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

Oh Sew Quiet 

10:00 (duration 1 hour)

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

New for 2026… Oh Sew Quiet!
Quiet sewing drop-in session, bring your own hand-sewing project along.

While all are welcome at our Sew Chatty events, we know chitchat and sparkling conversation are not always the order of the day. If you need to sit down quietly and crack on with a sewing project (perhaps as a deadline draws near!), this is the sewing session for you. Bring along your hand-sewing project to work on, and enjoy sewing in companionable silence.
Graciously hosted in the hushed environs of Bath Central Library. Please be respectful of the quiet nature of this session.

Free drop-in event

Friday Festival Fayre - New for 2026...across multiple venues!

12:00 (duration 5 hours - last entry 16:30) 

Venue 1: Bath Pavilion, North Parade Rd, Bathwick, Bath BA2 4EU

Venue 2: Brunswick Room, Guildhall, High St, Bath BA1 5AW

We know people love to pick up the finishing touches to their Jane Austen Festival wardrobe on the first day of the Festival!
This year, we welcome you to our Jane Austen Festival Fayres in The Pavillion and the Brunswick Room of the Guildhall, with stalls selling Regency clothing, accessories, gifts, goodies, gloves and all manner of wonderful things!

Not all Festival Fayre traders will be able to accept card, so we recommend that you bring cash. Capacity at both venues is limited (so that you can move around freely and see everything on the stalls!), so you may have to queue outside. Last entry will be at 16:30 for a 17:00 close.

£5 per person for Friday Festival Fayre entrance (includes all fayre venues)

Courtship with Kim Hicks

12:00 noon (duration 1 hour)

Meet: In foyer of Theatre Royal, Saw Close, BA1 1ET

Bristol-based actor Kim Hicks returns to the Jane Austen Festival to perform her internationally acclaimed one woman show, the longest running Jane Austen show in the world! With wonderful renditions of both well-known passages from the novels and less familiar pieces from the minor works, Kim reacquaints you with Austen's beautifully drawn characters.

Tickets £18

Discussing Aunts in Austen! - Book Club

12:00 noon (duration 1 hour)

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

Mrs. Norris, Fanny Dashwood and - of course - Lady Catherine de Bourgh; fearsome aunts abound in Austen! Those who are aunts, and those who aren’t aunts, are invited to join us to discuss aunts in Austen’s works.

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

Promenade Wristband pick-up point 

12:30 - 17:30 & 20:00 - 21:00 - Friday 11th September

Venue: Georgian Room, Guildhall, High Street, Bath, BA1 5AW

Come along and pick up your wristband for Saturday’s Promenade, and gain yourself a few minutes more getting-ready time the next day.

Everybody who is in Bath on Friday 11th September, please collect your Promenade wristband from the Friday wristband pick-up point, as it will make gathering for the Saturday promenade a smoother and easier experience for the Jane Austen Festival team and Promenaders alike!

You will need your QR code ready to scan to exchange for your Promenade wristband. QR codes will be sent via email 48hrs before the event start time.

"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

Austen's Arcadia - talk

14:00 (duration 1 hour)

Meet: In foyer of Theatre Royal, Saw Close, BA1 1ET

Jane Tapley follows the career of one of the earliest and greatest female writers of the 18th century, if not of all time. Hear about her quiet private life as an unmarried vicar's daughter and her personal struggle for independence, and how her novels gathered momentum and appreciation after her death. Talk followed by a Q&A.

Tickets £13 

Jane Austen's Bath Homes - walking tour

14:00 (duration 2hrs 15mins) 

Meet: At the entrance to Green Park Park, Green Park Buildings, BA1 1HZ

Mrs Austen, accompanied by Jane, came to Bath in 1801 looking for suitable accommodation to rent eventually living at four different addresses in the city. So where did Jane Austen actually live? Walk with Bath Parade Guides to find the locations of her Bath homes and other houses associated with her.
The tour ends at 4 Sydney Place, opposite the Holburne Museum where refreshments are available.

Tickets £14

Molland's Friday Afternoon Regency Assembly

14:00 (duration 2hrs 30mins) 

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

Regency Costume is mandatory for this event.  

All Jane Austen Festival Ball tickets were released on Thursday 2nd April 2026 in a sepearate ticket drop. Ball tickets sold out within 24 hours with the waiting lists for returned tickets also full. 
Full Ball information can be found on our dedicated Festival Regency Balls page

Draw back the Curtain

15:30 (duration 1 hour)

Meet: In foyer of Theatre Royal, Saw Close, BA1 1ET

Join Jane Tapley, Special Events Organiser at the Theatre Royal, for an illustrated talk on the theatre in Georgian times and its influence on Jane Austen's novels. The talk will take place in Bath's Georgian theatre built in 1805, the year Austen left Bath for the delights of Clifton.

Tickets £13

Museum Lates at No.1 Royal Crescent

Entrance times start from 16:40 - Last entrance 19:00

Meet: 1 Royal Crescent, Bath, BA1 2LR

Wander the twilit museum and take in the story of the house from a fresh perspective. You will enjoy after-hours access to the museum’s self-led immersive tour, Jane Austen in Bath. Alcoholic and soft-drink refreshments will be available for purchase throughout the evening, and our on-site gift shop will be open for your perusal, packed with lots of Jane Austen themed gifts and merchandise.

Regency costume very welcome but not mandatory.

Tickets £14.50 conc - £16 adult  

1811 Sense & Sensibility - Themed Regency Ball

19:00 (duration 4 hours) 

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

Regency Costume is mandatory for this event.  

All Jane Austen Festival Ball tickets were released on Thursday 2nd April 2026 in a sepearate ticket drop. Ball tickets sold out within 24 hours with the waiting lists for returned tickets also full. 
Full Ball information can be found on our dedicated Festival Regency Balls page