Time for Bath (Roman Baths)

---

My last stop for this trip would be Bath, Somerset. I had meant to see the Roman Baths for some time but kept putting it off for other places. One of my Topdeck friends was working in Bath now so it was good opportunity to see her. Equity points hostel gives breakfast which included hard boiled eggs. I got there just in time as it starting filling up as soon as I sat down. I did some people watching and I did notice a large number of international groups at this hostel both European and Asian. This is likely because it is the closest hostel to Paddington which is on the direct line from Heathrow.

I had another hard time sleeping which was due to the beds and the fact I was so hyped up from The Primitives concert so I resolved to sleep on the train. So at 10AM I checked out of the hostel and went to the train station. Replacing the lost ticket cost me 31 pounds but I resolved to be more careful next time and to register my oyster card so that I could get a refund if I lost it next time.

I have always loved trains and I use them whenever I can. The UK has an extensive train system and is an affordable way to get around. I was very tired at this point due to lack of sleep over the last few days and a precious hour of sleep on the train kept me going. I pulled into Bath SPA station at 12:15PM and after buying a ticket to the airport for tomorrow I was off to find Bath Backpackers hostel. Bath is a small city so it only took me 5 minutes from train station to get to the hostel.

Bath Backpackers is a small hostel that is an old building and I was a bit early for check in but they let me drop off my backpack. The hostel was not that crowded and the first person I met in this hostel actually worked there. Hulin was a lady from central China. She studied at Exeter and was heading back to China in a few weeks but was working in the hostel on one of those work/accommodation exchanges. I can't remember the website she said she used but it seemed like a good arrangement if you need short term accommodations. After a brief wait I was off for my final catchup of my trip, Brooke from my topdeck bus.

Bath is easy to navigate and you can always orient yourself using the Bath Abbey which towers over most buildings. One of my English friends, Kelly recommended a place called Boston Tea Party. This is where I would meet Brooke. I got there a bit early and sat down and watched some street theatre as some homeless people started to shout each other before one of them suggested they lower their voices and go to another street. I waited outside of Boston Tea Party for Brooke who was coming from a nearby Bed and Breakfast.

Some background on Brooke. I met her on my Topdeck Tour 16 months earlier. I spoke to her early on the tour but we didn't interact that much on the tour. Our longest conversation was probably on the bus ride back to London when we spoke on how we hadn't gotten to know each other that well. We both concluded it was the luck of the draw because with 48 people on that bus you can't interact with everyone extensively. I did manage to have one conversation with everyone on that bus but there were a number of people I wished I had gotten to know better. Brooke was near the top of that list so I was glad we could arrange this catchup. Brooke is from Australia but has been traveling around the world for the last few years working and seeing places. Sometimes I wish I had that life, just wandering about.

Shortly after 1:30PM Brooke arrived and I will say she is as tall as I remember her with that same friendly smile. We sat down to our meal of Reuben sandwich and Jerk Chicken and fries. The food was good and I was glad for the recommendation. We chatted about the topdeck tour and the people who were on it. I filled Brooke on our mutual friends that I had met with earlier in the year. Brooke also told me about her previous job which was being a nanny and English teacher in Prague and how she had gotten her current job in Bath a few months earlier.

After eating Brooke started the tour of Bath which she was familiar with. Bath has beautiful architecture and I was impressed by Royal Crescent which reminds me a lot of Buckingham palace and built on Georgian architecture. There are some very large trees in this area and looked like they have been there for centuries and their branches seem to cover over the roundabout they are on. We wandered over to the Bath Abbey which I had passed by earlier in the day. I would have gone up the Abbey tower but it was not allowed that day because it was Sunday.

We than walked along the river and over the covered bridge in the city. Brooke pointed out the bridge to me or else I would have completely missed it. Brooke said at I should try clotted cream tea which is a specialty in the area. We wandered around for a bit before we settled in a tea shop. So it was afternoon tea with scones, clotted cream and jam. It was tasty cream but the scones were a bit hard but I was enjoying them but Brooke insisted my first experience with clotted cream tea should be perfect and got us fresh scones (Hurray for Brooke). It was a great tea experience and I resolved to find a good clotted cream tea shop in Canada.

We than went to visit Brooke's bed and breakfast. I can't remember the name of the place now but it was a high end place with fancy decorations everywhere and the best rooms were about 200 pounds. Someday, maybe I will stay in a place like that. Brooke and the rest of the staff lived in the basement. I mentioned earlier that Brooke is quite tall and that is a bit of drawback for her basement room as multiple spots required her to duck to avoid smacking her head on a wall. I could imagine she has hit her head a few times now and if she is reading this I remember now a tall friend of mine in college used to put bubble wrap on the spots he was most likely to hit to avoid injuring himself.

We were out of time at this point because Brooke had to go back to work. I will say about Brooke she is wonderful company and I was correct in my view on her that she is a person I wanted to get to know better. So I was quite glad of this catchup and sad to part ways and I hope our paths cross again someday 😊.

Now it was time for the touristy part of Bath (Roman Baths). I got there at 5PM and paid the 14 pounds fee. The ladies at admission said 1.5 hours is the usual amount of time needed to see it so I would have to move quickly. I got the audio headphones which give details on what you are seeing. This is useful because it gives more detail than what is written on the displays. The Roman baths consists of several floors and the large pool of water. It was an impressive display of Roman architecture and had a lot artifacts. I hate to say this but I found it disappointing. I am not sure if I had too high expectations or was just tired but I just didn't connect with this place. So I left after about 45 minutes and went back to the hostel.

Got back to Bath Backpackers and didn't have much to do. Someone did suggest a concert but upon closer inspection the concert was actually last week. We ended up watching Wolverine the movie before I retired for the evening. Tomorrow it was time to go home.

I will say this trip had more than a few bumps than normal for my trips. The 3 hostels I chose were relatively cold for various reasons and it was harder to meet people. It was quite possible I felt this way because I only spent 1 day in each hostel so maybe I am judging too harshly. Anyway another trip done and a few more parts of the world to scratch off my scratch map.

So in closing Bath and Dublin are well worth the visit.

---

Photos

Brooke and I
This great lady was good enough to show me around