Footprints

This is the final episode of Footprints as Bathscape itself draws to a close early in 2026. And so for the first time ever, the Bathscape team gathered together in the same room to mark the end of an era. I’m joined by Bathscape’s Manager Dan Merrett; Community Projects Officer and Walking Festival Organiser Lucy Bartlett and Volunteer Coordinator Emma Carlisle. We bring you clips from our fa...

This September, alongside our annual walking festival, Bathscape also hosted a Landscape City Conference looking at what the Bathscape Partnership has achieved and to inspire Bath's future. This is the penultimate episode of Footprints , and with the project itself drawing to a close, this episode shares a flavour of the day. The conference was opened by Councillor Oli Henman who is the Cabin...

This episode takes the opportunity to explore Bath’s two relatively new universities. Each of them sits in a unique landscape. The University of Bath , high up on Claverton Down, is a modernist 1960s campus surrounded by open skies, mature trees and sweeping views. It started life in 1966 as Bath University of Technology and was renamed the University of Bath 5 years later. It has grown from a stu...

This month's episode explores Bath’s industrial past and the enormous changes in the landscape Bath has seen over the decades, since many of the factories have disappeared.  Bath’s architectural landscape is often only viewed as Georgian or Roman and we forget that it has had an illustrious industrial past. We meet Peter Dunn, who from the age of 7 wanted to build cranes. He was taken on as a...

The UK's largest free celebration of nature returns to Bristol and Bath from 7th -15th June and the theme of the festival this year is water. So in this episode of Footprints, we celebrate the river Avon and the Kennet and Avon canal surrounding Bath. The Canal and River Trust volunteers are out on their workboat Sulis twice a week, keeping the waterways clear of rubbish and weeds. We go along for...

In this episode we explore three of the Downs of Bath. It's debatable how many there are in Bath - some say seven others say 9... We start up on Bannerdown which sits up above Batheaston and has been common land since the early 18th century. Secretary of the Bannerdown Freeholders Association, Rob Kendall shows us around . Next we head over to Lansdown to find out about the new Tramper Trail. Nico...

Join us this month as we explore some of the many ways Bathonians use the beautiful Bathscape in their free time. The episode gets going at the saturday morning parkrun up at the National Trust skyline. Parkrun celebrated its 20th anniversary last October and there are now said to be 10m registered runners in 23 different countries. Parkruns are completely free. You can walk, run, jog, volunteer o...

This year marks the 250th anniversary since Jane Austen's birth in 1775 and as she lived in Bath from 1801 to 1806, Bath will be celebrating! We find out from the Jane Austen Festival Director Georgia Delve what will be happening in the city this summer. Lizzie Bennet ( Pride and Prejudice ), aka actor Lauren Falconer talks about Jane Austen's time in Bath and the two novels she set in the city, N...

This month join us as we explore the follies of Bath. They were the thing in the 18th and 19th centuries. If you had cash to splash, why not show it off in the guise of a temple, a tower or a castle? Dr Amy Frost, Senior Curator, Bath Preservation Trust takes me up to the top of Beckford's Tower and talks about the man himself, William Beckford. We enlist the help of the Editor of the Folly Fellow...

Happy New Year and welcome back to Footprints! In this our first episode of 2025, we look back at our highlights from 2024. More than 40 people took part in the shows last year and we'd like to offer them all a huge thanks for the time, knowledge and passion they put into their work and which shows through in their contributions to each episode. They and the organisations they represent are at the...

For our mid-winter episode join us for a pub crawl to three cosy community - owned pubs in and around Bath. The last few years have not been easy for pubs, with the pandemic, rising energy costs and inflation. More than 500 closed their doors in 2023, but community pubs it seems, are thriving. The first pub to be bought by the community was The Red Lion in Preston, Hertfordshire in the early 1980s...

In 2019 Bath and North East Somerset Council declared a climate emergency and is aiming for Carbon Neutrality or Net Zero by 2030. In this episode we explore what that means and what some of the challenges are facing the city.  What will Bath and the landscape surrounding it look like if it is to be powered by solar and wind farms?  How can this be achieved while making sure it keeps its...

This month we take a walk on the Wansdyke. Stretching for 35 miles the Wansdyke links Savernake Forest near Marlborough with Maes Knoll just south of Bristol. The eastern section in Wiltshire is the best preserved, but in this episode we explore the western section, the piece that starts at the top of Horsecombe Vale and runs through Odd Down, over Stantonbury Hill Fort and on to Maes Knoll. Many...

This month we take a closer look at the city of Bath through the eyes of its residents. We will hear some wonderful memories shared by those who’ve grown up and spent their lives working in the city. The episode starts with Reconnecting Twerton , a group set up by the Bath CIty Football CLub Foundation. The group is for older residents and aims to connect older residents with each other, combating...

This month we head out into the countryside to find out about the many traditional and ancient skills using only hand tools and age-old techniques, including scything, hedge laying and dry stone walling. Local expert Mike Reed tells us all about hedgelaying, why it's done and what is different about the North Somerset style. We head up to Lyncombe Hill Fields and meet Maurice Tennenhaus leading a...

Join Dan Merrett (Manager) and Lucy Bartlet t (Community Projects Officer) from Bathscape as they transport presenter Pommy Harmar by electric bike along two disused railway tracks across the Bathscape. We start in Saltford on the Bristol to Bath Railway Path, which follows the route of the Midland Railway Mangotsfield and Bath branch line , which was closed during the Beeching Axe of the 1960s. W...

This month's episode celebrates Bath CIty Farm . Situated on a beautiful 37-acre site with stunning views over the city, Bath City Farm is a working farm, that’s also a much loved visitor attraction. On the site there is a community cafe and farm shop, farm animals, children’s playground, woodland and nature trails. Entrance is free however donations are very welcome. In this episode you will meet...

This episode is published on International Dawn Chorus Day which takes place on the first Sunday of May every year and this year it’s Sunday May 5th. It  is a worldwide celebration of nature's greatest symphony and in this show we want to celebrate birds in general, the birds of Bath and their incredible songs.  One of the main reasons that birds like to sing at dawn is that it’s quieter...

This month, as spring gets properly into its stride, we go gardening. We start with Carol Stone, one of the volunteers from Alice Park Community Garden down below Larkhall on the London Road. If you have always wanted to know how to stop slugs and aphids munching your beans, well - listen in.. Marion Harney , Professor of Buildings and Landscape Conservation at University of Bath takes us around S...

In this episode we take a deep dive underneath the city of Bath and discover the geology that underpins it. Professor Maurice Tucker from the Bath Geological Society tells us about the father of Geology, William Smith Mike Williams is a landscape historian and ecologist and he talks about the affect of the landscape on settlement and biodiversity. He also shows us petrification in action! Finally...

For this episode you will need to grab your popcorn, dim the lights and settle down for a magical journey to the heart of the filmmaking industry in the historic city of Bath. Rachel Bowers from the Bath Film Office describes the process for bringing upwards of two hundred actors and crew into the heart of the city to film. Charlie McCLoud gives us his very own ‘Life in the day of an Extra’. &nbsp...

Happy New Year and welcome back to Footprints! In this our first episode of 2024, we look back at our highlights from 2023. More than 40 people took part in the shows last year and a huge thanks must go to them for making the episodes so fascinating and varied to listen to. They and the organisations they represent are at the very heart of the Bathscape and we will hear from many more in 2024. Cli...

This month we celebrate three grand projects happening in Bath - Cleveland Pools, Beckford's Tower and Bathampton Meadows. Cleveland Pools - back in 1801 a new bylaw was passed - the Bathwick Water Act. It prohibited nude bathing in the river Avon and so was born Cleveland pools because the swimmers had nowhere to swim. Cleveland Pools is only a short walk the other side of Sydney Gardens and has...

The autumn has arrived and it’s that time of year to hunker down and stay warm. It's the perfect season to explore the nighttime in and around Bath. In this episode we find out about the night sky and visit the Herschel museum where Uranus was discovered back in the 18th century. We’ll hear about the owls in Newton St Loe, delve into the reasons why some animals are nocturnal and our very own batm...

This month is about Radical Bath which over the centuries has had a rich underbelly of radicalism and rebellion with its streets home to rallies and riots.  Andrew Swift takes us on a walk around Bath where we hear about the struggle to get the vote and the importance of Chartism in the city. Professor Emerita June Hannam tells us about the suffragette movement and how Eagle House became a re...