Join our Vacation at Bath WhatsApp channel to get reminders and up-to-date information. If your friends are all going away over the vacation and you would like to meet new friends, then why not sign up to our Winter at Bath buddying scheme.

Many of of events are free or at a discounted rate to what you would pay normally.

Sports Pass

The Team Bath Sports Pass can be used during the winter break; if you haven’t already activated your free sports pass then please do so by visiting STV reception. You can book courts to play sport with friends or Swim in the SwimFit lanes. The Sports Training Village has reduced holiday opening hours over the winter break.

Library Resources

All library resources are available to you over the break. This includes a large film collection for loan, newspapers and popular magazines from around the world through Press Reader, plus access to Kanopy , which contains 24,000 films, documentaries, tv series and instructional videos from over 700 international suppliers. Kanopy is a particularly good source of films in Mandarin, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian. Box of Broadcasts also provides access to 2 million off-air tv and radio recordings from more than 75 free-to-air channels while you're in the UK.

For festive reading ideas, try the Library's new festive reading list , see the display in the Library on Level 2, or the Library's Reading for Pleasure guide.

There are also a number of other events taking place in and around the Bath and Bristol area. Take a look at Visit Bath's What's On Guide and Visit Bristol's What's On Guide to see what's happening this winter. Some local highlights include:

• Bath Christmas Market 27 November - 14 December. Over 170 chalets will be offering festive goods and foods throughout the city centre.
• Friends International Christmas Meal 7pm - 9.30pm, 10 December. Free traditional Christmas Dinner at Widcombe Baptist Church with carols and presents. Although a Christian organisation, open to all faiths and none.
• Bath on Ice Why not give ice-skating a go? Open from now until 4 January. Booking advised. When finished warm up with hot drinks and food at the festive Alpine Bar.
• Glow Golf Next to the ice-rink is the Adventure Golf Course. Lit up by fairy lights, this magical experience is great fun and no previous experience necessary. Open from now until 4 January. Booking advised.
• Park Runs The Bath Skyline Park Run takes place every Saturday (including the 20 and 27 December). It starts just outside the University grounds. Run, jog or walk the 5km course. More runs may be added. Free to enter but you need to register first.
• 12 tales of a Georgian Christmas No 1 Royal Crescent. See this beautiful house decorated as it would have been in Georgian times. Student discovery card holders get discounted entry.
• Services at Bath Abbey

Wellbeing

Student Support will be available as normal until the end of Tuesday 23 December. It will be closed until Friday 2 January.

If you need advice outside these hours our Be Well - Talk now service provides free confidential advice and support to you wherever you are in the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Our Wellbeing A-Z offers practical tips and advice for many wellbeing topics.

The wellbeing support out of hours lists local and national charities who are able to support your wellbeing.

You can also access urgent support. If you have an emergency call 999, or University Security (01225 383999) if you are on campus or in University accommodation.

Transport

All students living in the City will have access to the campus via First Buses, who are running a reduced service, in order to take part in our activities. (Please note that the No. 22 bus and the U2 services do not run in vacation times). E-scooters will still be available - don't forget Dott offers a discount for University students. Further information on bus and train travel, and taxis, is on our winter transport page.

Supermarkets in Bath

Find out more about which supermarkets will be open in Bath over the Christmas period, on our Supermarkets page.

Food outlets opening times

Check the opening times for all the food and drink outlets and shops on campus; this page is updated each week.

The Library

The Library building will be open 24/7 over the Christmas break, although there will be no library staff available from Saturday 20 December. Library staff will return on Friday 2 January 2026. For all service details see: Library Opening Times and Staffed Services.

University offices

Most University staff will be on holiday from the end of Tuesday 23 December, returning on Friday 2 January, so offices on campus and in University buildings will be closed. Our Security Team will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the period as normal.

Living in university accommodation

The ResLife Team is available at the Virgil Building from 9am to 5pm (excluding Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day). If you need support during Winter Break you can visit us here or call on +44 (0) 1225 383039. Please check Virgil Building opening times before calling or visiting. For urgent matters outside of these hours, please contact Security. For non-urgent enquiries, email reslifecampus@bath.ac.uk or reslifecity@bath.ac.uk.

Virgil Building

The Virgil Building will operate on a reduced schedule throughout the Winter Break. It will open from 22–23 December, 9am–5pm, and will close on Christmas Eve (24 December), Christmas Day (25 December), Boxing Day (26 December), and New Year’s Day (1 January) for the holidays. After the Christmas period, Virgil will reopen from 27 December to 4 January, with standard hours of 9am–5pm on most days, and will return to normal opening times on 5 January (9am–10pm).