Taking the waters

England’s best-known spa resort, the city of Bath gets it name from its healing springs. History shows that more than 2,000 years ago, the Celts and the Romans regularly bathed in the mineral-rich water and regarded the area as sacred ground.

The city became fashionable in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with the aristocracy and members of England’s high society spending weeks relaxing in the historic town and bathing in the thermal water.

The three hot springs in the centre of the city, the Cross Spring, Hetling and King’s Spring, are fed by groundwater which is heated by high-temperature rocks before rising back up to the surface at a constant temperature of at least 45 degrees Celsius. The largest and most significant is the King’s Spring, which feeds the Roman Baths and the Georgian Pump Rooms. The Cross Bath Spring and Hetling Spring, located some 150 metres to the west of the King’s Spring, feed the Cross and Hot Baths respectively.

The thermal springs, which produce some 1.2 million litres of hot water every day, were closed off in 1978 following the death of a woman who contracted meningitis after a routine swim in the old municipal hot pool. This pool sourced its water directly from the King’s Spring through one of three pipelines beneath the River Avon and the cause of death was eventually confirmed as an amoebic infection from Naegleria fowleri, a potentially deadly inhabitant of most hot-water springs around the world. Since then natural thermal bathing has been prohibited.

The ban struck a deadly blow for Bath, which up to then had thrived on the revenues from its hot springs. The soul of the city was lost too, as local people were also prevented from using the hot springs due to concerns over the purity of the water source.

Several attempts were made to reopen the thermal springs but failed and Bath’s famous “healing water” continued to go down the drain until Thermae Bath Spa, with around 10 years of complex and expensive restoration, was completed in 2006.

With funding of 7.78 million pounds (Bt421.7 million) through a grant from the National Lottery, the project involved the restoration of five historic buildings, including the 18th-century Hot Bath and Cross Bath, and the construction of a new glass and stone building, the New Royal Bath, designed by internationally acclaimed architects Sir Nicholas Grimshaw.

Originally planned to open in 2002, the project ran behind schedule and well over budget, going from an estimated 13 million pounds in September 1996 to a final cost of 45 million pounds.

Today, Thermae Bath Spa and the new Gainsborough Bath Spa Hotel, both owned by YTL, are the only two places to enjoy natural thermal water in Bath.

My stay at Gainsborough Bath Spa Hotel completed my mission to bathe in Bath. And after a half day walking around the cobblestone streets, nothing is better to soothe aching muscles than a dip in the thermal waters.

The Gainsborough Bath Spa, originally built as a hospital in the early 1800s, occupies two Grade II Listed buildings with distinguished Georgian and Victorian facades in the heart of the World Heritage Site. Named after the artist, Sir Thomas Gainsborough, it is the only hotel in the UK that houses a natural thermal spa, tapped from the spring that feeds the neighbouring Thermae Bath Spa.

The 99 custom furnished guest rooms are all equipped with flat screen HD television, iPod docking station, Roberts radio with Bluetooth connectivity, radiant heated bathroom floors, tea and Nespresso coffee making facilities and a complimentary minibar.

The Spa Village Bath at the Gainsborough is spread out over two levels and the Bath House experience is the best way to “take the waters” in luxury. The staff introduces me to a pre-spa ritual circuit that includes dipping in three natural thermal pools of varying temperatures from 35 to 40 degrees Celsius, traditional and infrared saunas, a steam room, an ice chamber and an elegant relaxation area. 

I particularly liked the main thermal pool because of the natural light shining through the four-storey glass atrium perched above the Bath House. With warm sunlight on my face, I let the water jets massage my back and shoulders and allowed the bubbling water sound to bring peace to my mind. I achieved that so well that my therapist had to call me several times to tell me that my one-hour pre-spa ritual had come to an end and it was time for my spa treatment, a 90-minute Ginger Renewal ritual designed to relieve muscle tension and help me sleep.

The following day I return for more, this time to Thermae Bath Spa next door to the Gainsborough. Armed with a towel, robe, slippers and a smartband, which allows me to access my locker, register the time I enter and exit the Spa and order food and drink in the restaurant, I am told to pay for everything when I leave.

My two-hour spa session starts with a gleeful leap into the biggest thermal pool, the Minerva Bath, named after the Roman goddess of health and wisdom. The pool is quite busy so it is impossible to have a peaceful dip and I head up to the open-air rooftop pool to enjoy a warm bath with the gothic Bath Abbey as the backdrop. The view is unbeatable and the crowd polite.

Time flies and before I know it I am in a treatment room being pampered with a tailor-made facial.

I think about visiting the Cross Bath, a separate building with its own open-air thermal bath fed by its own natural spring, but feel far too sleepy. 

Walking back to my room at the Gainsborough, I am welcomed, as always, with a fresh sprig of lavender on the sheets and extracts from Shakespeare’s “Sonnet LXI” and Wordsworth’s “To Sleep”.

I breathe in the lavender and as I drift into slumberland, wonder if the Romans too enjoyed these special treats.

 

IF YOU GO

■The Bath House is complimentary for guests of The Gainsborough Bath Spa during designated in-house guest bathing hours or with a scheduled spa treatment. Visit www.TheGainsboroughBathSpa.co.uk.

■Swimwear must be worn in all public areas both at Thermae Bath Spa and Spa Village Bath at the Gainsborough Bath Spa.

■The Cross Bath is available for exclusive hire for groups up to a maximum of 12 people. Visit www.ThermaeBathSpa.com.

By air

London Heathrow Airport to Bath is approximately 100 miles (160km)

Bristol International Airport to Bath is approximately 19 miles (30km) 

By train

First Great Western Trains offer frequent, direct trains from London Paddington to Bath Spa. The journey time is around 80 minutes. Bristol Temple Meads station is only15 minutes by train from Bath. For information on timetables and tickets: www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk