Get into the festive spirit with a trip to one of England’s most historic cities

WITH ITS EXQUISITE LIBRARIES, ECLECTIC BOOKSHOPS AND COSY, STORIED PUBS, THIS CHARMING UNIVERSITY CITY IS IDEAL FOR A LITERARY-THEMED VISIT IN WINTER

I had watched Richard III meet a bloody end at Bosworth, come face to face with a plague victim, stood in the shadow of a mighty trebuchet, and been put on trial for my life. And it was barely lunchti

Cultural Crusader

■ Distance: 3½ miles/5.6km ■ Time: 3 hours ■ Grade: Easy

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