DIARY OF AN ADVENTURER: THE VALLEY OF THE BATHS

larissajodee
Jun 14, 2015
3 min read

Katie and I went for a day trip to Bath. It is such a pretty old style town with all original buildings, many of which have had to be restored after the Bath Blitz in 1942. There is so much history from the Roman times, which I found extremely interesting.

The Romans arrived in Bath and found a spring. They decided that the water had healing properties and built the baths and a temple. By the 1800's work spread that sick people could come to soak in and drink the water and it would heal them. In 1987 Bath became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

When we first arrived in Bath, Katie took me up Alexandra Hill where we could look out over the whole town. We could see for miles around and how much the city has grown since the baths were first discovered there. Bath is basically situated in a valley surrounded by hills.

We went inside the old Roman Baths and Museum. It had so much history on display about the whole original Roman Baths which was basically a small city, with the Roman Temple and Sacred Spring, which was below the current ground level. The whole complex was so full of information and really interesting. There was a few old parts of the temple still standing as well as bits that had been found in excavation. Unfortunatley, the Bath Blitz destroyed most of the site.

The rain water travels down natural limestone aquifers from the surrounding hills to to about 4,300 metres deep where geothermal energy raises the water temperature to between 69 and 96 °C. Under pressure, the heated water rises to the surface along fissures and faults in the limestone and bubbles to the surface in the baths.

The Ancient Baths, Bath | larissajodee BLOG

After the Baths, we did a free walking tour of the city. I wasn't realy sure of what else there was to see in Bath, beside the Baths, but was plesantly surprised with the history of the city. We saw The Circus, a street of houses which had a roundabout in the middle, and the houses all follow it around in a circular pattern. It was built with the same measurements as Stonehedge!

We also saw the Royal Cresent, a row of 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping crescent, built over 250 years ago. The majority of the buildings are made out of Bath Stone, a limestone with a warm, honey like colour - it looked so pretty!

The tour also took us to Bath Abbey, founded in the 7th century. On the outside of the entrance way is two ladders where there are angels climbing up and down ladders, symbolising the gateway to heaven. Our final stop was Pulteney Bridge which crosses the River Avon. It was completed in 1774, and is known for having shops built across its full span on both sides. The bridge is 45 metres long and 18 metres wide. There is a weir below, a barrier designed to alter the flow of water, as the river spilts into two here. This is another UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the architecture used.

As we headed back for the train, we stumbeled across a place called Sally Lunn's Historic Eating House and Museum. Being totally curious, Katie and I decided to check it out. Apparently we had just stumbled upon the birthplace of the Sally Lunn. Apparently a young French refugee called Solange Luyon came to Bath in 1680 after escaping persecution in France. She found work in the kitchen of the bakery and began baking her 'Sally Lunn'. The problem with this is that it is not the same Sally Lunn that we have in NZ, it doesn't have rasins, pink icing, or a coconut coating. Instead it is described as as it is part bun, part bread, part cake - almost like a brioche!