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Thermae Bath Spa " /> Water is the ultimate life, pure as crystal, the divine influx.” – Ted Hughes. Thanks to it’s thermal springs, which are the only hot springs in the UK, delivering over one million litres of naturally hot, mineral-rich waters every day, Bath has long been associated with health and restoration. The seemingly miraculous emergence of the hot water steaming amongst the marshes was worshipped by first the Celts, then the Romans, who built baths and a temple to Minerva – goddess of healing and wisdom – on the site, founding one of their only settlements used purely for recreation instead of as a garrison. You can’t argue with history, so what better way to experience the beauty of Bath than at Thermae Bath Spa , the only spa which uses the natural water of the thermal springs? While the waters emerge from the three springs in Bath at a steaming 45°C, they are cooled down during the filtration process to the optimum bathing temperature , a relaxing 34°C which ...

Shares 169 From the roof of Thermae Bath Spa I looked out over Tudor and Georgian rooftops with row upon row of cylindrical black chimneys as Charlotte Hanna, assistant sales & marketing manager for the spa, gave me a primer on the history of Bath, England. Archeological evidence suggests that humans were visiting and worshiping the hot springs in Bath as far back as 8000 B.C., but it wasn’t until 2,000 years ago, when the Romans colonized Britain , that written documentation began . The invaders wrote of a lush, uninhabited valley where natural hot springs bubbled up from the ground. Locals lived in forts atop the seven hills that surround the valley, descending each day to graze their livestock, fish, and to worship the water. But each night they retreated to their hilltop abodes, leaving the pristine valley to Sul, the pagan goddess of water, healing, and wisdom worshiped by Britons. “Clearly, the ancient people of Britain considered this a spiritual site ,” Charlotte expla...

By Gareth Huw Davies for The Mail on Sunday Updated: 14:30 BST, 30 November 2011 e-mail View comments Bath, an entire city colour -coded in golden local stone , boasts a spa fed by the only naturally warm springs in Britain. The many other reasons to visit this masterpiece in the west include the original Georgian streets , where Jane Austen and her characters walked, as well as a rich variety of shops and restaurants. Gareth Huw Davies revisits a favourite place, and is smitten anew. Calm: Even at night Bath is cloaked in a golden glow - much of it is unchanged since the 18th Century 1. Swimming sensation Drifting at sunset in a rooftop, open-air pool, in waters naturally heated – more than a mile underground – to 91F (33C), is one of the rarest pleasures in Britain. Thermae Bath Spa (www.thermaebathspa.com), a great glass cube of a building next to Bath Abbey, opened in 2006 to recycle raindrops that fell here 10,000 years ago. This is indulgence not to be rushed. A range o...