One of our favourite walks is from the village straight up the hill to Beckford’s Tower. This is a familiar landmark at Lansdown on the northern side of Bath. Anyone who has used the Lansdown Park and Ride will know it.

Built in 1827 by William Beckford it stands 120 feet high above the redundant Lansdown Cemetery. It is really a folly but Beckford himself said of it “such as it is, it is a famous landmark for drunken farmers on their way home from market”.

It is now owned by the Bath Preservation Trust and contains a small museum, visitors may ascend to a viewing platform at the top. William Beckford is buried in the adjacent cemetery.

13 April 2014