Travelling with Mum (but not yet)

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I've just begun another adventure, but this time with a different companion. Nathan has been left at home to walk the dog and Leanne is earning money. That leaves me to travel with Mum. We flew into Heathrow this morning but straight away parted ways. Mum went to visit her friend Carol for 6 days and that gives me 6 days to check out the South of England before we meet up again and continue our trip through England, Italy and Croatia.

So day one has been in Bath, a place I've wanted to see for a long time. I'm glad to say that it is as charming as I had hoped. The town was originally a Roman resort. You know how they liked a bath! Well, some Roman found a stinky, muddy marsh and decided to find the source of the moisture. It turned out to be three springs which were turned into 9 baths of different temperatures. But that was thousands of years ago. The town had a renaissance in the Georgian era when the well-to-do decided to copy what the Romans did all that time ago. Not all 9 baths were excavated, but a lot of building took place to revamp the city.

There was an architect called John Wood and he obviously liked his name, because he gave it to his son as well. Well, he started building three-story townhouses out of limestone from the nearby hills. They were a hit. So, he stuck with the idea and built hundreds more that look very similar. When John Wood Senior died, John Wood Junior took over. There are some very famous ones. In particular, a circle of them called the circus and another semicircle called the Royal Crescent. These places were the hottest AirBnBs in the 18th century. You had to book up to a year in advance.

I would have liked to go into the Georgian building that contains the baths, but you need to book in advance. Instead, I did a great walking tour. Then I had time for a visit to the abbey. There were some great singers and musicians in there. I was really impressed with the choir and soloists. Later in the evening, they performed a concert. So I got to see the final rehearsal as a bonus.

The other thing I'll say about Bath is that it is surrounded by hills, but that didn't stop them from building canals that are elevated from the river. I walked up a big hill to get to my hostel and was amazed to find a canal halfway up the hill. The lochs are very simple in design, but effective.

Tomorrow I have to get to St. Ives. But there is a rail strike that affects services. I've seen the people at the train station, who are as helpful as they can be. Cross your fingers for me and hope that I get there tomorrow.

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Photos

Overlooking the town
Near my hostel at the top of the hill

Canal Boats
Some look comfortable. Others look like this.

Royal Crescent
30 residences made to look like one big palace!