Last October, my boss told me that we were going to visit Bath in the UK for business. I have to admit that it was the first time I had heard of it and I thought to myself, where the hell are we going 🙄. My curiosity got the better of me and I immediately looked online to see where Bath was and what it had to offer. Today I am grateful for the opportunity!
Let's start at the beginning. Bath is a fascinating city in the southwest of England, about 200 kilometres west of London. It's famous for its natural hot springs, Roman history, stunning Georgian architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We left Ljubljana airport in the afternoon and landed in London in the evening. Then we took a train to Bath. When we arrived at the hotel it was 1am. Luckily for us, the bar in the hotel was still open. After a tiring journey, we had to have a beer and a cider to finish the day in style and for the start of the working week 😋.
Beautiful view over Bled (Slovenia)
After finishing our official duties, we immediately wandered around the city and started exploring Bath. We didn't really have much time, but we tried to make good use of. We walked through the streets and quickly found ourselves in the city centre. Fortunately, the distances are not big, everything is in walking distance.
Bath Abbey is a magnificent Gothic church in the heart of Bath city centre. It is one of the city's most famous landmarks and a popular tourist destination.
The church dates from the 7th century and is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The shape of the present church dates back to the 12th century. It was built in Gothic style with high arches and stained-glass windows. The facade of the church is decorated with scenes from the Bible and local history. The tower, which stands more than 160 metres high, offers breath-taking views of Bath and the surrounding area. Unfortunately, there was no time to climb it.
We walked to the River Avon, which runs through the town, to see another tourist attraction that we couldn't miss, the Pulteney Bridge. It is also one of the most iconic landmarks of Bath. It was completed in 1774 and it is one of only four bridges in the world to have shops built along its full span on both sides.
The bridge is named after Frances Pulteney, who owned the land on which it was built. The bridge was originally designed to serve as a grand entrance to the city, with shops on both sides and apartments above them. It has been featured in numerous films and television shows, and is considered one of the most photographed bridges in the UK.
Here I spotted a restaurant with an interesting name, HIVE restaurant & bar 😊
On the second day of our visit, the organiser of our meeting went out of his way to surprise us pleasantly. He organised an evening at the Roman Baths just for our group, at a time when there were no other visitors. Priceless indeed, the Roman Baths just for us, without crowds, in a relaxed atmosphere where we could really feel the greatness of the place in peace.
The Roman Baths are a major tourist attraction in Bath and one of the best-preserved examples of a Roman bath complex in the world. The baths were built by the Romans over 2000 years ago to take advantage of the natural hot springs in the area.
The complex has several rooms and pools, including the Great Bath, which is the main pool where visitors can see the natural hot water gushing from the ground. The water in the Big Bath has a temperature of around 46°C and contains minerals such as sulphate and calcium. Fortunately, there was no smell of sulphur in the air 😊.
The view of the spa was really breath-taking in the evening - the night, the lights, the water and the beautiful architecture mingling with each other really left me full of impressions.
I was most impressed by the laconicum, which is a type of heated room that was used for dry heat therapy, similar to today's saunas. The laconicum was heated by a central heating system with hot air circulating under the floor and walls of the room. The temperature in the laconicum could reach 70°C, creating a hot and dry environment that encouraged sweating and detoxification.
We were also honoured to have the Mayor of Bath speaking as a part of the event, and he is the 789th Mayor of Bath in the city's history 😮.
As I walked around, the walls of the building showed scenes of life from Roman times. When I first saw it from a distance, I thought there were people dressed in the clothes of the time, but I was wrong.
We were also served a delicious dinner where we were able to try some typical English dishes such as Shepard's Pie and fish polpette, yummy.
The evening was quickly over and on the way to our hotel, we also had a quick look at the Royal Crescent. It's a set of 30 terraced houses that form a crescent shape overlooking the beautiful Royal Victoria Park. The Royal Crescent is considered one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the world. Many of the houses have now been converted into luxury apartments.
The working days passed quickly and, like true tourists, we visited a few pubs in the evening and tried some excellent local beers and ciders. I prefer wine, but you know, you have to blend in 😉.
I know that in this short time I have not seen everything Bath has to offer, but it was more than just a tasting. Bath is a wonderful historic city worth visiting, offering a unique blend of ancient and modern culture that makes it a popular tourist destination.
Thanks for reading,
feel free to leave a comment, I will be glad to reply to.
Best regards, @miljo76
