Monday 15th September 2025

In Pursuit of Jane Austen - minibus tour to Hampshire

7.45 (return by 17:00)

Meet: Outside the Jane Austen Centre, 40 Gay Street, BA1 2NT

All-day minibus tour to Hampshire tracing Jane's footsteps and life. First her birthplace Steventon, then Chawton where much of her writing took place. Visiting Winchester, King Alfred's capital of England and Jane's final resting place in the cathedral. Meander with guide Adge through the ancient streets, impressive Peninsula Barracks and castle ruins. An unforgettable and atmospheric tour.
For this event you will travel in our new-for-2025 larger 21st Century minibus, accompanied by your tour guide Adge Secker.

Tickets £100

Avoncliff Canal Cruise

9:00 & 14:00 - tbc depending on train times (duration 4 hours)

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

“If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.”— Jane Austen

Embark on an enchanting canal cruise inspired by the timeless elegance of Jane Austen. We’ll meet at Bath train station and embark on a scenic train journey through the picturesque English countryside to the historic town of Bradford on Avon. Upon arrival, a gentle promenade of approximately 1.5 km along the riverbank, accompanied by a knowledgeable historical local guide, will lead us to the canal boat marina where the ‘Barbara McLellan’ awaits.
Relax and unwind as we set sail on a peaceful, unhurried cruise along the tranquil canal, passing through the stunning Avoncliff Aqueduct. A delectable breakfast will be served on board, offering the perfect accompaniment to this serene journey.
Step into the world of Jane Austen and create memories to treasure. Costumes are essential for this immersive experience. Spaces are limited, so secure your place today.

Tickets £150 from regency@baththeatrical.com

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 Champagne or Bucks Fizz, alongside freshly brewed organic coffee or English Breakfast tea, as the sounds of our resident pianist fill the room. Indulge in a sumptuous breakfast menu including char-grilled Wiltshire bacon, local Bath sausages, free-range scrambled eggs, or a refined option of smoked salmon with eggs, all accompanied by freshly baked breads, pastries, and seasonal sides.
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.

Taking place the morning after one of the Festival's many wonderful evening events, this is the perfect moment to regroup, recount your favourite waltzes, and exchange whispers of the evening’s most titillating encounters. A morning of music, elegance, and hearty fare—just the thing to begin your day in proper Austen fashion.

Tickets £40

Janette Haslam: Ladies Period Costumier

10:00 (duration 1 hour)

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

Discover the intricate world of a professional ladies period costumier. This lecture explores the journey into the role, the project lifecycle from initial contact to final deadline, budget restrictions and the collaborative process with designers and artists across Film, Theatre, TV, Musicals, Ballet and Opera. The session will feature past work from Elizabethan to modern and a wide selection of Regency costumes.

Tickets £13

Academy for Dancing - Regency dance workshop

10:00 (duration 1hr 30mins)

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

The Jane Austen Dancers respectfully inform the Nobility, Gentry & Public in general, that they intend to give a dance Workshop, as an agreeable mode of introducing attendees into the art of dancing. Any awkward diffidence at public Assemblies will be divested by attending and enjoying our choice selection of Country Dances.”
[based on extant Bath dance school advert]

Aimed at all levels of ability, no need to bring a partner. Period costume (no trains) is welcome but not essential. Please wear flat, non-slip shoes, light clothing and bring a drink. A good understanding of English is necessary to understand the teaching.

Tickets £18

The Jane Austen Letter: tools & techniques

10:00 & 12:30 (duration 2 hours)

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

In Jane Austen's day, personal communication options were limited. You either spoke in person, or you wrote a letter. This is why letter writing skills were so crucial, and the tools and methods so ubiquitous. In this workshop you will get hands-on experience in all the essential components: paper, pounce, quill, ink, sand, then fold, seal, and post! And, if you are particularly ambitious (and have a lot to say, but not a lot to spend) we might even try 'cross-writing'!

Tickets £16

Jane Austen, The Radical Writer? - walking tour

10:00 (duration 2 hours)

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

We all know what Jane Austen wrote about, don’t we? There are 6 novels which are essentially variations of the same plot; where following twists and turns, a few misunderstandings, all comes good in the end and our heroine gets her man. Add some poking fun at society of the day, and essentially, we have a nice bit of romantic comedy. Yet have we misread the books? What if there are far deeper themes highlighting society’s ills and failings.
Come along with Bath Parade Guides to find out about hidden references to slavery, women’s rights, evolution, and other pressing matters of the day.

Tickets £13

Bonnet and Turban workshop

10:00 (duration 3 hours)

Venue: The Artpad, Pulteney St, Bath, BA2 4DN

Complete your outfit with one of my popular part-made bonnets or turbans choose your trimmings from a wide selection provided. All materials and refreshments included, this workshop is aimed at beginners/intermediate level.
Please email Sylvia:- regencyworkshops@gmail.com for fabric options silks, satins or cottons.

Tickets £90 from regencyworkshops@gmail.com

The Watsons with Rose Servitova

11:30 (duration 1 hour)

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

In her talk on The Watsons, Rose Servitova explores what inspired her to complete Jane Austen’s unfinished novel - from fandom and her fascination with Austen to the challenge of capturing Austen's distinctive voice. She will discuss her writing process, her love of authenticity and why humour is key. Finally, she explains why The Watsons is ripe for screen adaptation.

Tickets £13

Sew Chatty

12 noon (duration 2 hours)

Venue: The Roseate Villa, Henrietta Road, Bath BA2 6LX

Bring along your sewing, last-minute hemming, embroidery, or latest bonnet in need of trimming to The Roseate Villa, Henrietta Road, Bath for a midday session of sewing, chatting and sharing sewing advice (or sewing woes!) with other like-minded Austen friends.

Free Event - please reserve your place

Sense and Insensibility - A Murder Mystery

12 noon (duration 3 hours)

Venue: Abbey Hotel, North Parade, BA1 1LF

John Willoughby's body is found murdered in the grounds of Barton Park in Devon. He was a ruthless, callous man only interested in himself and quite prepared to use people to get what he wanted. But who killed him - was it Marianne Dashwood whom he had jilted, or Colonel Brandon whose ward, Eliza Williams he had seduced and abandoned or Eliza herself?
Elinor Dashwood acts as investigator to get to the bottom of this mystery and with the help of the lunch guests solves the murder and brings the killer to justice… 

Tickets £53

Pride & Prejudice Book Club

14:00 (duration 1 hour)

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

You are welcomed to Jane Austen Festival book club, graciously hosted by Bath Library. We will be discussing Pride & Prejudice in small groups, so bring your copy along and come prepared to chat and share your thoughts with others! We will start with the questions attendees suggested when booking, and then see where the discussion leads each small group...
Please reserve a place to indicate you will be attending. You can also suggest a question or point to discuss during the session when booking.

Free Event - please reserve your place

Girls Behaving Badly: Jane Austen's Wicked Women

14:00 (duration 1 hour)

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

"Lydia was Lydia still; untamed, unabashed, wild, noisy and fearless." -  Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen’s novels depict a genteel world of country houses in which everyone is expected to be on their best behaviour. But what happens when this world of manners and morals breaks down? During Jane Austen’s lifetime, women – and their fictional counterparts - were expected to be virtuous and biddable; what happens when, like Lydia Bennet, they are not?
This entertaining talk explores how far Austen subverted her readers’ expectations and rebelled against what was expected of women in her day. From the riotous and rebellious girls that populate her teenage writings to the more famous heroines of her mature works, this is an enlightening and surprising look at the life and work of a woman who once declared ‘If I am a wild beast, I cannot help it.’ 

Tickets £14

Fencing Workshop

14:00 & 15:30 (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

The Great, The Good, & The Not So Good - walking tour

14:00 (duration 2 hours)

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

In May 1799 Jane came to Bath with her mother, her brother Edward, and his wife. On arriving she wrote to Cassandra ‘There was a very long list of Arrivals here in the Newspaper yesterday. So we may not immediately dread absolute solitude.’ Bath was still the place to be for balls, public breakfasts and strolling on the Parades. But just who would Jane have met on her days walking about the city?
To find out and indulge in a bit of historical gossip, come along with Bath Parade Guides to hear about the Great, the Good, the charlatans and the downright bad who flocked to the city for the hot waters, to gamble and make a good match on the marriage market.

Tickets £13

Parasol workshop

14:00 (duration 3hrs 30mins)

Venue: The Artpad, Pulteney St, Bath, BA2 4DN

Complete your outfit with this elegant Regency-style parasol and matching bag with removable handle for ease of travel, it's part-made for you to complete and trim. Learn how to replace the canopy using the pattern provided, to match any outfit. All materials and refreshments provided.
Please email Sylvia: regencyworkshops@gmail.com for fabric options silks, satins or cottons.

Tickets £130 from regencyworkshops@gmail.com

Austen Fantasy House Hunt: The architecture we don’t see in Jane Austen

16:00 (duration 1 hour)

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

The streets and houses in Jane Austen’s novels are essential to defining the people who occupy them, but what about the buildings the characters never actually visit? Join Dr Amy Frost as she explores the buildings that are not described by Austen, and invites you to help construct these fictional homes. Audience participation welcome, no drawing skills required, just bring your imagination.

Tickets £13

Jane Austen’s Assemblies – narrated Regency dance performance

17:30 (duration 1hr 30mins)

Venue: Banqueting Room, Guildhall, High St, Bath BA1 5AW

Sit back and let the Jane Austen Dancers transport you to the various venues where Jane Austen’s characters enjoyed dancing and socialising. If you have ever dreamed of watching from the edge of a ballroom and learning all the intricacies of etiquette, hierarchy and social obligation that take place on a dance-floor, this is the event for you.

Enjoy watching an 'impromptu dance at home', a 'public assembly' or two (there were five in Northanger Abbey!) and an invitation-only 'private ball', such as at Netherfield. Taking her books and screen productions as inspiration for a visual treat of Country Dances, Reels, Quadrilles and Cotillions, enriched with quotes from her books, we also explain the subtle etiquette rules of each venue.
Plus, the option of joining in one or two dances. Period costumes welcome but not essential. 

Tickets £19

Sense & Musicality

19:00 (duration 1 hour)

Venue: Bath Abbey, Abbey Churchyard, BA1 1LY

Sense & Musicality’ explores the love story of Jane Austen and music. Through the authentic sound of historic square piano with soprano voice, Penelope Appleyard and Jonathan Delbridge delight audiences with music connected to Austen’s life and works, including songs she sang herself, and bring to life moments from her letters and novels. This performance celebrates the release of brand-new song ‘Ode to Pity’ – a rare musical setting of Austen’s poetry.

Tickets £12

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

21:00 (duration 1 hour)

Venue: Banqueting Room, Guildhall, High St, Bath BA1 5AW

This spell-binding performance combines story and music in a unique way. Much like a “melodrama” (a major form of salon-entertainment of the Regency-period) it is essentially an hour-long one-woman play, with live music, fit for the intimate 18th Century drawing room. The narrator performs Gill Hornby's dynamic, abridged telling of Jane Austen’s witty and moving Pride and Prejudice, and is accompanied throughout by a piano and violin duet. The superb music for this play is familiar and loved by many; composed by Carl Davis for the iconic 1995 BBC TV adaptation starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

Tickets £24

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