Bath

June 7th

The train from Bristol to Bath was very busy due to an earlier train cancellation.

When we arrived we walked to our accommodation and met our host Michael. He was kind enough to take us on a tour of his town.

Water below Pulteney Bridge 

Pulteney Bridge 

Guildhall 

Bath Abbey

The Roman Baths

Comedy walking tour ad

Functioning Thermal Spa with swimming pool

Theatre Royal 

Thai restaurant 

The Royal Crescent 

The Circus

The Assembly Room (contains Fashion Museum) 

Bath is small so he covered just about everything before taking us out for the best fish and chips in the UK.

Dinner at the Scallop Shell

Bath Abbey 

June 8th

We started the day with a visit to the Roman Baths. It was very interesting. Most of the complex is underground, so it's bigger than it looks. It shows you what's left of the old Roman Baths and the history of the complex as well as how each room would have been used.

Minerals from the water turned this orange over time. 

They had some amazing screens that brought the rooms to life. 

At the end you can taste some Spring water

The Romans had this system underneath the floors. They would make a fire and the smoke would be under the floor to heat the room. 

Next door is a restaurant called The Pump Room because it's where the tap for the spring water was (and still is).

After that we had a look at the Abbey before embarking on a walking tour.

The two hour tour actually took almost three hours. Michael had done a good job the night before and had covered almost everything. So we saw everything again but this time we got more information and background about the sites.

Section of the original city wall. It was mostly removed as the town outgrew the boundary  It looks short because it goes underground. Apparently the modern Bath is built on top of the old Bath. I didn't understand how this happened  

Our tour guide  

After the walking tour we bought some food from the supermarket and went home for lunch.

Then we went to the Holburne Museum. It was made up of items that were part of a private collection.

Then we saw St Mary's Church. It was in the middle of being restored.

After that we looked at the shops in the Bath Guildhall Market before checking out the Victoria Art Gallery.

Then we walked to the Assembly Rooms to see the interior. The chandilers were beautiful.

After dinner Michael took us up a steep hill to see views of the city.