The Bath BID Welcome Ambassadors are knowledgeable local volunteers who stroll Bath city centre in pairs greeting and helping visitors.
Welcome Ambassadors are out for a few hours a day, come rain or shine, throughout the year.
To mark Volunteers’ Week 2025, we asked many of the team to talk to us about their role!
What is your favourite thing about volunteering?
Katie
“I really enjoy volunteering as a Welcome Ambassador in Bath, because we usually exceed expectations, and we remind our visitors that sometimes human interactions can beat Google or ChatGPT with local and current knowledge.
We offer answers to a host of general questions – where is The Roman Baths or The Royal Crescent – or specific questions such as ‘is there a restaurant with a gluten free menu which welcomes dogs?’ or ‘where can I take the children to run off some energy with somewhere for me to get a good coffee?’.
We can always come up with a good answer between us, and get paid in smiles which are priceless!”
Jenny
“My best moments are when you really feel like you’ve enhanced someone’s experience of visiting Bath, by suggesting something they hadn’t thought of doing, or telling them where they can find exactly the kind of shop or cafe or spot they were after.”
Sue J
“I’ve been a Welcome Ambassador for 6 years and it’s quite simply the best volunteering experience!
Greeting visitors and helping them make the most of their visit to Bath is such a positive and energising thing to do; everyone wants to have the best time, and we help them do just that.
We are a friendly group, backed by a great team who really appreciate us and offer lots of support and opportunities to meet up on a regular basis.”
Maria
“Being able to share knowledge about my home city and help people make the most of their visit to Bath.
Albeit fleetingly, it’s a great opportunity to meet people from different countries and cultures who are coming here for different reasons but mainly celebratory – making the interactions generally very happy and positive.”
What were your first impressions of being a Welcome Ambassador?
Gill
“At first it was daunting: did I know enough about Bath, would I send people to the wrong place? But all of that eased quickly. Many of the Ambassadors are extremely knowledgeable about the city and I learn so much just by sharing a shift with someone, so that helps enormously. Interacting with visitors from all over the world is a great experience too, finding out where they are from, what they enjoy and guiding them to what may suit them best.
Everyone has been very welcoming and inclusive. We all want our visitors to get the most out of their time in this wonderful city and it’s always a pleasure to help them. I also really enjoy the opportunity to see what goes on ‘behind the scenes’ at some of the businesses; understanding what they are trying to achieve helps us explain what they are about to the visitors and we can then talk to them in a more informed way.
I really enjoy being an Ambassador, learning more about our city and sharing our enthusiasm with visitors from all over the world. It continues to be a great experience.”
James R
“My first impression was how friendly everybody in the BID is. Second, how some visitors really appreciate the welcome we give and the assistance.
The oddest question I got asked on my first shift was ‘where are the gothic churches in Bath?’: they were not interested in Georgian architecture!”
Astha
“I was immediately impressed by how involved the role is with the local community. I enjoyed learning about local initiatives and the great work the BID is involved in.
At first, I was a bit nervous about knowing all the details, like directions and attraction opening times, but we’re given a useful folder with everything we need. It’s a great way to meet people and feel more connected to the community and the city of Bath.”
Helen S
“Joining during the Christmas Market could have proved daunting, but support during my initial induction from the coordinator and other Welcome Ambassadors made it easy, interesting and fun! This has continued on shifts from the support, companionship and continuous learning that volunteering in pairs offers.
Enjoyment comes from meeting all the visitors, helping them make the most of their time in the city and learning and visiting more about the city myself which can then be shared. My very first impression was this is a well organised, simple, welcoming but thorough set-up.
It’s a great role!”
Nick
“Volunteering as a Welcome Ambassador has been an enjoyable, relaxing and enriching experience. In the first few months I’ve learned so much about the city and met some interesting and lovely people. The other Welcome Ambassadors are sociable and knowledgeable and every shift has been fun, even in the bleakness of winter! It’s all very convivial, and the positive feedback and appreciation from visitors to Bath demonstrates the high value of the service we provide.”
What has been your best volunteering moment?
Alison W
“A young girl emerged with her grandad from the railway station and we chatted about the Great Western Railway and Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The girl asked me ‘what’s the link between Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Paddington Bear?’
Answer: they both carry their sandwiches in their hats!
Paddington, a marmalade one and IKB, his ham sandwich!”
Jeff
“Our brightly coloured Jackets say ‘Ask Me’, and Bath visitors certainly do!
Among the range of usual queries, you get the occasional more unusual request, such as ‘Can you direct me to the beach?’. This overseas visitor thought Bath was on the coast!
On another occasion a young man gave me his camera and asked if I’d take a photo of his surprise marriage proposal in front of the Abbey. I’d better not mess this one up! (She said YES!)
It’s always fun on a Welcome Ambassador shift.”
Lesley
“I enjoyed the conversation I had with a delightful young American man who wanted to know how to get to Solsbury Hill, and where he could ride a horse. Sadly I couldn’t answer either of those questions at the time (I can now!), but I had a very well-informed partner on the shift with me, and she was able to suggest how he could achieve both those wishes! Love my fellow volunteers!”
What was your favourite unusual question about Bath?
Malcolm
“On one occasion a couple had booked their luggage into storage. The location on Google Maps showed it in the middle of Green Park! So my buddy and I took a walk to try and find it without success. Later, we discovered that Premier Inn on James Street West was an agent for the company. I wonder if the couple ever found it? I hope so!”
John
“We were in Abbey Churchyard when somebody asked for directions to 5 Abbey Churchyard. We were puzzled as there is no number five building in existence.
The visitor was looking for the building where the young Mary Shelley had lodged in Bath when she began to write the novel ‘Frankenstein’. The building had once stood where the entrance to the Roman Baths currently stands.
Now there is a plaque outside the Pump Room building, which marks where the boarding house once stood as 5 Abbey Churchyard. Of course, now you can find out more about Shelley’s time in Bath at Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein.”
A HUGE thank you to our dedicated, enthusiastic Welcome Ambassadors!
Please let us and them know if they have made a difference to your visit to Bath.