Queen Square, Bath

Some years ago, on the shore of Loch Lomond, I met a Scotsman. As we started to converse he asked me where I was from. When I replied ‘Bath’, his response was ‘Ah, the most beautiful city in Britain,’ adding, out of patriotism or good judgement, ‘Edinburgh is second.’

The Roman Baths at Bath and their associated precinct and museum are without question a national treasure, but they are not what makes Bath beautiful. Nor are the intriguing remains of Bath’s medieval past or the Perpendicular Gothic splendour of Bath Abbey. Instead, the beauty of Bath that people usually praise is the city’s Georgian architecture...