Sparkling Bath

As Bath was one of Beth's favourite spots in rural England growing up, it was a must-stop on our tour.

Bath (originally named Aquae Sulis when it was first created in 60 AD) has only 90,000 residents but hosts almost 4 million visitors a year who come to the town to take in the beautiful old architecture but mostly to enjoy the ancient baths.  One of the best preserved Roman remains in the world, it is a credit to Roman architecture that the baths have held up so well.  If it wasn't for the lead piping they used as an irrigation system the baths would probably be fully functional today (fingers crossed that there are no lasting repercussions for Geoff's hand that was dipped in the baths before this discovery!).

As the day was sunny and warm, we opted to skip our tea at the Bath Pump-House and head to the town's Thermae Spa and Baths for a real dip.  This £60 million building update came in massively over budget but the results were quite spectacular. The building hosted multilple pools of naturally warm mineral waters in and atop a building that seamlessly blended historical and modern architecture.  The rooftop pool offered exquisite views of the surrounding countryside so we opted to spend our afternoon up there, soaking in the sun and feeling healthier in the healing warm spring water.

Before heading back for a torchlight tour of the baths, we headed over for a quick dinner at Acorn restaurant, an all-vegetarian restaurant that was as good as any of the higher-profile London establishments we tried when visiting the city.  Thank you to the concierge at the Francis Hotel for he great recommendation!

Seeing the Roman Baths at night, illuminated by  torchlight, is magnificent. The naturally hot spring (reaching temps of 46 degrees celcius) is powerful, with over 1 million litres of water reaching the bathing site every day. The Romans believed that it was a mystical act but it was later discovered that the water source fell originally as rain water around 10,000 BC and then shot back upon hitting a weak hot spot in the earth's core.

The next morning we took a walking tour of the city, led by a charming mature lady who led the tour like a Drill Sargeant.  She outlined the way we would form around she when she talked, the line we would form to walk from site to site, and how we could ask questions.  Everyone followed the rules and between the orderly nature of the tour, her incredibly animated storytelling and the wonderful history of the town, it was one of the better walking tours we have done.  

We finished our visit with a quick stop to the gorgeous Royal Crescent and then a spot of tea in the serene and lush gardens of The Bath Priory Hotel before heading off to our next destination.

It had been about 25 years since Beth had been to Bath but she found it as enchanting as she had remembered.