The Cross Bath
An oval open-air bath in its own building, apart from the main spa, filled from the Cross Spring: some of the water rises straight up into the pool and more pours from a poolside fountain. Thomas Baldwin rebuilt the bath from 1783, and it takes up to 10 bathers at a time.
Getting in
- Parking
- No spa car park; public car parks in the city centre and Park and Ride
- Public transport
- Direct trains from London Paddington to Bath Spa (about 80 minutes); Park and Ride buses stop 5 to 10 minutes' walk away
- Address
- Bath Street, Bath
Entry, hours and rules
- Entry
- 1½ hour spa session, Tuesdays (per person; towels and robes included; residents of Bath and North East Somerset 10 GBP less)£40about €47
- Exclusive hire, Monday to Friday (up to 10 guests; 1½ hour session with towel and robe, Champagne or juice and savoury snacks)£800about €941
- Exclusive hire, Saturday and Sunday (up to 10 guests)£1,000about €1176
- Hours
- Monclosed
- Tue10:00-11:30, 12:00-13:30, 14:00-15:30, 16:00-17:30, 18:00-19:30
- Wedclosed
- Thuclosed
- Friclosed
- Satclosed
- Sunclosed
- Swimwear and rules
- Swimwear in all public areas. Bring your own footwear.
- Children
- 12 and over. 12 to 15 year olds with an adult or guardian on a 1:1 ratio. Proof of age required.
- Tickets
- Timed entry slots, book ahead
- Official site
- thermaebathspa.com
- Facilities
- Changing roomsOutdoor poolTowel hire
About The Cross Bath
The bath may take its name from St Aldhelm, whose body is said to have rested here in 709 on its way from Doulting to Malmesbury. In 1687 Mary of Modena, wife of James II, bathed here on her physician's advice and gave birth to a son soon after; the Melfort Cross put up to mark it made this the fashionable bath, where bathers drank chocolate to music. In the 1790s John Palmer turned the curved front to face the new Bath Street, and after 1923 the bath sank to being the "Tuppenny Hot". A borehole 32 metres down, drilled between 1983 and 1985, now keeps the Cross Spring's supply clean.