Blogs from Somerset, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 3

Having bought some of the produce from our France Passion spot on Saturday night, first job Sunday morning was to go into the nearby town of Montivilliers to find a cash machine so we could pay for it! Mission accomplished, and honour satisfied, we set off to LeHavre. Not only have we never used this port before, we couldn't remember ever visiting it either! Being a Sunday, it was fairly easy to drive into the centre since most businesses were closed. Parking, too, was no problem, in the big park-like square in front of the Hotel de Ville. Wandering off, we found another square where a bar was open, and a stall selling (among other things) paninis. So that was lunch sorted. After a bit more wandering, became suspicious of the weather's intentions so went back ... read more

Aquae Sulis ... The Romans identified the goddess Aquae Sulis with their goddessMinerva and encouraged her worship. The phenomenon of waters at Bath coming hot and furious out of the ground had explanation ... worship was the solution. This blog is somewhat long. Bath was so wonderful. Definitely worth another visit. Have met a lovely couple in St. Ives who have invited me for a return and I will definitely be inviting them to dinner when I next arrive. The name 'Bath' does not seem to have quite enough elegance for such an elegant city. The train journey from Cardiff via Bristol was an adventure in itself. Football fans were on their way to an afternoon game... the beer was flowing ..the voices were raised... the spirits were high... high also was the number of passengers ... read more

Today we had booked to go to Stonehenge, so we decided to explore Salisbury and Old Sarum while we were in the area. We began at Stonehenge in the visitors centre, which gave some of the history of the development of the stone circle. It is incredible to know that it was begun to be built about 5,500 years ago. At first it was a series of dug circles. The rocks were added later than that, and then they were rearranged and added to further. No one really knows why Stonehenge was built, or what it was used for precisely, but there is evidence it was a burial site of both bodies and cremated people, and that it was built to take advantage and highlight the movement of the sun. The visitors centre is very interesting. ... read more

Today we had planned to visit the Roman Baths, have a swim in the spa, and then go to lunch at the Priory Hotel. After lunch we were hoping to visit the Assembly rooms and do some shopping. After breakfast we set off to arrive at the Roman Baths before it opened at 9am. The line was not too long when we arrived, and soon we had paid and picked up our audio guide. You can go at your own pace, and the audio guide provides lots of information. As you travel through the different parts of the Baths, there are also videos and other information displays. The Baths were discovered and opened up archeologically . They are quite big. Some areas have been renovated and others have just been uncovered for us to see what ... read more

Today we moved on again. It was wonderful to see the sun first thing this morning. Because Bath is not all that far from Crickhowell, we planned our trip so that we could visit Caerphilly Castle and Tintern Abbey on our way to Bath. After driving down different roads again, even though we were going close to places we went yesterday- thanks to the gps- we came to Caerphilly around 11am. This castle is the biggest castle in Wales, and was another of the chain built by Edward 1 to subdue the English. It has huge defences, a double wall and moats, and a number of different gatehouses. There was also a quite large private appartment within the castle as well. We spent about an hour climbing up and down, and looking at the different parts ... read more