Combe Down - Local Amenities

Local Amenities

The local state primary school is Combe Down CEVC (Church of England Voluntary Controlled) Primary School, housed partly in a unique log cabin imported from Finland. The nearest state secondary school with sixth form is Ralph Allen School. A private school for children aged between 2 and 18 (Monkton Combe School) has its nursery, pre-prep department (Glenburnie) and preparatory school located in the village.

Shops in the centre of the village include a Co-op, a newsagent, a delicatessen with coffee shop, an estate agency and a pharmacy, together with a barber, two hair salons, a beautician, a crockery hire business and an art gallery. There is a small branch of Barclays Bank on North Road, adjacent to a second-hand children's clothes shop, and there is a fish and chip shop on Bradford Road. The village post office closed in 2006 despite much public opposition and the nearest post office branch is now located inside a grocery store in a row of shops serving the Foxhill community on the Bradford Road. A car repair garage and an undertaker's are both close to the centre of the village.

There are three local pubs, an Anglican church (Holy Trinity) and an evangelical chapel within walking distance for most residents, while a Roman Catholic church (Saint Peter and Saint Paul) is on the edge of the village, adjacent to the Foxhill estate. The Church Rooms are available for hire by local groups. Combe Down village includes two flourishing rugby union clubs and a cricket club, a children's nursery, a doctors' surgery, a chiropodist and a dentist as well as an active Cub and Scout Group (10th Bath) with its own Scouts' Hut. There are several societies, including an active local history group (the Combe Down Heritage Society), a branch of the Women's Institute and the Combe Down Art Group.

A large public open space (Firs Field) incorporates the village war memorial and a play area with children's play equipment which was renewed and renovated in 2006. Much of Firs Field was utilised as the headquarters of the mine infill project but was restored to meadowland status following the successful completion of the stabilisation works in 2010. A residents' group (The Friends of Firs Field) exists to ensure the appropriate representation of local residents' interests with regard to the restoration and management of the field.

The village pubs are the King William, the Hadley Arms and the Foresters', renamed the Forester and Flower in 2006.

There are frequent daily bus services to the village from Bath city centre (service number 1). In the evenings these services are less frequent. The privately-owned Bath 'circular tour' bus route passes along the outskirts of the village and down Ralph Allen Drive. Additional circular bus services run along the main road and into the city centre which are frequently utilised by students travelling to the nearby University of Bath.

Combe Down village is immediately to the north of large areas of natural woodland (Rainbow Woods) with many public footpaths offering magnificent views overlooking the City of Bath. The woods are managed by the National Trust and incorporate the famous Bath Skyline Walk. To the south of the village are spectacular views overlooking Midford Valley.