To Bath's best view! (Bathscape Walk 12)

With your back to the train station main exit turn left, passing an old telephone box which is now a planter! Pass through the tunnel (under the railway tracks) and on the other side turn left, along the pavement which runs alongside black railings until you reach a pedestrian bridge across the River Avon.

Turn right and cross the bridge, then cross the main road ahead (Rossiter Road) using the pedestrian crossings. Once safely across both parts of the road 1, turn right and then left to start going uphill on Lyncombe Hill. Take the second road on your right, Calton Road, following the pavement a few metres until you reach a railing. Opposite the railing is a flight of steps uphill to your left 2. This is the start of Jacobs Ladder. Start climbing the steps! You will soon pop out on Alexandra Road and should see brown signs pointing up to Alexandra Park.

If you would like to avoid the steep climb (and go up and return the same route), follow the sign to Beechen Cliff Woodland. There are still steps in this route, but the climb is gentler. Use the map to help guide you.

To continue, stay on Jacobs Ladder, following the steps as they curve round to the right. You will pass a bench with a ’40 steps to go’ sign and then a metal gate on your left. This gate takes you into Lyncombe Hill Fields, a 10-acre site of former farmland.

It is looked after by the Friends of Lyncombe Hill Fields who aim to conserve the area for wildlife as well as safeguard public access.

For this walk do not go through the gate (though a future visit will reward you with other great views), but continue up the steps, taking care as it can be slippery underfoot, passing allotments on your left until you reach the top between two mature beech trees. Follow the tarmac path round to the right to find the view point. Enjoy the spectacular views across the city and, on a clear day, beyond. There is an information board at the top of the view point which points out some of the main features in the landscape. Jane Austen has her heroine of Northanger Abbey, Catherine Morland walk up to this viewpoint. For further information visit janeaustenworld.com or scan the QR code.

Behind you is Alexandra Park playground which you may wish to visit to if you have children with you.

To continue, from the view point, return to the tarmac path below the information board as it gently slopes left downhill, with black railings on your right. Just before you reach a second view point there is an opportunity to turn left, to find the toilets if you need them.

Continue down the tarmac path as you leave Alexandra Park behind you, and are instead passing the backs of houses, on your left.

Where the black railings on the right are replaced by a low stone wall you will see a set of steep steps on your right 3. For a short cut back down, you can take these steps, then turn right at the bottom to pick up the return route at point 5.

To enjoy a slightly longer, gentler return, continue on the path with the low stone wall on your right. Pass another view point and topograph before you finally meet a short flight of stone steps going to the right. Go down the steps and follow the path beyond to some more steps which sweep left. At the bottom, turn right to pass between two black metal posts next to a lamp post, into Magdalen Gardens. Do not go as far as the road.

It is thought these gardens were laid out in 1902 and what you see today is a fair representation of what they would have looked like then. You can find out more information on the board within the gardens near the path. In front of the gardens is Mary Magdalen Chapel which is one of Bath’s oldest buildings, founded in the 11th century and rebuilt in 1495.

Follow the tarmac path through the gardens, passing an information board on your left, and into Beechen Cliff Woodland. Leave the tarmac path 4 by taking the right fork onto a stoned track, up a small flight of steps with a wooden handrail on its left. You will then meet a crossing path and the steps you saw earlier looking down from the top on your right, and then a bench as you stay on the meandering path through the woodland. There is evidence of several buildings in the woodland. One of which is an Anderson Shelter from WWII. You can find out more from the information board in the woods. The woodland is a city centre haven to much wildlife including birds, invertebrates and fungi. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open as you wander through.

Eventually you will meet a flight of steps with a wooden hand rail on the left. Follow these down to a small green at the bottom. Take the stone path to your right in front of a council noticeboard until it joins a road (Alexandra Road).

Cross the road onto the pavement beyond and then turn left to follow it downhill and then right onto Calton Road. You will pass the first steps of Jacobs Ladder 2 that you took earlier and then re-join Lyncombe Hill.

Retrace your footsteps back to and over the bridge to the back of the train station. Once over the bridge, take the zebra crossings ahead of you to the tunnel under the railway tracks. Once through the tunnel, turn left to find Bath Spa train station.

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