Hotels near Prior Park Landscape Garden

Ralph Allen made his fortune from the Bath stone quarries and from reforming the postal service, and Prior Park is where he spent it. The garden was laid out from the 1730s in a steep valley below his mansion, with input from Alexander Pope and Capability Brown. The centrepiece is a Palladian bridge completed in 1755, one of only four of its kind in the world, sitting between two lakes at the bottom of the combe with the whole of Bath framed behind it.

The National Trust took the garden on in 1993 and has since reopened the Wilderness at the top, including the Serpentine Lake, the Cascade and the restored Gothic Temple. Adult admission is around GBP 8 and free to National Trust members. The site is genuinely steep, with a 400-metre descent and climb on grass and gravel paths, so wear proper shoes. There is no visitor car park, which is deliberate - the Trust wants you to arrive on foot or by bus.

Pro Tip: Walk down through the garden and leave by the lower gate onto Prior Park Road, then follow the Widcombe route back into town rather than climbing the hill again. It saves your legs and drops you at Widcombe Parade, a 10-minute walk from Bath Spa station.