We headed down to Bath on the M4 anticipating a two hour journey. This illusion was duly shattered bythe M4 being closed between two junctions due to a serious accident. Hence we took the 'back route' (which in hindsight was much more interesting) taking about three and a half hours all up.
In Bath we explored the Abbey, a medieval cathedral reknown for its 'Jacobs Ladder ' carved into the entrance facade. This incoporates angels climbing a ladder to heaven with JC sitting at the top. Also looked at the associated museum which relays the history of the building and the associated priory which used to be located nearby.
We wandered across Pulteney Bridge, unique for the fact that it is lined by shop buildings on both sides (a little what I imagine London bridge used to look like way back) and found a little cafe by the riverside. An independent cafe (Hallelujah!! finally something other than a Starbucks or Costas!!!) with great coffee and views of the river.
We then did some serious walking about town, checking out the Sally Lunn house (the Sally Lunn buns are nothing to write home about - so I won't! Suffice to say they aren't worth trying!) and figuring out the other places we wanted to look at on Sunday.
We then checked into our hostel - St Christopher's Inn - on Greene St smack bang in the middle of town.
Later we had a few drinks in town before heading to a Tapas bar just up the road from our hostel. The tapas were yummy, as was the Sangria we flushed them down with. It appears that Bath is spoilt for choice when it comes to eating out...
We then headed back to the departure point for the 'Bizzarre Bath' comedy tour, which began just after dark. The comedy was almost entirely Bath-unrelated, but the city sure made a great backdrop for some of the jokes and stunts pulled off by this chap - it was a laugh a minute, truly entertaining and, true to its name, very 'Bizarre'.
Sunday morning started with breakfast at the hostel followed by a visit to the Roman Baths. It was good we had got up early (we were the firs ones in taht day!) as, upon our exit, people truly started thronging through the building. We spent quite some time there. It was a very interesting flash back to Roman times....the sheer scale of what was the original spa complex must have been quite amazing originally.
We then walked up the hill to the Circus and Royal Crescent, a bunch of flash 17th century apartments comprehensively developed by the same guy and then let out as holiday homes. I think he made a fortune out of it. We looked inside No1 Royal Crescent and checked out the park below.
Next stop was the Building of Bath Museum which was very interesting from a planning perpective. Great explanation of the evolution of various architectural styles that can be seen in the city, in more or less laymans terms.
The grand finale was a Sunday Roast at The Pig, a local student pub. We watched a great game of football while enjoying lunch.
On the way home we checked out one of the 'White Horses', great whopping horse images carved into hillsides and filled out with chalk.
A great weekend all up.....
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