After almost killing myself scanning for the past 3 weeks in the hospital, I requested for a couple days off this week and dragged Matt kicking and screaming to Bath; the ANCIENT HEALING AND THERAPEUTIC SPA city. The place is prehistoric ancient, even stone-age ancient. Of course I am referring to the Roman Baths:I figure, if the place is good for Kings
Queens , rich,
poor and lepers
then it will be good for me and Matt too.
Interestingly, Britain has a "Britain in Bloom" competition which as the name suggests, awards a price to the prettiest town during spring. Bath has been banned from this competition because it has won it so many times that the competition was becoming a formality :).
It did take a bit of effort to convince Matt to go to the Spa with me, a good nag at breakfast each morning and more nagging at night finally won him over.
It did take a bit of effort to convince Matt to go to the Spa with me, a good nag at breakfast each morning and more nagging at night finally won him over.The current operating spa is a 4 level modern building built (as are many business in Bath) within an historic building.
The spa still uses the same natural thermal water used by the Roman Baths. The theory is that rainfall around 10,000 years ago sank to a depth of about 2km below the earth's surface and was there heated by high temperature rocks in the earth before rising back up through a break in the limestone that lies beneath the city of Bath. It must have been a very very heavy rain, coz over 1 million litres of mineral-rich 45°C water flows from the thermal springs each day, and there is no sign of it subsiding. (http://www.thermaebathspa.com/index.html)
We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly in the spa center running up and down the building sampling different saunas (Lavender, Jasmine and Eucalyptus scented) and the two spa pools like little kids. Perhaps the highlight is the awesome shower which is positioned in the centre of the saunas which threatens to turn you into pulp (well, slight exaggeration, but what a shower).
Abbey Church opens onto the same square as the Roman Baths.
I especially liked the two ladders on either side of the entrance. If you look closely you can see angels climbing towards the Lord - well all angels but one - Lucifer who is climbing down.
The marvelous windows inside the church earned it the title 'Lantern of the West'.
We managed to squeeze a short tour into our break to visit the Stonehenge - look, non-matching beanies!!!
Now this place used to be quite forrested, but when the early settlers moved in, those darned annoying trees were removed. A consequence of this is there is nothing to alleviate the bone-chilling wind that threatens to ice your very soul. Look, even the rocks are huddling together for warmth...
While on this tour we were treated with a few little stories
but unfortunately were unable to get as many photos as we'd have liked for illustration. However, one little snippet was the how the phrase "blind drunk" came about. Through a number of the villages we passed through during the tour, there were these single-room huts with not even a slit as a window so were pitch black when shut up. The room comprised of a bed and a privy as shown right. The town sherif would throw a waylaid drunk in these huts overnight to sober up. Of course, when the drunk was let out in the morning, the sunlight was blinding.
The tour also brought to a village called LACOCK. I'm sure the French will chuckle over the name. But then, perhaps they named it given the village was founded around the time of the Norman invasion. The town experienced an economical boom through the wool trade for about 4 centuries from the 1300's but then was largely left behind and consequently became a lovely snapshot of bygone eras.
The village was donated to the National Trust and all but a few tenants rent. Because of it's historical significance, there are restrictions in place to what tenants can do. You'll not see a TV antenna here. But you will see important pieces of information such as the words towards the bottom of this sign:
The spa still uses the same natural thermal water used by the Roman Baths. The theory is that rainfall around 10,000 years ago sank to a depth of about 2km below the earth's surface and was there heated by high temperature rocks in the earth before rising back up through a break in the limestone that lies beneath the city of Bath. It must have been a very very heavy rain, coz over 1 million litres of mineral-rich 45°C water flows from the thermal springs each day, and there is no sign of it subsiding. (http://www.thermaebathspa.com/index.html)
We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly in the spa center running up and down the building sampling different saunas (Lavender, Jasmine and Eucalyptus scented) and the two spa pools like little kids. Perhaps the highlight is the awesome shower which is positioned in the centre of the saunas which threatens to turn you into pulp (well, slight exaggeration, but what a shower).
Abbey Church opens onto the same square as the Roman Baths.
I especially liked the two ladders on either side of the entrance. If you look closely you can see angels climbing towards the Lord - well all angels but one - Lucifer who is climbing down.
The marvelous windows inside the church earned it the title 'Lantern of the West'.
We managed to squeeze a short tour into our break to visit the Stonehenge - look, non-matching beanies!!!
Now this place used to be quite forrested, but when the early settlers moved in, those darned annoying trees were removed. A consequence of this is there is nothing to alleviate the bone-chilling wind that threatens to ice your very soul. Look, even the rocks are huddling together for warmth...
While on this tour we were treated with a few little stories
but unfortunately were unable to get as many photos as we'd have liked for illustration. However, one little snippet was the how the phrase "blind drunk" came about. Through a number of the villages we passed through during the tour, there were these single-room huts with not even a slit as a window so were pitch black when shut up. The room comprised of a bed and a privy as shown right. The town sherif would throw a waylaid drunk in these huts overnight to sober up. Of course, when the drunk was let out in the morning, the sunlight was blinding.The tour also brought to a village called LACOCK. I'm sure the French will chuckle over the name. But then, perhaps they named it given the village was founded around the time of the Norman invasion. The town experienced an economical boom through the wool trade for about 4 centuries from the 1300's but then was largely left behind and consequently became a lovely snapshot of bygone eras.
The village was donated to the National Trust and all but a few tenants rent. Because of it's historical significance, there are restrictions in place to what tenants can do. You'll not see a TV antenna here. But you will see important pieces of information such as the words towards the bottom of this sign:
Unsurprisingly, LaCOCK is the perfect village for filming historical and not-so historical pieces for example Pride and Prejudice and . ....
Harry Potter!!
Before I bid a hasty farewell, I would like to share some images of the NEW AGE PILGRIMS At the Roman Baths
HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY ~~~~ 
Harry Potter!!
Before I bid a hasty farewell, I would like to share some images of the NEW AGE PILGRIMS At the Roman Baths
HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY ~~~~ 
Goodbye Bath
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