London, UK - Part 2

Dear Friends:

This is the second blog post about my time with my oldest daughter in the UK.  As you may remember, I was there on business, and my daughter decided to take a short "mommy break" and join me in jolly old England.  Since we have both been lucky enough to travel to London several times, we decided to venture outside the city for a day-trip.  We decided to travel to Bath.

As the name implies, the ancient city is know for its Roman-built baths.  In AD 60, romans took advantage of local hot springs to create a temple and bath complex that lasted for centuries.  It was abandoned and then rediscovered in the 1700s as a cure for many ailments.  It's a gorgeous city, now preserved as a World Heritage Site.

We began in the center of town at the Bath Abbey, founded in the 7th century.  It's another great example of Gothic architecture at the heart of the city.

We took advantage of the free walking tours that are provided by the Mayor's office.  We had a delightful tour guide that showed us so much of the city, in a 2-hour hike.  We saw other churches and beautiful examples of Georgian architecture.

Behind us is what's called the Royal Crescent.  It's a series of homes/apartments that are unified by a single facade.  Built in the 1760s, it provided housing for the thousands that traveled to Bath for medical treatments in the hot springs.

We learned not only the major points of Bath history, but more about the daily lives of people that lived and visited there.  It was a fantastic tour - we highly recommend it.

After finishing the tour, we walked around the perimeter of Royal Victoria Park, a 57-acre oasis located right next to the River Avon.

We then boarded a special tour bus to take us directly to Stonehenge, only an hour away.  The drive through the countryside was gorgeous.  It was a beautiful day (unusual in the UK) and we were excited to check this prehistoric site off our respective "bucket lists".

The stones are massive...hard to show you in some pictures.  Archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3,000 to 2,000 BC.  The stones that are visible are only part of the story.  Nobody really knows why is was constructed...nor how.  Lots of theories can be found...but it's just an amazing engineering feat at a time when this knowledge wasn't readily available. 

We spent a solid 90 minutes just walking around the perimeter, when tourists were allowed.  We listened to a guided tour and marveled at our luck with the weather ; )

Upon returning to Bath, we decided to take a tour of the actual Roman Baths.  Restored from their Roman origins, the complex is an amazing museum.

The Bath Abbey in the background of the Roman baths

The Roman Baths themselves are below the modern street level.  This is called the Great Bath, and is one of two major bathing courtyards.

The hot springs that fed the bath system are still working quite well, today.  The water comes up from volcanic depths on a consistent basis...even after centuries:

The main bath is enormous - as you can see from this picture.  The color of the water changes, according to sunlight...and camera exposure.  The water, I can assure you, was warm ; )

Overall, it was a wonderful visit to the city of Bath - I would definitely come back and stay overnight, as there were lots to see and do.  We learned a great deal, which is something that both of us enjoy doing.  What a great day!

Come on back for the final blog post about our time in the UK...