The last stop on my trip to England were The Roman Baths in Bath. If you follow my blog, you know I have visited the Imperial Roman Baths in Trier, Germany. But these are essentially ruins and we only visited the outside of the ruins. The Roman Baths in Bath are very much intact and we had the opportunity to go inside and pretend we were spa goers back in the day. I was excited to visit Bath. First, you can walk through the museum which houses a multitude of Roman artifacts. Get your camera ready, because photos are allowed everywhere here!
The Romans Baths were used daily and weekly for ancient people to get clean, socialize, and relax. The source was the local hot springs, which they would use to fuel the different sections of the bath house. The Celts revered the goddess Sulis (and you will see statues of this near the baths) and they equated her to the Roman goddess, Minerva (goddess of wisdom). So often you can see her being called Sulis Minerva. The baths were originally built around 44 A.D. but only later discovered by English archaeologists in the later 19th century. These baths are special because they are known to be the biggest and most complete representation. Like Stonehenge, Bath is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wow, I really went to two of those in one day?
Above you get to see an image of Gorgon's Head, The Spring Overflow ( made with lead pipes), some of the different bath rooms, and the last bath picture you can see the Abbey poking out from the top. At the end of the tour in the Pump Room you can try some of the spring water which is suppose to be curative. I've learned my lesson about drinking the "curative waters" from my trip to Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic ;)
Below is the town of Bath. I wish we would have had some time to explore the city itself. I understand there are some other cool things to do there like visit the Abbey, the Jane Austen Centre, the Theatre, and the Gardens. Our tour guide even told us that Nicholas Cage lives there and possibly Johnny Depp has a home there? Plus, Bonnie Rose from A Compass Rose lives there. Perhaps she would know? Before we hopped back on the bus we did try a traditional Cornish Pasty filled with meat and vegetables. The bakery worker said they had won some sort of prize for this dish and they were closing in 5 minutes so we got like four different pastries for like 3GBP. Win and win.
Wanting to take a dip in the Baths? Well you can, sort of. Apparently you can have a spa day in the Thermae Bath Spa, which is a new addition. Packages can be found here.
The Roman Baths, Abbey Church Yard
Bath, BA1 1LZ
Tel: +44 (0)1225 477785
Fax: +44 (0)1225 477743
Email: romanbaths_enquiries@bathnes.gov.uk
Miss a part of this trip? There are four other parts to our trip to England that you can find here:
London (Day 1)|London (Day 2)|Windsor Castle|Stonehenge
Have you visited any of these places? Do you have a favorite?
Bath, BA1 1LZ
Tel: +44 (0)1225 477785
Fax: +44 (0)1225 477743
Email: romanbaths_enquiries@bathnes.gov.uk
Miss a part of this trip? There are four other parts to our trip to England that you can find here:
London (Day 1)|London (Day 2)|Windsor Castle|Stonehenge
Have you visited any of these places? Do you have a favorite?
Linking up at:
oh my gosh, Cornish pasties!!! my favorite british food item!
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely on my bucket list!
ReplyDeleteOn my bucket list ever since I could spell Jane Austen ;))))
ReplyDeleteI lived here for a semester my Sophomore year in college and loved it! Part of my heart is still there. Bath is an amazing town - so much history.
ReplyDeleteI loved walking around Bath too! The town is such a cute little town. :) My only other experience with baths were in Budapest, where we went to the Széchenyi Thermal Baths. I may have to post about that experience. It was so fun! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to make it to Budapest either this year or next year!
DeleteSo beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLooks like such an interesting site to visit! I would love to check Bath and the Baths out sometime. :) The spa day sounds absolutely fantastic.
ReplyDelete-Elle
https://itsaromanthing.wordpress.com/
Absolutely, if we would have had more time, I would have loved to go to the spa!
Deletethanks for taking us to the Roman Baths in Bath. We visited here way back in 2005 and I bought a pottery souvenir. Did you enjoy the Cornish pasties - some are delicious and some not so - depending on where you buy them! Happy travels and have a wonderful weekend. I am linking up to you through "oh the places I've been'.
ReplyDeleteHi Jill, I didn't think the traditional pasty was amazing or anything, but my husband did. I think there were some more provocative flavors I could have tried like the cheese and onion and I think they had like BLT or something.
DeleteThanks for the tour! Been to England many times but never made it to Bath. I need to put it on my travel list! I love Cornish pasties too! Funny but pasties originally were created as for the miners - sounds like the recipe has changed a bit with all the cheese and extras.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favourite cities! Did you get to visit the Spa? It's supposed to be incredible! :)
ReplyDeleteI want to go! Looks like a beautiful & interesting place.
ReplyDeleteI went to Bath this summer and absolutely loved it. My husband loved the Roman baths and I just loved soaking up the atmosphere of the city. I could see myself having a relaxed holiday week (or month!) there once I cross a few more trips off my list! :)
ReplyDeleteThe photos look kind of eerie... I'm so amazed by such historic sites, it always makes me wonder what people will find of us in the years to come.
ReplyDeleteThe photos do look kind of eerie now that I think about it. Must be because of the time of day. I think that's cool!
Deletethat was a fun tour..I almost feel like jumping into the waters just to see how nice and hot they are....thanks for sharing this today.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post! I love England but have never been to Bath - as a Jane Austen fan this is a must-(and the Johnny Depp connection also- woopee) thanks for the great info! On the ever growing bucket-save the travel points list
ReplyDeleteYes the tour guide said it was rumored that Jonny Depp bought a house there or was buying a house there but who knows.
DeleteI only know of Bath through Jane Austen and various biographies. Those pies are very much like the fruit pies like we had in Tennessee. So many of the British/Irish/Scottish traditions were kept in Appalachian communities.
ReplyDeleteFascinating ...very enjoyable to read about your trip ! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb!
DeleteBath is my favorite city ever. There's something about the architecture, the history, the streets, the Circus…everything that I adore. Also, the angel climbing down Jacob's Ladder on the abbey gets me every time. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's been many years since I visited Bath, England. Thanks for the trip back. '-)
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteGot to go to England and Scotland in 1983. It was one of two dreams I had had all my life up to then. The other was to own my own piano but gave that up. I went alone for four weeks and loved every minute of the trip. Got to see everything I wanted to see and then some. One of my wants was to see Bath. The whole city but especially the baths. I made what was to be a brief stop in Bristol - wanted to see where the pirates came from. Unfortunately, I locked my keys in my car, on a Sunday, very early in the morning and Bristol closes up tight on Sundays. Took RAC (Royal Automobile Club) over five hours to get to me. Didn't get to see Bristol and missed most of my time in Bath. Very little of the baths were open to the public back then but I did see some of it. It was dark by the time I was finished (September/October) and I had to walk back to my B&B. And there in the distance, just off to left, I saw a light. It was a fish and chip shop (how unusual!!!). The day certainly ended better than it started. I had the best fish and chips I have ever had, even up to this day. Small place, mostly for take-out, two small tables and a few chairs. I was the only one in the shop, he was to close in a half hour so I said I would take it to go. When he heard my accent (I had to explain to him that Canadians don't have accents! heh heh) he wanted to chat and decided to stay open. He tried to give me the dreaded "mushy peas". Yuck! Though he had spoken to Canadians before me, he had never had a chance to actually have a chat. So we sat there and chatted and then he called some of his mates and before I knew it the place was packed with all his friends and their wives, he shut up the shop and we all sat there for three hours chatting. They wanted to know all about Canada, what I was doing in England, what I had seen, where was I going. I had a blast!
Thanks for bringing back my memories.
Cathy
Wow, I too believe that taking the time to do some solo travel is a great idea. It lets you learn a lot about yourself and what you are capable of. Sounds like you had a great time in Bath. What a unique experience. Glad I could bring back some memories :)
DeleteOne of my favourite places. Its just so serene if you can get a time when you can be alone.........you can imagine the Romans just luxuriating in the baths. Its like you are with them, and you look up to see the statues looking down. Then you come back to reality when someone else wanders through............
ReplyDeleteJanice
Great info. Always look forward to finding a post by you at Inspired Sunday Link Party @ Sunday View
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan, I appreciate it!
DeleteGreat tour! I studied the baths a bit in college, and it always amazes me what they were able to build back then. Must be nice to be a movie star and have a house there, huh? Thanks so much for linking this to the History & Home Link Party. Take care - Dawn @ We Call It Junkin.com
ReplyDeleteLove the photo of the baths with the night sky in the background. Superb. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Jan!
DeleteI was wondering if they let people get in and enjoy the water, so thanks for including the information about the Thermae Bath Spa. These Roman baths look so different from the bath houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum. That photo with the darkening sky is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI never made it to see the baths when I was in England. Pure loveliness! Thank you for sharing at the Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Hope to see your prettiness again on Monday! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff!! Roman bath is like an Royal bath...Thanks for sharing wonderful article based on that.
ReplyDeleteTo bad you could not take a dip. The Cornish pastry reminds me of what the Finish call pasties, same filling. Thanks for sharing weekly on Tuesdays With a Twist, have you thought a YouTube channel? I'd subscribe.
ReplyDeleteYes they are call the same thing in England. I don't have a YouTube channel but Thanks for asking. I think I'd be too weirded out by hearing myself talk lol
DeleteThe Roman Baths look beautiful! Thanks for sharing the pictures. I've never been to England, but it looks like a great place to visit.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Roman Baths! I was only in Bath for long enough to visit the Roman Baths, but would love to go back to wander around the city more!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I never read or seen a real roman bath before and I would love to visit it and take a dip there someday..
ReplyDelete