Roman Baths in Bath

This past Saturday we went a road trip with our Swedish neighbors, Elin, Magnus and Rebecka to Bath, England. Bath is where the only natural hot springs is located in England, and the Romans set up an elaborate bath house around the springs, to enjoy the warm and supposedly healing powers of the water. These bath rooms were built over 2,000 years ago, and to this day, a good portion of the original stone and lead used to build the baths are still functioning. Now you can't actually go into the baths that still have water, as the water is untreated and quite green looking. But we can see how the Romans built the plumbing and architecture. Then over the years, the bath houses have been worked on, and so you can see the layers of architectural history. Bath is also a charming town for modern shopping and restaurants. The River Avon flows through the city, the Bath Abbey is located directly across from the Bath houses, and renown architects have built amazing buildings here, including the Royal Crescent building and the Circus.

We started by walking by the Royal Crescent and the Circus, on our way to the History of Costume Museum and Assembly Rooms (which weren't Brian's faves). We had a tea break, and then visited the Roman Baths for quite some time. Next was a stop in the Bath Abbey where a local musical group was practicing for their evening concert, and it was lovely to hear music in the vaulted worship area. I also noticed how this worship area had so much natural light coming in. Many of the chuches and chapels around here can feel very dark and damp, as the stained glass work doesn't let it much natural light. But the Bath Abbey must have been built with this in mind, and allowed a lot of clear glass so light could get through.

We then walked along the river Avon and stopped for dinner at a small cafe. It was a wonderful day and didn't feel rushed. We were back home by 8ish and had time to pop in a movie and relax for the evening.