The landscape of Bath

This is the last in a series of six talks about the UNESCO World Heritage status of the city of Bath.

Bath’s grandiose Neo-classical Palladian crescents, terraces and squares spread out over the surrounding hills and set in its green valley, are a demonstration par excellence of the integration of architecture, urban design and landscape setting, and the deliberate creation of a beautiful city.

From 1987 UNESCO Statement of Bath’s Outstanding Universal Value.

 The cultural landscape of Bath has evolved through millennia, always responding to the social and environmental influences of each era. Landscape has always been the foundation for much of what we think of Bath as a place. The hot springs, river, streams, wetlands, woodlands, grasslands, parksand gardens each play an essential part in defining the integrity and beauty of the city but how much care do we take in maintaining this fragile balance? 

 How could we better reflect the integration of landscape and architecture in this time of climate change and biodiversity crisis whilst maintaining the essential qualities of the WHS OUV?

Andrew Grant, Founder and Director Grant Associates, Chair of the Bathscape Landscape Partnership