Aaahhhh...Bath! What a beautiful place and lovely surrounding countryside.
After dealing with transport delays getting to Paddington station (train strikes etc) we hopped aboard our Great Western Railways carriage and got comfy. An hour and a half later and we were in beautiful Bath. Although a little wet to drag our suitcases through cobbled streets we did it and arrived at the Abbey Hotel relieved just a short walk away from the station. These old buildings that have been converted to hotels are quite quirky: Take the lift to 2nd floor; turn right & go through the door; walk along the passage and go up 1 step; turn right & go through the door & down the stairs; up 2 steps & through the door to the end of the passage. That was easy!!
I was just a bit excited to find that our hotel was just metres away from Sally Lunn's Eating House. And I was hungry!! So Sally Lunn's buns had to be sampled. Yummm!
Having substantially refuelled and with daylight hours running short we hit the streets. First stop was beautiful Bath Abbey with so much beauty and history and bells that they actually ring (not the case everywhere). Of course no visit to Bath is complete without a visit to the Roman Baths. Dating back thousands of years to early Roman occupation of the lands, the buildings have been (and continue to be) lovingly restored/maintained. You can even sample some of the healing waters (did it cure my cold??? Hmmm). Bath is set in a valley so we climbed upwards in search of some of the town's historic streets and buildings. At the highest point that we were brave enough to climb to we found The Crescent, one of the most expensive streets of real estate in town, with Johnny Depp & Nicholas Cage as just a couple of its more well known and ridiculously wealthy residents/past residents.
As the light dimmed and the night closed in we made our way downhill through some beautiful streets and prettily lit squares. We crossed Pulteney Bridge (inspired by the Ponte Vecchio in Florence) with quaint little shops either side. The river itself was beautiful, flanked by lovely parks and centuries old trees.
I finished the night with a bucket list item...A Bath in Bath...lovely...
