At the end of February 2015 we joined forces with the Berkshire Walkers 20s & 30s group for a weekend in Bath. Not entirely a walking weekend, we started with a visit to the Thermae Bath Spa followed by a pub crawl of Bath. On Sunday we did a walk - the Bath Skyline.
Sunday 1st March - Bath Skyline Walk, 8 miles, quite hilly
We met up in the centre of Bath for a prompt 10:30am start. It had to be prompt as the Bath Half Marathon was starting at 11am and we needed to cross the running route on our way out of the city.
After weaving our way past metal barriers and marshals in high-vis jackets, we began to head up Bathwick Hill. Half way up this steep road, we turned off into a field and joined the Bath Skyline walk, which continued upward through fields and provided commanding views.
As the route approached Widcombe, we were greeted by a National Trust representative standing outside his hut. We chatted about the route of the Bath Skyline walk, and about the Bath Half Marathon, which had started by now.
While we were chatting, Christine (who wasn't with us at the start of the walk) suddenly appeared, marching up the hill. Her train had been delayed and she'd missed the start of the walk but had now caught us up.
A brief spell of road walking was followed by a steep path up onto Claverton Down, 150m (490ft) above our start point.
The route was now much flatter and took us past Priory Park College, where one of our group had been to school. Small world! Continuing to circle Claverton Down, we passed around the far side of the University, stopping on a grassy bank by some playing fields to have our picnic lunch.
Moving from Caverton Down to Bathampton Down, the route passed between a golf course and Bathampton Wood, coming close to the main TV transmitter mast serving Bath and North-East Somerset. Then we entered the wood and began our descent. After a steep and slippery slope, the path levelled out before leaving the wood and providing a splendid view of Bath.
Before continuing the descent into Bath, we took a slight diversion to look at Sham Castle. This grade-2 listed folly overlooking the city is no more that a single wall with an arched doorway and turrets. After inspecting it from both sides (the back is less impressive) we continued on the Skyline route down another steep path towards Bath.
The last part of the route was mostly along roads back into the centre of Bath. See our route on Bing Maps. On our way we saw the last few runners nearing the end of their 13 mile route.
