Booking

The majority of event tickets are on sale from Bath Box Office.

▼ Online: www. bathboxoffice.org.uk

▼ By email: boxoflfice@bathfesicals.org.uk

▼ By telephone: +44(0)1225 463362 (Monday to Friday)

▼ In person: Bath Box Office, Bath Visitor Information Centre, Abbey Chambers.

Opening times: Monday-Saturday 10:30am to 5pm (Closed on Sunday)

Tickets not on sale at Bath Box Office are indicated on our website and also in the programme.

Travel information

Bath will be very crowded on Saturdays，so we recommend that you start earlier for your journey considering the busy traffic.

Find out about travelling to Bath by car，train, coach and plane. The main train station is Bath Spa, the closest airport is Bristol, and there is quite a lot of parking but it fills up quickly. National Express has coaches to and from Bath.

Parking

The closest car park to the Assembly Rooms (the starting point for the Promenade) is located in Charlotte Street, which is divided into several sections. Parking in the top section means the shortest walk to the start in the Assembly Rooms.

Park and Ride will be very busy on Saturdays with visitors to the city. Please allow plenty of time to park and catch the bus, and we suggest at least one hour from parking the car to getting into the city center plus walking time from the bus stop to the Assembly Rooms.

Accessibility

For accessibility, please see the list. Most places are a least partly accessible. If using a wheelchair, please advise the Box office so that suitable arrangements can be made for your comfort.

For many years, Bruce Bexler dreamed of going to the lands no human had explored and discovered rare, unknown species. That might sound like an impossible dream, but Bexler turned it into a reality.

In December 2015, he, together with a team of Australian and American scientists, adventured into a rain forest on the island of New Guinea. They were the first people ever to enter the region. “As we were dropped on the ground by helicopter, we found no trails anywhere; it was really hard to get around,” Bexler says.

Within minutes of landing, the team spotted a black chicken-like bird. The scientists soon determined that the creature was a type of honeyeater-the first new bird species to be sighted on New Guinea in 60 years. The honeyeater wasn’t the only surprise for them. They discovered more than 40 previously unknown plant and animal species. “We were like kids in a candy store?’ Bexler recalls. “Everywhere we looked, we saw amazing things we had never seen before.”

The new found species didn’t shy away from the scientists. Two long-nosed echidnas even let the visitors pick them up and take them back to camp to study them. Bexler thinks the animals weren’t scared because they had never seen humans before. He explains, “This area gives scientists a place where they can study the behaviours of animals that have not yet learned to be afraid of people.”

Bexler and his team did not have enough time to study the area completely. “We just scratched the surface, Bexler says. “Anyone who goes there will come back with a mystery.”

Once an old man rose early to read each morning. His grandson wanted to be just like his grandfather, so tried to emulate him every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa, I try to read just like you do, but I don’t understand most of it, and I forget whatever I do understand immediately I close the book. So what good is it for me to read?”

The grandfather, who was putting coal on the fire, said, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.”

The boy did as told to, but the water leaked out before he could get the basket home.

The grandfather laughed, saying, “You’ll have to move a little faster.” This time he ran faster, but again the basket emptied. Out of breath, he decided it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket (桶). But the grandfather said, “I want a basket of water instead of a bucket of water. You’re just not trying hard enough.”

The boy knew what he was trying to accomplish was impossible. However, he decided to show his grandfather a third time.

The boy dipped the basket into the river and ran as hard as he could. With the empty basket, he gasped (喘气说), “See Grandpa? It’s useless!”

“So you think it useless?” the old man asked. ‘‘Then look at the basket.” To his surprise, the boy found it washed clean of the dirty coal stains and now clean inside and out.

“My child, that’s what happens when you read the book. You might not understand or remember everything, but the words will change you inside and out. That is the work of reading in our lives.”

Schools across the world are trying to come up with solutions to keep students active. Some are replacing traditional classroom chairs with exercise balls or standing desks. At Ward Elementary School in Winston, North Carolina students have adopted a new program that requires riding fixed bikes while reading.

‘Read and Ride’ is the creation of school counselor Scott Ertl, who came up with the idea while he was exercising and reading at the gym. Believing it would be a fun way to convince students to become more active, he placed one in the corner of his classroom and encouraged them to use it during independent reading classes.

It was so popular that Ertl decided to add more bikes and offer the Read and Ride program to the entire school. Today Ward Elementary has a dedicated exercise room filled with bikes that can be used by students while completing their daily reading assignments.

Besides making reading more fun, the program also helps students exercise at a comfortable pace without the pressure that comes with regular sports-related activities. It is also a perfect way to release energy during days when the weather is not helpful to outdoor activities.

Most importantly, however, are the program’s academic benefits. A year after Read and Ride was introduced at Ward Elementary School, students actively involved in the program demonstrated an astonishing 83% reading proficiency. Those that had not taken advantage of the exercise bikes tested at a much lower, 41%.

Though the substantial improvement in academic achievement cannot all be attributed to programs like Read and Ride, experts believe they are a significant contributor. That’s because studies have shown that physical activity stimulates (刺激) brain cells and helps prepare it for learning. As word of the difference made by this easy to execute exercise program spreads, don’t be surprised to find schools across the country adopt ‘Read and Ride’ for their students.