Bath Day One

As we made our way to Bath it was mainly along motorway/highway which was the easiest and most effective way of getting there. I know people have said take the B roads for a better feel of the countryside but when you have limited time the quickest way is the best way.

We arrive in Bath and I can actually get the sign that says “Welcome to Bath”. Yay! It has been difficult to get any of the others as they go by so fast and there is usually nowhere to stop and get out to take a photo. Wait until you see what I get for the welcome to Wales!

Anyway we arrive at our hotel and Peter is very thankful for a lift to our room as the stairs in the B&Bs have been a challenge with the heavy suitcases. We check in and then try and find our way into the city centre. We try and use the map that the hotel has given us but it is not very clear so we muddle along and find our way eventually.

By this time it is well past lunchtime so we find a cafe and have lunch and one of the nicest coffees of our trip so far. Overall the coffee has been ok and you definitely don’t need to ask for a large as they are all quite big cups!

We keep walking looking for the spire of Bath Abbey as a guide and soon enough we are there! We go to the Information Centre and check out a few things and get a better map which is very helpful.

The first thing we do is the Roman Baths as they are right in the centre of town and we have the afternoon to fill as we are too late to do the free walking tour which was at 2.30. That will be tomorrow at 10.30 now.

The Roman Baths is very crowded which is only natural as it is still school holidays here and Bath is a popular place for tourists all year round. We get an audio guide which is very well done as it has numbers for each area and you can listen to the information or not depending on what your interest is. In many of the photos to follow you will see other visitors with the guide up to their ears, as it is almost impossible to get a photo without someone in it.

The Roman Baths is the best preserved ancient baths and temple complex in northern Europe and is a right in the middle of the World Heritage Site of Bath. The whole city is amazing but more on that later. The Roman Baths is the only place in the UK that thermal springs come up from underground and bring”health and vitality” to the city.

There is a long history of thermal springs being at this site going back to first century BC when this part of Britain was ruled by an Iron Age tribe called the Dobunni. They believed the hot spring was sacred to the Goddess Sulis. In AD 43 the Romans invaded and fro the Dobunni dramatic change ensued. While the are around the baths was a military zone the Romans were sensitive to the gods and goddesses so this area didn’t change. Fast forward to AD 60 a rebellion took place and there was a lot of bloodshed which left the whole area in ruins. It was after this that the Romans started to turn the sanctuary of Sulis into the curative experience it is known for. 

The hot springs which feed the Baths.

It is from this time the ingenuity and sophistication of the Romans and their building practices come to the fore. First harnessing the the natural springs and then building the of the Baths and Temple which was completed in AD 75.

The settlement became known as Aquae Sulis (the waters of Sulis) and pilgrims came from all around to seek guidance of Sulis Minerva and to heal in the curative waters. Around the hot springs there were a number of other major public buildings  which may have included another bath-house, shrines over two other springs, a theatre and a circular temple on the site of Bath Abbey.

The Great Bath which is the largest of the pools consists of a rectangular swimming bath surrounded by walkways and alcoves around for people to sit and socialise. The hot spring flowed continuously through the same way as it does today.  It is this pool that focuses visitors around it. It is stunning and as you walk around the top on a walkway and look down it is hard to imagine that this has been here for thousands of years.

Looking down onto the Great Pool

The Walkway above the Great Pool with the statues around it.

Around this walkway are statues of Roman Governors of the province of Britannia as Britain was known and Roman emperors with particular connections to Britain. As you walk around it is a fantastic site.

Julius Caesar

Tried to get 3 in a row.  

    

Following the audio guide it then takes you into the museum part of the baths where there are a lot of artefacts, original pieces of the baths and a model of what the baths would have looked like at it’s height of popularity. It is an interesting journey as you go from room to room with each one uncovering another aspect of the story.

I find it absolutely fascinating the amount of archaeology that is on display from over 300 years of excavations.

The hot springs have been a source of interest and fascination for centuries even through the time when the baths were in ruins. In the 12th century the King’s bath which was formed within the shell of the Roman reservoir was enclosed within in the precincts of the post Roman monastery. Medieval medical practices promoted bathing in the waters for ailments including leprosy, gout, palsy and colic.

In the late 17th century doctors were recommending drinking the waters as a remedy fro internal conditions and the first Pump Room opened in 1706. The practices of both drinking and bathing in the spa water fountain remained popular into the 20th century. You can still drink the waters today but they are purified to a certain extent. I somehow missed the spa water fountain in the Pump Room, not quite sure how that happened. Oh well from all accounts it isn’t very nice.

Don't know what's ailing this guy, he looks pretty good to me.

In an alcove before you walk into the Pump Room Restaurant is a Wedgewood Tribute Vase in honour of Governor Phillip, the founder and first Governor of Australia and distinguished citizen of Bath in his retirement. This is the first of a few encounters with our first Governor, something I have made important in my journey highlights.

This was a fantastic experience and while we had thought we would do the night tour as well we decided against it as it was another entry fee and we are finding that we are quite tired by the end of each day.  

We do a bit more walking around and investigating of Bath to make sure we know where we want to go tomorrow but we have found it is a city of lane ways which turn back on themselves which can make it a bit confusing to start with.

We make our way back to the hotel to freshen up and find somewhere for dinner. Dinner tonight is at the Greenpark Station Brasserie. A very quiet place for a nice dinner.

Tomorrow is a big day of walking.