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Parsons Pursuits
01 November 2024
We had wanted to visit Bath for a while and found ourselves there on a perfect autumn afternoon. The colours were vivid and orange, with maple leaves dancing across country lanes as we drove through the Somerset countryside.
We parked at the Lansdown Park and Ride, a convenient gateway to Britain's only whole-city UNESCO World Heritage Site. The scenery driving into town had us filled with anticipation - rolling verdant hills dotted with sheep, and rows of honey-coloured Bath stone homes catching the warm afternoon light. Exquisite.
The Roman Baths are simply incredible - stepping down into them feels like travelling back 2,000 years. The moment you enter, you're greeted by the great bath itself, that signature green water steaming gently in its stone surroundings. It's amazing to think Romans once gathered here for business deals and gossip! The museum does a fantastic job bringing the Roman era to life - you can see actual coins tossed into the sacred spring (an ancient version of today's wishing wells) and incredibly preserved curse tablets where Romans wrote messages to the goddess Sulis Minerva, often complaining about stolen cloaks and asking for divine justice.
The gilt bronze head of Minerva was discovered here - it's one of the finest Roman artefacts ever found in Britain. And don't miss the original Roman lead pipes still doing their job after two millennia! The interactive displays let you hear a Roman priest's prayer in Latin, and there are fantastic projections of Roman life onto the ancient walls.
The grand finale of the museum tour leads to the Pump Room, where you can sample the famous spa waters yourself. These mineral-rich waters once drew Georgian socialites and health-seekers from across Britain, who would dutifully queue up each morning for their medicinal glass. One sip was enough to tell us why visitors might have struggled to keep a straight face - with its peculiar mineral tang, we decided to stick to coffee instead!
Bath Abbey is a stunner - what many people miss is the unique ladders of angels on its west front. According to local legend, the abbey's founder, Bishop Oliver King, had a dream of angels ascending and descending ladders to heaven, inspiring this unusual architectural feature. Inside, look up at the fan vaulting - it's some of the finest in the world. The abbey has a fascinating history - it was nearly destroyed during Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries but was saved by the citizens of Bath who clubbed together to buy it for £30!
Pulteney Bridge is one of only four bridges in the world with shops built into it along its full length (like Florence's Ponte Vecchio). It's quite something to walk across what feels like a normal shopping street, then glance out a window to realise you're suspended above the rushing Avon! The bridge was actually built because the wealthy Pulteney family wanted to create a grand approach to their pleasure garden development. Today, it's one of the most photographed spots in Bath - especially from the parade gardens below where you can see the cascading weir.
We were spoiled for choice when it came to coffee stops: Bath's streets are dotted with an almost absurd number of coffee shops - from cosy independent cafés to sleek modern espresso bars. Not that finding a free table was easy on this busy Saturday - it seemed like half of Somerset had the same idea, with coffee-seekers spilling onto the pavements and every window seat occupied by people watching the world go by.
As the afternoon light faded we decided to walk back to Lansdown. The walk up to the Park and Ride turned out to be quite the climb - something we probably should have anticipated in a city famous for its hills! But even this had its charms. Each pause to catch our breath offered another stunning view over the city. Some cities are just museums of their past glory, but Bath still pulses with life, each century adding its own layer to the story. Perhaps next time we'll just catch the bus back up - though we'd have missed those spectacular sunset views over Somerset if we had!
