Family Day Out Review: Jane Austen Centre in Bath|*

[Ad-gifted] A visit to the City of Bath will not be the same without a stop at the Jane Austen Centre housed in the Georgian town house dedicated to the famous English novelist, Jane Austen.

For those who are unaware, Jane was born in Hampshire and was educated in Oxford.  She anonymously published Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815) and later after her death both Persuasion (1817) and Northanger Abbey (1817) was published.  Her books became recognised and loved all over the world and still is so loved.

The Jane Austen Centre offers a snapshot of Jane’s life during Regency times via its interactive and exciting experience for the whole family such as tours, films and Regency-inspired children’s activities amongst others .  Visitors will also get the opportunity to find out more about her family and her inspiration behind her writing.

Keep on reading to find out more about Jane as well as what we we did when we visited the Jane Austen Centre in Bath.

What did we think of the Jane Austen Centre?

We arrived first thing in the morning and were lucky as we were in time to join their introductory presentation talk from one of their knowledgeable and experience Guide-Actors. It is best to book your tour in advance as they have a limited number of space for each tour. While waiting for the tour to start, children were kept busy doing various Regency themed activities such as word searches and colouring while we admired the classically decorated period room.

We soon met up with our Guide-Actor who helped us retrace Jane’s steps as we learnt about her family and her inspiration behind her books. Did you know that Bath provided her with inspiration for two of her six published novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion?

We also learnt that Jane made Bath her home from 1801 to 1806 when the city was a thriving spa resort and popular with the upper class society.  The tour took around 20 minutes, we were next ushered to another room where we shown a time line of Jane, her portraits as well as photos of famous people who have acted in various ‘Jane Austen’ movies.

Jane Austen Centre is a family-friendly interactive venue catering to little ones so much so that your little ones won’t be bored by the information but will be kept busy doing various activities.  Some of the activities include having a go at writing in ink as Jane Austen did, having a play with some Regency games, guessing the different scents and even tasting the ‘Bath Oliver’ biscuits.

There is also a Regency themed Tea Room up on the 2nd floor if you would like to enjoy a cuppa or some home made cakes.  I found the staff at the centre were helpful and courteous, they answered our questions, helped us take photos and also pick the right costume for us so we could dress up in Regency Costumes.

For those who love all things Jane Austen, do note that there is a Jane Austen Festival which takes place every year in September.  Participants will have the opportunity to join others and dress up as Jane did and join various activities such as Regency dancing classes, participating in the Masked Ball and meet other Jane Austen enthusiasts.

At the end of our presentation, we had the opportunity to dress up in Regency clothing.  What a fun experience it was choosing our outfits and accessories!

My son had to swap his cap for a proper hat while my daughter enjoyed picking her own fan and hat to match her clothes.  Our final stop was at the gift shop where we spotted some fabulous gift items including a Jane Austen themed ‘Guess Who’ game.  We had such an enjoyable experience that we can’t wait to revisit Jane Austen Centre on our next trip to Bath.

How much are the tickets?

The family ticket (2 adults and up to 4 children) is priced at £36.40.  We were each given a souvenir guide which had lots of Jane Austen facts.  You can either buy your tickets online (valid for 18 months) or depending on availability, when you arrive.  They also offer a walking tour of ‘Jane Austen’s Bath’ if you are keen on that.

Child Ticket Online (6 – 16 years) – £7.20
Senior Ticket (60 years or over) – £13.25
Student Ticket – £12.25
Adult Ticket – £14.75
Family Ticket Online (2 adults and up to 4 children) – £36.50

What are their Opening Hours?

We would recommend allocating at least an hour for the visit, although we were there for nearly an hour and a half, as we dressed up and both our children did all the activities there.  Do also make time to stop off at the Regency Tea Room for a cuppa as well as to try their cakes.

Summer (March-October)         10am-5pm
Peak (July-August)                       9.30am-5:30pm
Winter (November-February)   10am-4pm

Where is the Jane Austen Centre in Bath?

Situated between Queens Square and The Circus, the centre is around eight-minute walk from the city centre (Bath Abbey), and approximately 15 minutes walk from Bath Spa train station.  The nearest car park is Charlotte Street, BA1 2NE, which is five minutes walk away. Please note though there is a minimum stay at this car park of 4 hours. Do note that Bath is under the Clean Air Zone Restriction so you may need to pay a daily charge to drive in Bath if your vehicle does not meet emission standards. Jane Austen Centre is also next door to Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein.

40 Gay St
Bath
BA1 2NT
01225 443000
contactus@janeausten.co.uk

Note:

• They are based in a Grade II listed Georgian townhouse and therefore there is no lift hence not very wheelchair, buggy friendly
• The entrance has a small step to the front door – they do have a ramp available and their greeter at the front door will be very happy to help!
• The exhibition is flat with only a few stairs leading to this, and can be accessed in reverse via a ramp.
• Their talk room (where one of their actors begins the visit by performing a 20 minute talk about Jane Austen’s life) is on the first floor – this is up 2 flights of stairs of around 10 steps each, so unfortunately this part of the experience is not wheelchair accessible.
• The tea room is up a further 2 flights on the second floor. Their toilets are in the basement which is a small flight of around 10 stairs below the exhibition level.

About

The Jane Austen Centre in Bath focuses on the life and works of Jane Austen, as well as the Regency period in which she lived. A constantly evolving attraction, the Centre aims to inform and entertain visitors.  The attraction is interactive, and the experience is immersive. Actor guides dressed in Regency costume, period decoration throughout and exhibits bring visitors closer to Jane Austen. The Centre also organises another one of the top things to do in Bath, the Jane Austen Festival. They also host a number of walking tours around Bath as well, highlighting key parts of the city from Austen’s works and painting a picture of her life here.  The Jane Austen Centre is a family-friendly attraction.

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*We were gifted a family ticket in return for the feature.  All opinions are our own.