Parade Gardens

Grew up in Bath and always visit when back seeing family with my boyfriend. Great park in the summer and seems to be free for everyone now which is great!
Good views of Pulteney bridge and good photo opportunities!

I’ve lived in and around Bath for a few years, and I work here and thoroughly enjoy all the little nooks that make it special (especially when it’s lunchtime).
Parade Gardens is one of those convenient beauty spots that come alive in summer and sleep peacefully in the cold months. Right now, the bright flowers are popping and the floral sculptures are attracting bees, birds and small Korean children. The grass is nuclear green and you can hear the flowing water of the Wier as you lie back and think of England.
The café is a bit so-​so, so don’t bother. Pay your £1.20 and take a small picnic of goodies from nearby Waitrose, or butties from any one of the handful of delis, and relax in the full knowledge that gardens as cheap as this are rare, and you’re lying in it right now.
PS Bath residents get in for nothing. Just show your Discovery Card.

On a glittering sun-​soaked afternoon (such as we’ve been having lately), this well-​tended park is a perfect spot for a picnic, a nap, a post-​nuptial photoshoot, or a break to conduct some entertaining people-​watching.
The prices may have changed in the last few years, as the next most recent reviews reference a £1 entry fee. As of today, that has now inflated to £1.20 a head, which is still utterly reasonable for how much maintenance must go into upkeeping these gardens for both locals and the mad number of tourists during the season. You’re likely to pay a large fraction of that just using public facilities anyhow, and the park does have a decent loo, in addition to all its scenic riverside qualities.
This particular weekend afternoon bore witness to canoers tumbling down the River Avon, an ocean of sunbathers both young and old, and more than one group of newlyweds capturing their matrimonial moments on film.
And even considering how many people were out and about on such a beautiful afternoon, there was still ample room under the shade trees for a bit of a siesta. And it was a wonderful one at that!

Free to Bath residents, this is a lovely spot in which to relax.

This park is fantastic if you are a bath resident on a hot summer day. Free entry for residents if you have your resident’s card, you can lay in the sun without footballs flying at your head or beer-​bottles all over the place. A nice little café offers good, albeit expensive, cakes coffee and ice cream to munch on, while you lay in the reclining chairs that are scattered about. It’s so beautiful you often have to share your park time with wedding photographers if you are near the band-​stand or the gardens. A perfect place to read a book or lay in the grass staring at the beautiful bath architecture.

This is picture-​postcard-​perfect — a small park area with parasols and deck chairs, right next to the river and about as smack in the centre of Bath that you can imagine a place being, just near the Abbey and a straight walk from the train station. You have to pay a small charge as a tourist to get in here, although, if you live here and apply for a free resident’s card, you can get in for free, as can I working for Future Publishing — a loophole I only found out about from a colleague. Anyway, this is a lovely spot in the summer and they usually have a brass band or something similar playing in the bandstand area to help you pass those summer days away. Check it out.

Hidden over the Parade wall & down below, a sunken oasis of green grass, contrasting splashes of brightly coloured flowers & shady trees.
Parade Gardens is right in the middle of Bath by Pulteney Bridge & close to Bath Abbey.
Pay a £1 to the nice man at the entrance gate (ask for a ticket to return later for a another tranquil respite from marching round the shops, sights and Roman remains).
Waitrose is just round the corner for another bag for life to fill with luscious picnic delights to take down to one of the benches overlooking the river & weir & Pulteney Bridge. There is also a Nero withing walking distance (just)to get your Americano & hotmilk if caffeine is vital. (Apparently a refreshment kiosk is open in the Gardens from Easter to September — didn’t review this).
Share your spare morsels with the cheeky ducks, which will take your little offerings directly from your hand if you tempt them.
A really handy, reasonably well kept toilet is available for desperate measures (another reason to keep that entrance ticket).
As a contrast, why not walk across North Parade (the next bridge from Pulteney) which bounds the Gardens at the other end. Work you way down to the opposite side of the river and see the Gardens, the river, the weir, the buildings framing the scene from a completely different & spectacular perspective. The weir actually looks better from this angle in some ways, with the dramatic colonade and Bath skyline backdrop.
A really annoying maze is also hidden over here to drive you mad and of course the view is free (they even throw in a row of picnic tables too).
The Parade Gardens & surroundings are a beautiful and relaxing setting & really well worth building into your Bath day out iteneray.
A couple of handy links:
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Hope this is helpful.

Right in the city, beside Pulteney bridge, the River Avon and the weir, and a lovely place to walk if you’re visiting Bath. There are beautiful statues and impressive displays of flowers in season. It costs £1 to enter the park (unless you’re a resident of the city) and the nearest car park is the one in Manvers Street.