Friday, May 12th, 2023 Bath, England
Updated: Sep 1, 2023
This morning we got to explore the flat a bit more, in daylight – after our stress and tired arrival last night. With two nice bedrooms, a galley kitchen, living / dining room, and well-appointed bathroom this Airbnb is really nice. The hugely thick exterior walls, shuttered windows and sloping floors are a hint at the age of the building – the location is fantastic; just two minutes from Bath Abbey in the center of town and overlooking the river Avon.
While the rest of the group got themselves ready for the day, I went out in search of breakfast. Neither Sandra nor I had visited Bath before so it’s a bit of an adventure. I headed in the direction of the Abbey which dominates the view of the city; from Duke Street I followed North Parade across the main road (A3039) where I could see a few tour busses starting to arrive, but I was out early enough to miss the crowds and turned left down the narrow Church Street. At this point all the streets appeared to be cobbled and pedestrian. I had my “bakery antennae” tuned up on the lookout for a good morning nosh spot. A short walk led me to a small square with a beautiful large tree dominating the center, and off to the right I saw The Abbey Deli which looked promising. It turns out this café was used in the filming of the Netflix series Bridgerton, it didn’t mean much to me as I’ve never seen it – but a few other tourists in the café seemed to be excited. I quickly procured some drinks and pastries and got out of the way.
As well as a good general look about the city, the main things we wanted to do were to visit the Abbey, the Royal Crescent, and the Roman Baths – we only have one day. We had reservations for the Roman Baths at 1:30PM and so we decided to see our two other destinations in the morning. The main part of the city is captured within a wide loop of the river Avon and the attractions we want to see are all within easy walking distance of each other; our first stop was the abbey, about a 5-minute walk from the Airbnb. Buskers were setting up in Kingston Parade, a small square immediately south of the Abbey and people were beginning to gather on the bench seats surrounding the square, it was a bright but cool morning. By chance we met the Mayor of Bath who was out wandering in his full Mayoral regalia – he seemed like a happy chappie, pressing the flesh and posing for pictures – maybe there was an election coming up?
There has been a place of Christian worship on the site of the current Abbey for well over a thousand years and it has undergone many transformations and changes during this time. Much like the city of Bath has experienced rise and falls in fortune, survived a number of major conflicts, architectural and religious reforms, and two World Wars, the Abbey still stands proudly today as an essential place for both worshippers and visitors. Entry to the Abbey costs 6.50 GBP, tours are also available for 15.00 GBP and include a walk up the 212 steps to the top of the tower. We opted for the basic entry.
The Abbey was magnificent, as good or better than any I’ve visited – the stained glass and vaulted ceiling were breathtaking (though not as extensive as in other cathedrals and abbeys). Kids can pick up a small pamphlet with things for them to find and mark off as they explore the Abbey. Docents were stationed at various points, and they were friendly, helpful and very knowledgeable. It’s hard to imagine a visit to Bath without coming to the Abbey.
We wandered north passed Royal Victoria Park and reached the Circus which is an historic ring of large townhouses forming a circle with three entrances. Built between 1754 and 1769 and is regarded as a pre-eminent example of Georgian architecture. “Circus” means a ring, oval or circle in Latin. Continuing west we came to the Royal Crescent which is a row of 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping crescent. Built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture to be found in the United Kingdom. Although some changes have been made to the various interiors over the years, the Georgian stone facade remains much as it was when first built.
For lunch today we had pasties at one of the many cafes in the center of Bath. Pasties famously originated in the county of Cornwall, we are currently in the county of Somerset – pretty close to Cornwall, so we figured the pasties would be good. A pasty from Cornwall traditionally consists of a beef, dices potatoes and turnip wrapped in short crust pastry and baked; nowadays there are myriad fillings and they available all over the UK.
The roman baths in Bath have been the main attraction since… well since the Romans were here. A temple was constructed on the site between 60 and 70 AD and the availability of natural geothermally heated water led to the establishment of public baths. Over the years the “waters” at Bath became famous for their therapeutic effects; the thermal waters contain sodium, calcium, chloride and sulphate ions in high concentrations. The current street level buildings all date from the 19th century.
The Roman Baths and museum, located very close to the Abbey, are extremely well presented; there is an audio guide, maps and lots of signage to guide you along. The main large open-air bath is filled with some pretty murky green water – needless to say, bathing is not allowed; I wondered if it looked this bad back in the Roman times. A strong sulphureous smell pervaded the air and many of the statues showed extreme weathering. Noah got chatting with a Roman legionnaire who happened to be lounging by the pool. Models inside the museum depict the original Roman settlement, and there are some outstanding Roman artifacts on display – as you work your way through the museum you get down to the original foundations. There is an excellent display in the Gymnasium with images of Romans, doing their exercises, projected onto the walls. At the end of the tour through the museum Noah and I were brave enough to taste "the waters" at a specially set up font; it was warm and sulphury - I wouldn't recommend it.
Of course we had to do a bit of shopping, even finding a Marks and Spencer’s where we stocked up on some food items for dinner – the food halls in M&S are great, pre-made sandwiches are big hit.
Comments