Bath in five places

In the Georgian era, Bath became arguably Britain's most fashionable destination. KIRSTEN ELLIOTT promenades five historic highlights

- KIRSTEN ELLIOTT

1 Herschel Museum of Astronomy

Stargazing and song

One Bath location that Jane Austen wrote about – criticising the houses as being too small – is New King Street. Come to number 19, in which several rooms recreate interiors in a typical 18th-century townhouse, and you'll see what she meant: even though some of these houses look quite big from the outside, actually they're quite compact inside.

A more positive reason to visit is to learn about the life and work of William Herschel. Bath was a great centre for the sciences and music, and German-born astronomer William was a proponent of both. Appointed organist of the Octagon chapel in Bath in 1766, he moved – along with his sister Caroline, also talented in both fields – to this house 11 years later. Here he ground glass to make his own telescopes, and it was peering through one of these from the garden on the night of 13 March 1781 that he discovered a new planet, Uranus.

You can roam his workshop and the music room where he tutored students, admiring period instruments, telescopes and globes.

2 Camden Crescent

Trunk call