Day 15 – Bath, England

Training it again we emerged from our hotel in zombie mode at the crack of dawn.  We hit the subway running with the rest of the tube people only to catch another train just in time.  Breakfast of toasted sandwiches whilst watching the sun rise was pretty special as we whizzed past the country side.

Bath provided us with a crisp cold blue sky day.  We wondered through the magnificent Roman Baths soaking up the culture and architecture.  The aqua systems directing the steaming waters from their volcanic source to the various pools is a feat in itself considering the date it was constructed.  This was a mass meeting place for all types of people.  From the serving people to the gentry, from weary travelers to stately politicians, all mixed in these streets and temples.  People arrived looking for healing from the mineral waters or religious pilgrimage to offer prayers, homage or sacrifice. Some shored up their bets and erected temples or shrines to all in sundry including their bosses for extra favor (pay rise). Scribes were employed full time there to etch out complaints from the well to do so the Gods could curse them, let me say there was a lot of cursing going on.

Whilst enjoying the steamy environment of the baths I came across John trying to have a conversation with 2 Roman gentry who offered him a nice bed for the night at their inn. She promised him some fresh hay for the bedding but when John said he was in a hotel with a mattress and a feather dooner they didn’t understand that such a thing existed. When they asked him from whence he hailed (John still not cottening on) answered “Australia “, knowing that such a land was not yet discovered they tried to guess where he could have traveled from. It was hilarious watching John trying to explain to them and they not getting out of period character. I finally thanked them and pulled John away trying to explain to him that they were ancient Romans from that era (I still don’t think he gets it) a great laugh though.

When we arrived in Bath, the main street was empty and quiet, but by the time we left the Baths, the streets were lined wall to wall with people (we were so glad we went in earlier).

We visited the Bath Abbey.  Three different churches have occupied the site of today’s Abbey since 757 AD. First, an Anglo-Saxon monastery which was pulled down by the Norman conquerors of England; then a massive Norman cathedral which was begun about 1090 but lay in ruins by late 15th century; and finally, the present Abbey Church as it stands today.

We treated ourselves to a special lunch at the famous Sally Lunn’s Historic eating House.  Thanks to Kyle’s impeccable timing we entered the tiny dolls house just before the Japanese mass crowd arrived.  There we were treated to the famous Bath Bun that is served with either sweet or savory treats.  We tried it with lemon curd, the chocolate butter and the Welsh rarebit special consisting of buttery mushrooms, dry cure, smoked back bacon and home-made chutney washed down with rose lemonade, hot creamy chocolate and a special blend herbal tea.  It was like being at the Mad Hatters Tea party.

Pulteney Bridge

We wondered over to the Parade Gardens park by the crescent weir to look at the Bridge.

The bridge crosses the River Avon and was completed by 1774 to connect the city with the newly built Georgian town of Bathwick.  Peter said it reminded him of the scene from Les Misérables where Javert, the fanatic police inspector throws himself into the river below in despair.

While Silvia & John went to look for a replacement camera (Silvia’s shutter locked up & couldn’t be reset), Peter & I went to view some of the famous buildings in Bath due to the fact that they have been used in countless Jane Austen movies (I’m a big Jane Austen fan!)

The Circus

No 1. Royal Crescent

From Royal Crescent we walked past the Royal Victoria Park (so pretty)

And stumbled upon the Jane Austen museum. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to go in as we had to catch our train back to London.

We made our way back to London although some of us older fogies were very tired!