There’s always something going on in historic Sydney Gardens. This time the action is within Minerva’s Temple – built to promote Bath at the Empire Exhibition held in the Crystal Palace in 1911 – and then re-erected here a few years later to commemorate the Bath Historical Pageant.
The landmark building has fallen on hard times – as has the rest of this former Georgian pleasure ground – but l chanced upon two people with a head for heights. They’d erected a ladder to get them up to the loft.
The access cover disappeared many years ago and now that roof space appears to have become home to some rather interesting nocturnal flying mammals.
Working for Avon Wildlife – these enthusiastic naturalists have been installing a device to detect bat movements and get some idea of how much the space is being used throughout the year.
The Friends of Sydney Gardens are in the process of preparing an HLF submission – which will go in around August time – in the hope of getting funds to revitalise what has become little more than a dog park.
Obviously, the temple will feature in their plans.
Meanwhile, l am sure canal walker are familiar with what looks like a mini rockery to one side of the Kennet and Avon wall as it passes through Sydney Gardens.
Knowling how ‘hard’ Bath spring water is you will not be surprised to hear that the water flowing into the canal is an overflow from a reservoir of natural spring water under the grounds above.
The rocky formation is Bath’s open-air stalagmite. A build-up of calcium deposits over many, many years!
While the environment around it is being enthusiastically ‘cleaned up’ by volunteers working for the Canal and River Trust – it’s good to know this little bit of geological history will NOt be touched.
