Bath

Bath is a small city about a two hour drive to the west of Henley, not too far from Avebury and Stonehenge. It is on the site of a huge hot spring that has been used as a "spa" for thousands of years. The Romans built a large temple and recreational complex that fell into ruins. In medieval times it was used on and off a number of times. In the Georgian and Victorian periods, a whole new culture was created on top of the old ruins (see novels by Jane Austen, etc.). Finally in the twentieth century, archaeologists began restoring the old Roman city.

On Monday morning we drove to Bath, getting lost in the heavy traffic after entering the city. Finally we found a very large car park and wandered around looking for the sparse directional signs. We finally found the center of activity (the Roman Baths) but it was almost lunch time.


We were to meet Barb's friend, Fiona, who lives nearby in Chippenham. (Barb's ex-husband was an officer in the USAF, and Fiona's was an exchange officer from the RAF posted to Charleston AFB, when the families became good friends). We met Fiona at The Pump House restaurant and had one of the best meals we've experienced since arriving in the UK; the dining room was elegant (with a live pianist), reminiscent of the "high society" period of the middle nineteenth century. We then became tourists.




First, it was the Roman baths. The rubble has been cleared and a lot of restoration work has been done. They have a self-guided audio tour that explains the history of the baths, from prehistoric times through the present. We especially enjoyed Bill Bryson's comments, a new feature of the tour.













Next we visited Bath Abbey which is an old Saxon church with high Gothic vaults and beautiful stained glass windows (where we had a nice chat with the curate, whose daughter lives in San Jose). We then walked along the Avon River, past parks and the Pulteney Bridge (Bath's answer to the Ponte Vecchio) to the Costume Museum, which has exhibits of clothing worn from Georgian to modern times.







Then we walked to the Circus (a round park surrounded by three long arcs of Georgian townhouses) and the Crescent (a single large arc of similar houses). The car park was nearby and we drove out of Bath in heavy traffic.










Two-and-a-half hours later, we arrived back in Nettlebed and we went straight to dinner. Two neighbors recommended the Rainbow Inn in Middle Assendon as a traditional pub with good food and no pretensions to being anything else. We had a good dinner (with severe overindulgence in desserts) and the owners, Curly and Jean, were wonderful.