflections of the Exile Years (Keith Bowers & Esther Sellassie Antohin)
Workhouse to Hospital: A brief account of the Odd Down site of Bath Workhouse (John Payne)
Bath Jewish Burial Ground (Ann Cullis)
Restoring Cleveland Pools (Kate Rounce)

Landscape and the Arts

Bath and the Picturesque (Andrew Swift)
Bath in Literature (Sabine Purshouse)

Personal responses to the landscape

From Bright Lights to Starry Skies (Deborah Griffin)
Walking kept me sane in 2020 (Lucy Bartlett)
Rambling up the north side of Bath (Iona Brandt)
Cherry Blossom and the Queen Bumblebee (Indianna Rivers – a children’s story)

We are very grateful to the filmaker Dr Shawn Sobers for allowing us to share the video of his 2018 talk for the Museum of Bath at Work about Bath’s connection to the transatlantic slave trade. We also highly recommend this in depth exploration of empire and reluctant heritage, via the trees in Sydney Gardens by Richard White.

Local illustrator and artist Marian Hill is developing a wonderful project about beetles, Buzz and Scuttle. We are delighted to be able to share Marian’s resources.  This simple minibeast identification guide and a poster explaining metamorphosis.  These are brought together in a booklet to help you run a mini-beast hunt.  You can download spotter sheets for Spring, Summer and for September, there are four – all gathered here. Please also visit Marian’s website, or follow her on twitter. If you are a school interested in receiving one of her posters about beetles, please get in touch with us.

As part of the Bathscape Walking Festival, we have also had some short films made by volunteers and staff, which we hope you’ll find interesting: the wildlife at Bath City Farm, by Mike Williams and a guided tour of Lansdown Cemetery (the grounds of Beckford’s Tower) with Amy Frost.

‘Ask a Relative‘ – we would love you to encourage children to talk to older relatives/family friends about what their childhood was like in Bath. Full information here.