On Baths in Bath

Bath. It’s such a blah word. Like Beth. Whatever.

HOWEVER, the Roman Baths of Bath are not blah at all. In fact, they were quite fascinating.

The whole city of Bath had this same stone look to it, sandy colored and there was a lot of clean-up work to clear the decades of soot from their facades.  And they had strange tiny doors.

We hypothesized that they were for very small people.  Or just to access drainage or storage under the street level.

Pigeons were also fearless in this town.  And it was a classic ‘this city is old and was built for horse-drawn means of transportation’ narrow streets.  Which I found to be fun and terrifying at the same time.

But ahhhh yes, the Roman Baths.  You entered them from this beautiful plaza with its own Abbey too.

After a quick wait to pay our admission (she gave us the student rate! Gosh the English were just so nice everywhere we went!) we were in, and WOW what a sight!

The Baths, also known as Aquae Sulis, were right there front and center when you entered, and with your audio guide phone thingy you could meander through the exhibits as they wound down around until you reached the level with the water itself.

Around the top of the Baths, statues of notable historic figures were featured.  I’m pretty sure this guy above is Julius Caesar.  But I could be wrong.  (I’m more of a Gawk-and-take-a-zillion-photos tourist than an absorb-all-the-knowledge type.)

And of course this moment called for self-portraits.

We totally didn’t plan our wardrobes, but damn we coordinated well that day! 🙂

Then on into the exhibits where we got to see all kinds of artifacts that were collected over the years of excavations and study of the site.   Like this casket used for burials.

And one of the most striking artifacts was this Bronze, gilded head of the goddess Sulis Minerva whom the Romans worshipped in Aquae Sulis.  From the official website of the Baths:

Minerva was the goddess of wisdom and military success. When the Romans came to Bath they found the native Celts worshipped a god of the spring who had similar powers. They combined the two into Sulis Minerva who could then be worshipped by both Celt and Roman at the Spring.

After the artifacts, the exhibits turned to reveal some underground passages the water travels through as it enters and leaves the Baths.

Then it was back outside to the lower level of the Baths, and they were just as spectacular from below as they were when you first entered.

The ground was uneven in nearly every spot on this level, so it was a good thing Brynn suggested sneakers for the day!  I nearly wiped out on a little bridge!

And I couldn’t help but be drawn into the city’s reflection from above.

Annnnnnd one more of the two best friends before lunch!

OH and this Duck and his lady friend were hanging out at the Baths and seemed to be enjoying themselves.  I snapped a quick shot of this fella as he reminded me of Bill. (He loves Ducks.  And Corgis.)

Then it was off to lunch at a French restaurant we found.  Yup, before I even got to Paris, I was able to order my Croque-Monsieur!

After lunch we walked around for a bit more before heading back to Poole for the evening.   What an adventure so far!

~ Beth

Catch up on the first days of my adventure!

• Stonehenge & Salisbury Cathedral
• Seaglass hunting in Poole