Bath

As part of our Stonehenge tour, we also spent some time in Bath. Jane Austen fans will be very familiar with this area of England. We had a picnic lunch at the Royal Crescent, which is a semicircle of majestic houses overlooking a private lawn and public park. Back in Jane Austen's day, these houses would have been rented for the season by wealthy socialites. Currently, Nicholas Cage owns one of these exclusive addresses but sadly, we did not run into him. 

The Bath Abbey was built in 1499 on the site of the 7th Century cathedral. It is made out of beautiful honey-gold stones local to the area. They were used in the construction of most buildings giving the town a cohesive, coordinated look.

The Abbey was built by Bishop Oliver King, who was inspired to build it after seeing a vision of angels climbing up to heaven which you can see in the sculpture rendition below. 

Since it was Sunday we weren't able to go inside the abbey, which made me pretty sad because the outside was beautiful.

In 1880, sewer diggers discovered remains of the original Roman Baths. Victorian architects added to what was still there, which made the new building more of a vision of Roman life from the Victorian perspective. 

After discovering the natural thermal waters, the Romans named the town Aquae Sulis in AD 44 and built the extensive baths as a temple to the goddess Sulis-Minerva. 

These "waters of Bath" stay at a constant temperature of 114 degrees Fahrenheit. When the Romans left the town faded from the map and dwindled into a generic trading town.

Bath became a popular place once again when Beau Nash became Master of Ceremonies in 1705. Already a popular person among the wealthy, in his new position he revitalised spa culture, organised entertainment, and even came up with a dress code. 

As the 18th Century wore on, Nash lost his influence and sea bathing overtook Bath in popularity as a trendy destination. 

I enjoyed seeing all the buildings in Bath, which are very aesthetically pleasing as they are all similar coloured stones. Since we were on a tour, we didn't have as much time in the town as I'd like. I hope to go back and see more of the town, especially the inside of the abbey.