Our verdict
The best view of Bath, and you have to earn it — Jacob's Ladder's steps are a proper lung-buster. Go up through the beeches, drink in the skyline from Alexandra Park, and come down grinning past everyone still climbing.
The hanging beech wood that gives Bath its dramatic southern backdrop, climbing from Widcombe up to Alexandra Park. Jane Austen walked here for the view over the city, and the panorama from the top — abbey, crescents, seven hills — is still the best free sight in Bath.
Steep public woodland on the hillside above Bath station. Paths are stepped and slippery after rain — decent shoes even for a short visit.