The City of Bath is a wonderful location, loaded with history, beautiful architecture and quaint little shops. If you have time to visit the city before or after visiting the cache, it is very well worthwhile.
Bath was built by the Romans around its hot spring waters around 2,000 years ago. The Victorians re-discovered the Roman Baths and they have since been restored to a magnificent condition.
The Saxons built a huge Abbey in the 800s which was the site for the Coronation of the first King of all England, Edgar, in 973. The Abbey was re-built in the 1400s and still shows the scars (from musket ball target practice) of the English civil war in the 1640s.
Bath became popular again in the 1700s due to its "restorative waters", resulting in a massive building programme. All buildings were constructed in a similar “Georgian” style, in a similar (Cotswold) stone, resulting in its beautiful architecture. The Royal Crescent, Pump Rooms, Theatre Royal and Assembley Rooms are particularly recommended.
The houses to the left of the Royal Crescent (as you look up the hill, left of my picture) known as Marlborough Buildings are also known locally as the most expensive wind break in the world. When the Royal Crescent was first built, the smart Ladies and Gentlemen would parade across the front of the crescent but more often than not, the prevailing Westerly wind would blow away their hats. Marlborough Buildings were built as a wind break to stop this from happening.
If you look at the front and back of a row of Bath buildings, you’ll get an idea of how the architects worked here. One architect would be contracted to build a row of near identical looking facades, but each house owner would contract their own architect and builder to build the rest of the house. If you look at the back of the houses you’ll see different floor levels, different window positions and often a circular section which contained a spiral staircase to enable a resident to get into their Bath Chair (carriage) in their bedroom and to be transported to the Baths. However, lots of people like “the hanging loos of Bath” which are the toilets added later onto the back of buildings which date back to the time of chamber pots!
For details of the Royal Crescent and more information on the City of Bath visit this web site. The cache is located at the foot of the Royal Crescent, easily accessible without a car although you could park very close.
Please take your own pen/pencil as there isn't one in the cache.
An Ordnance Survey map for the location is available at this web site.
There is no hint for this cache because it was muggled twice in a short time. When you replace the cache, please ensure it is not visible to the casual observer (especially from behind the location). Do not add hints in your log because I will have to delete it.
There is an excellent, huge, childrens' playground just round the corner at N51°23.138' W02°22.565' - and its free! Our kids have tried it and loved it.
Please check out the Geocaching Association of Great Britain offering support for Geocachers in GB.