Beazer Garden Maze ☆☆☆

A fun diversion just below Pulteney Bridge

A set of steps on the south side of the east end of Pulteney Bridge leads down to a path along the river to the pocket-sized Beazer Gardens and this delightful little stone labyrinth.

(Despite its name, this is a labyrinth, not a maze, since a make has dead-ends, but a labyrinth, like this, has only one route to follow. The idea is that you get lost in contemplation, not lost physically.)

The labyrinth was was designed for the Bath Festival in 1984 by Swiss-born British WWII spy, lifelong diplomat, and maze enthusiast Randoll Coate, who always infused his creations with symbolism—in this case, the Georgian fanlights over many Bath doorways, the arches on Isambard Kingdom Brunel's railway bridges, and faux Roman mosaics (to honor Bath's ancient heritage) at the center.

(The gardens are called Beazer after the local construction company—founded in the early 19C and, sadly, acquired in 2001 after six generations of family ownership—that donated the land.)