The Roman Baths will stay open until 10pm every evening this summer, offering visitors a chance to soak up the special atmosphere around the torchlit Great Bath.
Torchlit Summer Evenings will run from 16th June to 31st August with the last admission at 9pm.
The historic site takes on a magical atmosphere once the daylight fades and the flickering torches are lit.
Visitors can walk around the Great Bath where people bathed nearly 2,000 years ago, see the ruins of the Temple of Sulis Minerva where Roman worshippers gathered, and wander around the Roman Baths museum. Evening visitors will also benefit from reduced ticket prices after 5pm.
Last year, the series of late nights was extended by two weeks and attracted a record number of visitors, with 55,203 people visiting in the evening, up from approximately 40,000 in 2016 and 33,000 in 2015.
Comments in the visitor book included:
- Very romantic by torchlight and so much inspiring history. Brilliant, just brilliant.
- Sunday evening, fabulous! Not too crowded, atmospheric and great tour guide.
- Baths look beautiful at night and a fabulous tour.
Admission to the Roman Baths is free for Bath and North East Somerset residents with a Discovery Card, and last summer 1,171 people used their Discovery Cards to visit in the evening.
Councillor Paul Myers (Conservative Midsomer Norton Redfield), Cabinet Member for Economic and Community Regeneration, said: “Torchlit Summer Evenings are a wonderful opportunity to explore the Roman Baths by torchlight after the daytime crowds have gone.
“I hope that lots of residents will use their Discovery Cards again this year to experience an evening at the Roman Baths for free.”
