We were greeted this morning by Daniel Hancock from Bath Insider Tours. He was our guide for a Walking Tour of Bath, but it turned out to be not just a walking tour. We were driven to Alexandra Park with a large overlook of the city. Dan pointed out many points of interest: University of Bath, the Roman ruins, and where Peter Gabriel could lived. He even told us that he went to school with Peter Gabriel's children and that Peter Gabriel still has a studio in the city. He pointed to areas that we were going to go visit on the walking part of the tour, such as the Crescent, the Abbey and the Roman Baths.
On the drive back into the city, Dan pointed out the Jane Austin House. We stopped to see "The Circus". This is not to say we saw horses and clowns. "The Circus" means oval or circle and is a ring of large townhouses around a park. It was designed in the Georgian style in the mid 1700s by the very well known architect John Wood, the elder, although he did not see it to completion due to his death.
Dan continued our tour of the city by taking us to The Royal Crescent. The Royal Crescent is a row of houses built in a crescent design around a large Park overlooking the city. "The Royal Crescent, one of Bath’s most iconic landmarks, was built between 1767 and 1775 and designed by John Wood the Younger." This is an area for the most wealthy. No one is allowed to walk in the crescent park unless you live in the townhouses. We were able to watch it very wealthy man walk his two dogs. He was one of the homeowners who had access to the gate. Dan pointed to where many of the Bridgerton scenes were filmed in this area. He pulled out his iPad to show us some of the actual buildings and the characters associated with them.
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The next part of the tour was on foot. As we walked, Dan told us all the history of the Roman baths. We stopped to look at them from the riverside. He then led us over the Pulteney Bridge, an historic bridge over the Avon River. It is one of the four bridges in the world lined with shops on either side. We had actually walked over it the night before not realizing it was a bridge. Dan showed us a video of a step van actually crashing into the ancient bannister of the bridge and knocking it over into the river. The bridge has been repaired but you can still see where it was hit.
We then walked to the street near our hotel and gathered on the small median in the middle of the street while Dan pointed to the Holburne Museum as this was one of the places that had been used in the Bridgerton series. He also told us a brief history of the area and how some of the parks were named. |
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While walking through the center area of Bath, Dan stopped in front of the store to tell us about some famous Foods that Bath is known for including the Bath Oliver biscuit. He then pulled a package out of his bag and shared one of these crackers with each of us along with a piece of cheddar cheese also from Bath. The tour continued past a medieval wall of the city to the center where The Roman Baths and the Abbey are located. As he left us, Dan pointed out the location of the Sally Lunn Restaurant. This was another food item that Bath is known for and actually has a connection to Richmond Va.
Mary Ellen, Linda C., and Victoria, and I ate lunch at Sally Lunn Restaurant. The restaurant is in a very old house and we were seated on the top floor. Three of us ordered the same sandwich. I don't think I have ever seen buns quite that big. On the way out, Mary Ellen and I took a quick look around the Sally Lunn Museum that was housed in the basement. We met up with the other ladies and watch a very good fiddler player while we waited for our entry time to the Roman Baths. |
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The rest of the day we explored The Roman Baths.
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e ate dinner that night at a Cappadocia Mediterranean Restaurant it was quite good. We were all very excited about the next day as we were going to see Stonehenge.