Bath Abbey Tower Tour

There are approximately two hundred and twelve steps arranged in separate spiral staircases that, for eight pounds, can take you into Bath Abbey’s bell tower. 

The stone is warped with years of hurrying feet from ringers rushing to carry out their duties. A single bell-pull, no longer in use, provides the only semblance of a handrail for the climb. The going is steep, cramped and winding. More than once I question the state of my health as I stagger up one step after another with laboured breath. But the views that they break into are worth the sweat and fear. 

            From above, Bath is dazzling in the afternoon light. The occasional spire of a church strikes through the city and tall town houses, like board game counters, follow the contours of the landscape that unfolds below. The height provides a new perspective; a belt of budding green that marks the boundary of the city, the scars of faded advertisements from an age of a different consumer, the rooftop retreats of pigeons and more affluent locals. I’m able to observe from the position of a gargoyle. 

Nonetheless, there are places to rest. I enjoy a much-needed break at the foot of a tenor bell weighing in at one and a half tonnes. I explore the workspace of the bell ringers and take a pew behind a clock face that ticks dependably in the direction of the Guildhall Market. It was erected in this position so that market-goers would always know the hours of the day. And after the descent – just as steep, cramped and winding – I catch my breath under the soft light of a stained-glass window. I send a grateful prayer that I survived four hundred and twenty-four steps without entering cardiac arrest.