Bath Botanic Gardens were founded in 1887, extended in 1926 and again in 1987. It has nine acres of trees, shrubs, borders, limestone-loving plants and scented walks. Contains over 5000 different varieties of plants from all over the world and one of the finest collections of plants on limestone in the country. Rock garden and ornamental pond. The garden has recently been extended to include the Great Dell which is maintained as an arboretum. The central feature is a rocky pool designed in the Japanese style, surrounded by venerable not-so-dwarf maples, but there is also a reconstructed ‘Roman Temple’ which the City showed at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924. Standards are high, maintenance is good, and the seasonal highlights of bulbs, bedding and herbaceous plants – here and in the adjacent Royal Victoria Park – are among the best. The excellent guidebook is a model of visitor-friendliness.