Sacred

In many countries there are thousands of naturally-occurring hot springs. In the UK there are just three - all of them in the centre of Bath. It is not surprising that these springs have been regarded by many people through the ages as sacred.

For the Celtic people of pre-Roman Britain the gushing hot water was evidence of the Otherworld and they worshipped the goddess Sul, guardian of the gap through which the water emerged. In Roman times a Temple next to the Spring was dedicated to Sulis Minerva, a goddess with healing powers. The springs were incorporated into the grounds of Bath's early monastery and cathedral.

The poet Ted Hughes described water as 'the ultimate life - the divine influx' and these words were chosen as an inscription in the Cross Bath to mark the point at which the springs rises to the surface under natural artesian pressure. Despite the best efforts of geologists and geo-physicians, the exact source of the Hot Springs of Bath remains unexplained and suitably mysterious for such a unique phenomenom.