Prior Park Landscape Garden

A beautiful eighteenth-century landscape garden on a hillside south of the city centre, managed by the National Trust. The garden sweeps down a valley with views back over Bath that are among the finest in the area. The centrepiece is the Palladian Bridge at the bottom, an elegant covered bridge reflected in the lake below — one of only four such bridges surviving in the world.

There is no car park at Prior Park, which keeps visitor numbers manageable. Walk up from the city centre in about twenty-five minutes (steep in places) or take the bus. The garden is relatively small and can be seen in an hour or so. The combination of the walk, the views, and the bridge makes it one of Bath's most rewarding outings, particularly on a clear day.

things to do sight garden
A story
Ralph Allen built Prior Park to show off his Bath stone to potential customers — the mansion is visible from the city centre, a deliberate advertisement carved from the same golden limestone that Allen's quarries supplied for much of Georgian Bath. Alexander Pope helped design the grounds, and the Palladian bridge was added around 1755, one of only four of its kind in the world.

Other places in Things to Do in Bath