Sunday 15th September 2024

A Very Private Public Breakfast

9:30 (duration 1hr 30mins)

Venue: Kinwarton, 3 Upper Camden Place, (part of) Camden Rd, BA1 5HX (20 mins walk from central Bath)

Sample the delights of an 18th Century public breakfast just as Jane Austen did in Bath. Bread rolls, toasted fruit bread, cake, tea (Jane Austen blend) or coffee - all in the private dining room of a typical Regency Bath house. Breakfast is accompanied by a talk from Jane Tapley.

Tickets £16

Jane Austen & Bath - walking tour

10:00 (duration 1hr 30mins)

Meet: outside the Jane Austen Centre, 40 Gay Street BA1 2NT

'Oh! Who could ever be tired of Bath?’ So said Jane Austen’s character Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey, which (along with her novel Persuasion) is set in Bath. Through family links and having visited and lived in the city, Austen knew Bath very well indeed. Come and find out more on this walking tour led by Mr Knightley of The Jane Austen Centre.
This particular walking tour will finish at 11:30 outside Bath Abbey.

Tickets £13

A Whole Campful of Soldiers

11:00 - 15:00 (open 4 hours)

Venue: Holburne Museum Grounds, Great Pulteney Street, BA2 4DB

Back by popular demand are His Majesty's 33rd Regiment of Foot. Visit their encampment at the Holburne Museum and experience a whole campful of soldiers with authentic drill displays, music and talks presenting life at war:

12 noon - Women in Wellington's Army
Talk from Kitty Scratcher, a soldier’s wife. The ordinary women who followed the army in the time of Jane Austen. The life and trials of the unsung heroines who supported the British Army in the war against Napoleon.

13:00 - Surgeon's Talk
Talk by Surgeon Love of the 33rd Regiment of Foot. Medicine and the treatment of wounds in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars including the tools used and the effect they had. Not for the squeamish.

All Free Events

Regency Church Service

11:30 (duration 1 hour)

Venue: Bath Abbey, Abbey Churchyard, BA1 1LY

Attend the family service in Bath Abbey, this will be a specially themed service to encompass some Regency church elements.
Regency costume very welcome but not mandatory. 

Free Event - donations to Bath Abbey welcome

Regency Picnic

12 noon - 15:00

Venue: Sydney Gardens, Sydney Place, Bathwick, BA2 4DB

Join other Austen lovers for an informal bring-your-own picnic in the beautiful surroundings of Sydney Gardens. Promenade along paths Jane Austen herself would have walked and discuss any scandalous antics of the previous evening's entertainment.
(weather permitting event)

Free Event 

Croquet Game

13:00 & 14:30 (duration 1hr 30mins)

Venue: Bath Croquet Club, Great Pulteney Street, Recreation Ground, BA2 4DS (entrance via Great Pulteney Street)

Spend 1 hour experiencing the Regency sport of "Pall-Mall" with an outdoor croquet game at Bath Croquet Club. Equipment and introductory instructions provided, enjoy a relaxed game of croquet, followed by post-match refreshments in the Croquet Pavilion.
Refreshments included in the ticket price.

Tickets £25

Austen's Lost & Found - theatrical walking tour

13.30, 14:00, 14:30, 15:00, 15:30 (duration 1 hour each)

Meet: at the top of Gravel Walk opposite No1 Royal Crescent, BA1 2LW

The Natural Theatre Company returns with their hilarious immersive walking tour show Lost & Found. Another lost Jane Austen novel has been unearthed in Bath, revealing more recognisable plotlines, familiar characters and just a little bit of nonsense. Immerse yourself in wooing, weeping and wagers as we wander around Bath, and watch this joyful story come to life around you!

Tickets £19

Regency Bathing

14:00 (duration 2 hours)

Venue: Cleveland Pools, Hampton Row, BA2 6QS

After listening to the enthralled swimmers from last year’s hot Sunday swim, the Jane Austen Festival will be taking over Cleveland Pools for an exclusive Regency Bathing event this year. Swim in the UK’s only surviving Georgian lido in your Regency bathing outfit, or bask in the English (or not) sunshine and enjoy the atmosphere. Participants are welcome to bring in their own refreshments, there will also be an onsite cafe selling light refreshments.
This is a Regency outfit mandatory event & all bathers must be wearing 21st Century swimwear underneath their Regency bathing outfits. All entrants into the Cleveland Pools compound must have a ticket.
This event will go ahead throughout most weather climates, only if the Cleveland Pools teams declare it unsafe would the event be cancelled.

Tickets £15

This event has been suspended due to site flooding during winter 2024, causing damage to the pools and meaning Cleveland Pools Trust currently don't have a timescale for re-opening. If it becomes possible to run it, please rest assured we will...

Afternoon Canal Cruise

14:00 (duration 3hrs 30mins)

Meet: outside the taxi rank entrance of Bath Spa Train Station, BA1 1SU

“If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.”
Join us for an unforgettable afternoon canal cruise. Meet at Bath train station for a short train ride through the English countryside to Bradford on Avon. A promenade along the banks of the river takes us to the canal boat marina where we board the ‘Barbara McLellan’. We’ll then embark on a slow, truly delightful cruise along the canal passing through the Avoncliff Aqueduct. On board there will be afternoon tea, games and stories with and amusing conversation with the Queen of Hearts about affairs of the day. We shall have our own adventure.
Return train fare and afternoon tea included in ticket price.

Tickets £150 from enquiries@baththeatrical.com

Event details coming soon...

15:00 (duration 1 hour)

Venue: Card Room, Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street, BA1 2QH

Talk details TBC

Tickets £13

Rummaging through the Reticule

16:00 (duration 1hr 30mins)

Venue: Kinwarton, 3 Upper Camden Place, (part of) Camden Rd, BA1 5HX (20 mins walk from central Bath)

What did Jane and her characters keep in their reticules? All will be revealed when the contents of this C18th handbag are spilt in the privacy of a Regency drawing room.
Jane Tapley's talk is followed by refreshments, a traditional cream tea - scones, jam and cream and, of course, tea.

Tickets £16

Assembly Rooms: Romance, Rows and Riots with Dr Hillary Burlock

16:30 (duration 1 hour)

Venue: Card Room, Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street, BA1 2QH

Was the assembly room always a place of politeness and propriety, as depicted in literature and on screen? From riots, to affairs of the heart, snobbery, duels and attempted coup d’états, the Georgian ballroom was not always what it seemed. Join Dr Hillary Burlock as she explores forgotten episodes of scandal in the assembly rooms of Jane Austen’s Britain.

Tickets £14

Amusing Aunt Jane - with music from the Austen collection

18:00 (duration 1hr 30mins)

Venue: Tea Room, Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street, BA1 2QH

Join us for an evening of Regency music from the Austen collection performed on original instruments. Hear how music played an important role in Jane’s life as an emotional and intellectual distraction and discover how, with typical Jane Austen subtlety, she weaves it into her novels to create plot twists, aid in courtship and turn a spotlight onto the rogues!
With Lisa Timbs – Square Piano, Annemarie Rhys Jones – Harp, and Verity Joy – Soprano.

Tickets £20

*All ticket prices include transaction processing fee