Monday 14th September 2026

Jane Austen's Bath - minibus tour

9:00 (duration 3 hours)

Meet: Bath War Memorial, Royal Ave, Bath BA1 2PH

A combination of walking and driving visiting outdoor locations in Austen's Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Includes Charlcombe, described by Jane 'as being sweetly situated in a little green valley', and finishes with the best view of Bath from that 'Noble Hill'. For this event you will travel in a small luxury 21st Century minibus driven by your tour guide Adge Secker.

Tickets £52

Canal Cruise - Breakfast

9:00 - tbc depending on train times (duration 4hrs 15mins)

Meet: Outside the taxi rank entrance of Bath Spa Train Station, Dorchester Street, BA1 1SU

Embark on a tranquil Jane Austen inspired canal cruise along the Kennet and Avon Canal. Travel by train from Bath through the picturesque countryside, then join a local historian at Bradford on Avon for a guided walk to the marina.
Board the Barbara McLellan for a tranquil cruise to Avoncliff Aqueduct, with time to disembark and enjoy the views. A delectable breakfast is served on board.
Costumes essential.

Tickets £155 

Breakfast with Beau Nash

9:15 (duration 2 hours)

Venue: Pump Room, Stall St, Bath BA1 1LZ

Step back into Regency splendour for a truly elegant morning as part of the Jane Austen Festival. Join us in the historic Pump Room for Breakfast with Beau Nash—a refined affair inspired by the famed Master of Ceremonies himself.

Doors will open from 9.15am, for you to begin your morning with a chilled glass of English Sparkling Wine or Bucks Fizz, alongside freshly brewed organic coffee or English Breakfast tea. The sounds of our resident pianist will fill the room as you partake of freshly baked breads and delicate breakfast pastries. Then indulge in a sumptuous traditional English breakfast, including char-grilled Wiltshire bacon, local Bath sausages and free-range scrambled eggs. Soak up the atmosphere as the Pump Room comes to life in true Georgian style—just as Jane Austen might have experienced it.

Costumes are warmly encouraged (though not required), offering a delightful opportunity to see and be seen in your Regency best. A morning of music, elegance, and hearty fare - just the thing to begin your day in proper Austen fashion.

Tickets £40 from the Pump Room

Fencing Workshop

10:00 (duration 1hr 15mins)

Venue: City of Bath Scouts, 7 Grove St, Bathwick, BA2 6PJ

Join a Fencing taster workshop with Bath Sword Club and enjoy a taste of the sport rumoured to be Mr Darcy’s favourite. Learn offensive & defensive stances, putting them into choreographed non-contact sequences to experience your own ‘duel’. Regency costume very welcome, but please be aware that protective safety equipment will be worn including a full head mask and glove. Flat shoes advised.

Tickets £25

Where to find the Perfect Man? - walking tour

10:00 (duration 2 hours)

Meet: Outside the main door of Bath Abbey, Abbey Churchyard, BA1 1LY

Come to BATH! In Jane Austen’s time young people of marriageable age were attracted to the health spa honeypot that was Bath, in order to find their partner for life. Bath was the second most fashionable city after London, with entertainments at every turn, and with plenty of opportunities for young women to meet eligible men.  Walk with Bath Parade Guides to discover just how large a fortune the ‘perfect’ man needed, and where he might be found.

Tickets £14

Bookbinding for Jane Austen - workshop

10:30 & 14:00 (duration 2hrs 30mins)

Venue: Lonsdale Room, BRLSI, 16-18 Queen Square, BA1 2HN

Bookbinding for Jane Austen - rediscover the joys of making with your hands and engage with the ultimate portable technology: the book. But not just any book. The covers will be made using wallpaper faithfully reproduced from Jane Austen's house, Chawton. In this workshop, Kate will guide you step-by-step in the traditional craft of bookbinding. You will come away with a hardback book that you have made from scratch and all the basic bookbinding skills that will enable you to continue and elaborate at home.
This session is suitable for all (8+ children to be supervised). All materials and tools will be provided. Some of those tools are sharp!

Tickets £60

Clothing in the Novels of Jane Austen

11:30 (duration 1 hour)

Venue: Elwin Room, BRLSI, 16-18 Queen Square, BA1 2HN

This talk focuses on the specific items of clothing mentioned in Jane Austen’s six published novels. Dress historian and recreationist, Dr Melissa Shiels, will explore the social and economic significance of the garments that are alluded to in Austen’s novels - the close bonnet of teenage girls, the riding habit of women on the move, the shoe roses of dancing ladies, the dreaded flannel waistcoat, and mourning for a deceased relative.

Tickets £15

The Great Outdoors in Austen - Book Club

12:00 noon (duration 1 hour)

Venue: Bath Central Library, 19-23 The Podium, Bath BA1 5AN

From the locked garden gate at Sotherton, to the Cobb at Lyme, to the woods of Pemberley, Austen characters get up to all sorts of important things outdoors! Come along to discuss the great outdoors in Austen.
Jane Austen Festival book clubs take place in small groups, with a list of suggested questions, however we also encourage participants to bring their own thoughts and questions along, and be ready to chat!

Our book clubs are drop-in sessions with no need to pre-register- we’ll try to accommodate as many people as we can.

Free drop-in event 

Pride and Prejudice - A Murder Mystery by The Moonstone Theatre Company: The Killing at Netherfield Park…..

12:30 (duration 3 hours)

Venue: The Bird Hotel, 18-19 Pulteney Rd (South), Bathwick, BA2 4EZ

The Killing at Netherfield Park...Charles Bingley was taking a stroll through his rented estate at Netherfield Park when he came across a man’s body in the grounds. It was obvious that he had been murdered. The body was that of George Wickham but who wanted him dead and would the killer be caught?

An investigation ensues and the four people who appeared to have a reason for wanting him dead are asked to attend a luncheon party. Could it have been Lydia Bennet or Mrs Younge or perhaps Mr Bennet, Lydia’s father and then of course there was Fitzwilliam Darcy. All the clues will be there to enable the guests to catch the culprit. but will they be correctly deduced?

Tickets £53 including lunch

"Carriages" to Meryton & Longbourn - minibus tour

13:15 (duration 4 hours)

Meet: Bath War Memorial, Royal Ave, Bath BA1 2PH

Starting with a driving tour of Austen’s Bath, then onto the village of Luckington to visit the St Mary with St Ethelbert Church and walk in the footsteps of the P&P 1995 cast.
Next Lacock – a village trapped in time and the location for Meryton & Highbury. Then back to Bath to finish with the best view of Bath from ‘that Noble Hill’.
For this event you will travel in a small luxury 21st Century minibus driven by your tour guide Adge Secker.

Tickets £65

Ladies & Gentlemen on Parade

13:30 (duration 3hrs 30mins)

Meet: Outside the taxi rank entrance of Bath Spa Train Station, BA1 1SU

Exclusive to Jane Austen Festival: Regency Costumed Experience at Parade House!
Enjoy a unique Regency Costumed event at one of Wiltshire’s finest Georgian buildings. Dressed in your own Regency finery, you’ll be escorted by Mr Darcy on a short 18 min train journey through the beautiful scenic countryside to the magnificent Parade House in Trowbridge. Your ticket includes travel, a House History Tour, a delicious Full Afternoon Cream Tea with a glass of Champagne in the grand Ballroom, Regency Parlour Games and Theatrical Entertainment.

Tickets £140

Canal Cruise - Afternoon Tea

13:30 - tbc depending on train times (duration 4hrs 45mins)

Meet: Outside the taxi rank entrance of Bath Spa Train Station, Dorchester Street, BA1 1SU

Embark on a tranquil Jane Austen inspired canal cruise along the Kennet and Avon Canal. Travel by train from Bath through the picturesque countryside, then join a local historian at Bradford on Avon for a guided walk to the marina.
Board the Barbara McLellan for a tranquil cruise to Avoncliff Aqueduct, with time to disembark and enjoy the views. A delectable afternoon tea is served on board.
Costumes essential.

Tickets £155

The Country House Dining Room: A History of Georgian Feasting

14:00 (duration 1 hour)

Venue: Elwin Room, BRLSI, 16-18 Queen Square, BA1 2HN

Step inside the world of Mr Darcy and Emma Woodhouse with Amy Boyington’s immersive history of the Georgian dining room. Far more than just a place to eat, the dining room was a stage for the intricate social dances of the Regency era. In this talk, Amy explores the flavours and finery of the Regency elite, from the rigid etiquette of the table to the architectural splendour that framed every feast. Discover how the rituals of dining shaped the lives, romances and reputations of the landed gentry in this essential guide to the era’s most delicious history.

Talk & Book Tickets £35 / Talk only Tickets £13

Birthday Dance Celebration – Regency dance workshop

14:30 (duration 1hr 30mins)

Venue: Ballroom, The Forum, 1A Forum Buildings, Bath BA1 1UG

Join the Jane Austen Dancers for our 30th Birthday (1996-2026) and celebrate the joy of Regency Dancing! Enjoy a superb selection of our very favourite Jane Austen era dances, handpicked by our Callers. All abilities welcome, and birthday cake (shop bought) will be provided!

Please wear flat, non-slip shoes, light clothing and bring a drink (essential). No partner necessary. Period costume (no trains) welcome. You will need a good understanding of English to understand the dance calling.

Please note that allergies cannot be catered for at this event, but the ingredients/packaging will be available.

Tickets £18

A Beautiful Building Site: What Jane Austen’s Bath looked like - talk

16:00 (duration 1 hour)

Venue: Elwin Room, BRLSI, 16-18 Queen Square, BA1 2HN

Sweeping street of elegant houses may have been how Bath looked in Jane Austen’s time, but it was also a city of half-built and abandoned developments. Dr Amy Frost explores the architecture of Bath as Austen and her characters would have really known it, and invites the audience to imagine (or draw) their own vision for building Austen’s Bath.

Tickets £13

Jane Austen Festival Telly & Film Discussion Club

17:00 (duration 1 hour)

Venue: Francis Hotel, Queen Square, Bath BA1 2HH

Join in with like-minded fans of Austen adaptations old and new to discuss your favourites from the past, your hopes for future adaptations, characterisation, casting, costumes… and all things Austen-on-screen!
Discussion will be in small groups, so please come ready to chat with, and listen to, others.
Absolutely no fisticuffs will be permitted over 1995 vs 2005 Pride and Prejudice- take it outside to the duelling ground!

Free drop-in event

Stargazing at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy with the Bath Astronomers

20:00 & 21:05 (duration 1 hour each)

Venue: Herschel Museum of Astronomy, 19 New King Street, BA1 2BL

Join the Bath Astronomers in the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, where the Planet Uranus was discovered from by William Herschel on 13th March 1781. Half of the evening will be spent star-gazing (weather dependent!), the other half will be exploring the house where brother and sister musicians- turned- astronomers, William and Caroline Herschel, lived from 1777 to 1782.

Please note: in the event of poor weather the event will go ahead even if stargazing is not possible, as a tour and talk around the museum will be provided from Bath Astronomers.

Tickets £20

Pride & Prejudice in Words & Music Dinner Recital

20:00 (duration 3 hours)

Venue: Pump Room Restaurant, Abbey Churchyard Entrance, Stall St, Bath BA1 1LZ

Join us in the Pump Rooms for a three-course meal, accompanied by music and a re-telling of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, from violinist Leora Cohen, with pianist Paul Wingfield and narrator Susan Rutherford.

Gill Hornby's dynamic, abridged telling of Jane Austen’s witty and moving Pride and Prejudice is accompanied throughout by a piano and violin duet. The superb music is familiar and loved by many; composed by Carl Davis for the iconic 1995 BBC TV adaptation… returning by popular demand from 2025!

Your ticket includes a starter, a main course with sharing sides, and a trio of desserts.

Tickets £125

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