Blogs from Bath, Somerset, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 9

Our extended, globetrotting exploits may have reached their conclusion a long time ago, but as many of you may know, James is determined to keep up the travel writing in one way or another. I've pretty much given up on the delusion of making a career out of it - my two weeks working on the travel desk at the Independent was a great experience, but didn't really lead anywhere. However, I still gain a great deal of pleasure from the writing process, so I'm determined to keep it up, even if it's only as a hobby. In order to get a bit more exposure, and feedback from people in the know, I'm going to be publishing most of my stuff from now on, here - www.simonseeks.com. They have higher standards, and there's more rules and ... read more

Panorama - Bath Circus...and not an elephant in sight! Day 13-15 Today I'm off to Bath, an historical town where England's only source of hot springs are found. The Romans knew a good thing 1900 years ago and turned it into a day spa for the well-to-do. The original foundations can be seen of the baths under the later modifications. Quite an interesting place to visit and in the cold weather, it's very tempting to jump in to warm up. But it was hands off, or out, in this instance. There are new baths built about 100 metres away but it is a bit pricey for a dip when they want to fleece you of 22 quid for 2 hours. Bath is a tourist town, no mistaking that, and it's extremely pretty. Beautiful gardens and well ... read more

A weekend trip to Bath is always a nice, relaxing escape from London...except when the Bath Half Marathon is on. Stupidly I entered into this half marathon, which attracts about 10,000 people each year. There was both good and bad things about the run. The good thing is that Bath, and the surrounding area, is very flat, making for a relatively easy course. The bad thing was that the very narrow cobblestone streets of town don't make for a very comfortable first couple of miles of the race before the course hits the open road. The day before the race, we did the free two hour walking tour of Bath. The tour is run by volunteers, who have all spent considerable time in Bath and are very passionate about the town. Our guide tells us what ... read more

Exciting news, mum and dad arrived in London end of November and what a perfect excuse to see more of the English countryside! This is our adventure to Somerset and The Cotswolds… Mum and Dad had been exploring the North East of England, visiting areas and towns ancestors had lived in. On the Friday evening they swung back through London and picked Kristi up for the trip up to Bath. We had hired a cottage about 15 minutes out of Bath and it was very quaint, set on a farm. After a drive up to Bath and then through dark, misty hills and then missing the turn off once or twice we finally made it and were pleasantly surprised by the two bedroom cottage and its charming character. The following day we headed into Bath, somewhere ... read more

We made it. After 2 flights and 1 bus and 0 sleep, we finally arrived in Bath at 11:00 am. With no hotel to check into yet, we stored our bags and set off to see the sights. We visited the Bath Abby and the Royal Crescent and Royal Circus (previously only seen in our architecture books) The Royal Crescent is also one of Johnny Depp's homes! We also took a walking tour sponsored by the City of Bath (free!) to get some of the history of the area. After a good night's sleep, we got up early Monday morning and caught a bus tour to Stonehenge, Avebury Stone Circles (bigger than Stonehenge), and 2 small quaint villages - Lacock and Castle Coombe. Pride and Prejudice was filmed in Lacock. Tomorrow we are taking another bus ... read more