On Saturday we went to Bath - this was the fulfillment of many months of waiting by me! Thanks to my Nanna sending some funds specifically for a fun outing we finally booked it and went.

An early train trip got us there before the majority of tourists arrived and we wandered around the area near to the Abbey.  There was a longish line of people outside the Roman Baths so we bought our tickets for later on and then wandered into the Abbey before joining a free walking tour.

In the Abbey we were impressed by the Altar cloth - a depiction of the verse in Revelation of the river of Life and also the memorial stone for Arthur Phillip.  In the Vaults underneath the Abbey we saw some excavations including a skeleton in its coffin under glass.

There was also some interesting artifacts from the medieval church time and a Cope from the 1970s.

By now it was 10:30 and the crowds had arrived!  We joined the large group waiting for the Mayor’s volunteer guides and were spilt into four groups to be shown Bath.  Beryl, our guide, was wonderful telling us all the historical information about Bath and we really enjoyed our walk.  During the course of the walk we passed Jane Austen’s house and stopped outside Beau Nash’s house (for those less into Regency romance than I am Beau Nash was responsible for bringing Bath into popularity - well him and John Wood…).  Then as we continued up the streets we came to some of John Wood’s architecture - Bath is known for it’s beautiful Georgian houses and it was very impressive to see this.

Finally we walked to Pultney Bridge which has buildings on it - like a famous Italian bridge that I don’t know! (ed - it’s the Ponte Vecchio)

After the walk we went into the Roman Baths - which had an even LONGER line out the front for tickets so I was pleased we’d bought them earlier.

The Baths were fascinating - a definite highlight.  Inside you can see all the foundations of the rooms that would have made up the Bath house and also the original Spring and the Bath that the Romans would have used.  The entry into the Baths included the price of a glass of the spring water in the Pump Room - so I’ve drunk ‘the waters’  like so many Regency heroines!

By the time we had walked around the roman baths we were very hungry and

had tired legs so it was time for a famous Sally Lunn Bun!  Sally Lunn was a baker who lived in Bath in the 1600s and invented a large bun that became famous in the time and now the recipe is apparently give with the lease of the house.  The house where she lived is the oldest in Bath and is now a restaurant.  We both enjoyed our lunches made on the famous bun.

A trip to the Assembly Rooms and Fashion Museum was next on the list - unfortunately there was a wedding on so we couldn’t go into the Assembly rooms but the Fashion Museum was fantastic!  I really enjoyed looking at the exhibit showing Georgian, Regency and Victorian dresses - including Queen Victoria’s black dress.

It was hard on the legs walking from place to place in Bath so we thought we should do what everyone since the Celts have done and take some rest in the Hot Baths!  We went to the Thermae Spa which is a new complex with the waters pumped from the Spring that fed the original Roman Baths and indulged in the Roof top pool overlooking the Abbey and green hills, the steam rooms and foot baths.
Finally we finished our day with another walk called Bizarre Bath. Some Pizza before the train and the day was over - but not forgotten.