Royal Victoria Park Highlights (Bathscape Walk 4)

With your back to the Royal Pavilion Café, turn left to walk along the pavement of Royal Ave. On your left the path soon splits. Take the path signposted to the Bandstand and follow it round. You will pass round the back of the Grade II listed Victorian bandstand, but may want to take a
minute to explore it.

When ready, continue on the path, as it curves round back to Royal Ave. Turn left and pass through the ornate gates before carefully crossing the road and passing through another set of gates 1. Continue on the footpath passing the Victoria Obelisk. The park was opened in 1830 by Princess Victoria who was 11 at the time. The obelisk, erected in 1937 is dedicated to her.

Continue along the pavement until you see a path on your left forking slightly downhill. 2 You may wish to divert down the path here to visit Herbert’s Café, the toilets or the extensive playground. To continue, carefully cross the road here and carry on for approx. 50m and then take the path on the right ahead that follows the edge of the duck pond. Stay on the road side of the pond, the path slopes gently upwards. Turn right at the top to cross the bridge over the pond. Follow the path around the edge of the pond. See if you can spot the fish swimming in the water below. There is a bench by a large stone vase to take a rest upon with views of the pond along the path.

Continue along the path until it forks, shortly after the bench. Take the right-hand fork, which soon opens out onto the pavement of the road. Continue on the pavement as the road curves round to the right.

3 The path then leaves the roadside and continues up hill to the gates of the Botanical Gardens. Pass through the gates and continue straight. The Botanical Gardens are wonderful to explore at any time of year, so you may wish to divert off the route for a while in here.

When ready, continue on the path as it curves around to the right and then snakes past a wildflower bank. Where the path splits again, you can take a short diversion to the Temple of Minerva by bearing right or continue straight up to pass the coffee hut (which is open seasonally). On the left you will see a large wooden sculpture, which was partially damaged by the winter 2022 storms.

Carry on straight up towards the road, cross the road carefully to the pavement on the other side. Here, if you fancy another diversion, you can continue straight into the Great Dell which feels much wilder than the rest of the park, and is often quiet when the rest of the park is busy (but not suitable for wheels). It is however unpaved. To continue on the circular route, once you have crossed the road, turn right and follow the pavement until you see an avenue of trees in the parkland on your right. Cross back over the road at the dropped kerb and continue straight down the avenue (left fork) 4. This is the only part of the route which is not hard surfaced. The path here is compacted gravel, and in good condition.

The path crosses a tarmac path and continues to a road. Take care as you cross this road into Cow Lane and follow it down hill to the end. It brings you out at the road you crossed early in the walk. Cross carefully, and take the path, called Gravel Walk, that runs below the Grade 1 listed Georgian Royal Crescent, a row of 30 terraced houses built between 1767 and 1774 and an internationally renowned landmark in Bath.

At the end of Gravel Walk turn right, down the path past the flower beds, back to the main road. Cross the road and turn left to return to the start.

You may extend the walk by turning left then immediately right, slightly uphill (instead of heading down to the road), to continue walking on Gravel Walk that runs parallel with the main road. It was a route taken by sedan chairs from the town to the Royal Crescent. A short distance along the Gravel Walk, on the left, there is free entry to the reconstructed Georgian Garden (open daily from 9- 5 and free) via a few steps so may not be suitable for all. At the end of the Gravel Walk at the top of the steep flight of steps, turn round and retrace your steps back to the path below the Royal Crescent and follow the instructions back to the starting place.

Print navigation content