Christmas Traditions Sparkle in England’s Bath

Nobody celebrates Christmas quite like the British.

At this time of year, London’s Regent Street has become an unreal river of glittering lights, bunting and swags of greenery around every store window. Country-house hotels throughout the land have already set their three-day Christmas programs: mulled wine, crumpets and mince pie before a roaring fire, glorious meals, the traditional Queen’s Christmas Message from the telly and perhaps a stirrup cup in the field while watching the local hunt saddle up for the pursuit of a wily fox on Boxing Day.

Bath, just as festive and sparkling as London, is really two cities in one: a Roman settlement of great importance to the empire dating to AD 43, and the most elegant Georgian town in all of Britain. Archeologists speculate that one of the world’s great Roman cities lies below present-day Bath, but to unearth it would, of course, mean razing a Georgian masterpiece.

The city draws its name from the 116-degree waters that bubble up from springs in the center of town. Whatever its appeal to bath-crazed Romans, Dickens’ Sam Weller felt obliged to describe the stuff with the rather odd metaphor of tasting like a “warm flat-iron.”

Bath owes its magnificent Georgian architecture and elegance to two sources. John Wood, who settled here in 1727, created many of the fine crescents and other buildings of the city. And newcomer Richard (Beau) Nash, who controlled manners and behavior with an iron hand, soon had London’s 18th-Century fashionable society flocking to the city’s baths, balls and assemblies.

Today’s Bath, albeit annoyingly crowded in summer, still exudes the stately Georgian period of the four kings of that name who ruled England between 1714 and 1830. And as with Rome, Bath is surrounded by seven hills, all with their skylines permanently protected by forests and green meadows alive with deer, foxes and badgers just a few minutes from town.

Yet the narrow streets of Bath were still sufficiently Dickensian to attract the company that made the film version of his “Oliver” a few years ago. They haven’t changed, and there could be few better places to spend a truly Dickensian Christmas.

How long/how much? Nothing comes cheap anywhere in Britain these days, so expected to be mildly or not-so-mildly shocked by some hotel and dining tabs. Pub dining helps a bit.

Getting settled in: The Queensberry, a 1772 townhouse designed by John Wood, is just steps from Bath’s center, near fine shops and the Roman baths. Huge bedrooms are done sumptuously in 18th-Century style, and if Wood had anything to do with the baths, he gets a belated star in his crown for the heated towel racks.

At present, the Queensberry offers light meals in the bar, but next year a full-service dining room will open. Tea before a fireplace in the lovely lounge is served anytime, with large continental breakfasts in bedrooms.

Another 18th-Century Georgian townhouse near the city center is The Edgar. While it’s extremely modest, The Edgar should please anyone seeking a neat and comfortable place at budget prices. Bedrooms are on the small side but have telly, coffee-and-tea-making gear and fine views of the city.

If the idea of staying in a former mid-19th-Century shooting lodge built in neo-Gothic style is appealing, then drive the 20 miles to the delightful little town of Wells, with its magnificent 13th-Century cathedral looking down on charming Market Square. The Beryl is owned and run by Edward and Holly Nowell, who also own the finest antique store in this part of England, near the Wells cathedral. Edward’s knowledge of English antiques is encyclopedic, and he’s put it to good use in furnishing The Beryl gloriously from floor to rafters.

Each of The Beryl’s bedrooms is in a different style, and the Winston Room has a mahogany-enclosed bathtub so gigantic that it requires steps to enter. There’s also a pool, and Holly will prepare dinner for four or more at $28 per setting.

Good local dining: David’s (17 Pulteney Bridge) only seats about 20, but has drawn accolades as one of the best small restaurants in these parts. Two- and three-course set menus ($24.50 and $27) give diners the likes of chevre in filo pastry with blackberries, pork fillet in a Stilton or Madeira sauce, salmon noisettes and lemon-and-honey cheesecake.

Popjoys (beside the Theatre Royal), the one-time home of Beau Nash and his mistress, Juliana Popjoy, is said to still harbor her ghost about the place. It also harbors a local reputation for marvelous food at moderate-for-England cost. A three-course luncheon here will cost you $21.50 and offer such fare as sauteed squid with ginger or cracked crab with lime mayonnaise, then roast breast of guinea fowl with orange sauce or fresh Cornish seafood, ending with steamed sultana apple pudding with vanilla sauce and clotted cream.

The Canary (3 Queen St.) gets everyone’s nod as the place to take tea (40 varieties) along with high-octane pastries and chocolates. They also serve lunches and early suppers at $6 to $11 for the main course. And if the super-rich pastries here muddle up your metabolism, pop in the Pump Room at the baths and straighten it out with a glass of spa water at 30 pence.

Going first-class: Lucknam Park, a superb Georgian country house outside Bath, has just been voted 1991’s finest small hotel in all England by two hotel associations. Drive up the half-mile lane lined with stately beech trees and a very proper sign saying “Race Horses in Exercise” to a mansion looking for all the world like a small version of Brideshead.

Everything about Lucknam Park is a study in restrained opulence, from the lounges of lush fabrics and precious antiques to the lavish bedrooms with fireplaces, four-posters and Constable-like landscapes beyond the windows. There’s also a billiards room, indoor pool, workout room and beauty-treatment facilities in a separate building.

Christmas at Lucknam Park is a three-day affair with everything from Father Christmas’ arrival with presents in a horse-drawn Victorian carriage to carols by the local parish choir to a warming cup with the hunting folks on Boxing Day and a black-tie farewell dinner-dance.

On your own: First order of business is a visit to the Roman baths, Pump Room and nearby 15th-Century Abbey where King Edgar was crowned in AD 973. Antique shoppers will also achieve nirvana amid the number and quality of such shops in town center.

The American Museum, with its 18 furnished rooms depicting life in our country between the 17th and 19th centuries, is most worthy, and the Museum of Costume displays a fashion collection for the past 400 years--from women’s dress of the late 16th Century to Princess Di’s latest ensemble.

Certainly drive by Bath’s Royal Crescent, one of England’s true architectural marvels. And Longleat House, just 19 miles south of Bath, is considered a perfect example of the Elizabethan mansion.

But be in your hotel on Christmas Day for the Queen’s Message and hymns and carols by Cambridge University’s Kings College Choir, a revered custom since the 12th Century.

GUIDEBOOK

Bath, England

Getting there: From London, best bet is to rent a car or take the train 110 miles west to Bath. Round-trip rail fare is about $72.

A few fast facts: Britain’s pound recently sold for $1.85, making our dollar worth about 54 cents. Late spring through fall is the best time for a visit. Christmas season can be nippy, with a good chance of light snow.

Accommodations: The Queensberry Hotel (Russel St.; $175-$241 double B&B;); The Edgar (64 Great Pulteney St.; $72-$89 double, full English breakfast); The Beryl (Wells; $93-$129 double B&B;); Lucknam Park Hotel (Colerne; $232 double B&B;). The three-day Christmas Program at Lucknam Park costs $984 per person and includes all meals, activities and two champagne receptions.

For more information: Call the British Tourist Authority at (213) 628-3525, or write (350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 450, Los Angeles 90071) for a brochure on the West Country, including Bath, and another on travel throughout Britain.