There are a few of the destinations that have always been on my To visit list. After Cornwall, Bath has been one. I have always heard of the beautiful Roman architectures in the city of Bath. Though I tried to visit this place a couple of times, but would have to cancel the trip at the last minute for some or the other reason. So when my last trip got cancelled, I decided to book non-refundable tickets to Bath for 31st Aug, thinking I will have a reason not to cancel the trip. And that is what happened, since my tickets were booked, I was determined to go to Bath. Not only did I go, first my housemate joined me and then a few of other friends too joined me on this trip.
I had booked my seat in the 08:00 GWR from the London Paddington. Though we started well early for the train, but since a few of the London TFL routes were closed that day, we reached the station with just 10 minutes to spare, which were also utilized in buying coffee at the station. We managed to enter the first coach available since the train was almost about to depart. The moment we entered, the train doors started closing and the train departed. 3 people from our group did not manage to board it and hence had to wait for the next one which was post 30 minutes.
The journey to Bath was almost 1 and half hour long, through different landscapes. We reached Bath around 09:30 but had to wait for the rest of our group to arrive, who arrived at around 10:00. The Bath coach station is just adjacent to the Train Station. So we first headed towards the coach station to get a bus towards the Royal crescents. We purchased the Bath Day Rider pass, giving us access to all the bus routes for a day in the Bath zone. Our first stop was the Royal Crescents.
The Royal Crescents is an architectural beauty with almost 30 houses built in the shape of an arch, facing a beautiful garden. This is now turned into a hotel. There were some artists outside the Royal Crescent, shooting which we later came to know were shooting for a Netflix series, expected to be released next year. We spent a while here enjoying and capturing the landscape in our cameras. Post this we headed back to the nearest bus stop to head towards our next destination, the Pluteney Bridge.
The Pluteney Bridge is another architectural masterpiece. This bridge was built in the 17th century and has shops built to full length on both of the sides of the road. It has three arches under it for the shops and water to pass. Just besides the bridge is a point where the boats pick you up for a round trip to the Bathampton. Bathampton is a small village a few miles from Bath. The journey via the boat takes almost 30 minutes each side, with a beautiful and lush green landscape on each side. We took this ride in the river Avon to Bathampton and back. This trip had some moments of rain and sunshine, making the journey more beautiful.
By the time we returned and got off the boat, it had started to rain. So we decided to head towards the Sally Lunn's Eatery and Museum where we could be safe from the rain and have our lunch too. Sally Lunn's Eatery was built in the 1483. They started off with building buns. Today, they have a three floor restaurant, with dishes built around the famous Sally Lunn's bun. There was a queue waiting to be seated. We had to wait for around 15-20 minutes before it was our chance to be seated. Once seated, we had a tasty lunch in the Eatery. The buns tasted really good. After having lunch, we went to the Museum, which was built in the basement of the eatery and headed out.
By the time we headed outside, the rain had stopped and we were in the city center. So we decided to head towards the Bath Abbey. Though most of the Bath Abbey interior was covered for restoration, but what we could see, was beautiful. The ceiling, the walls, the granite floors, everything was beautiful. But still because of the restoration, we could not see much of it. Post this we headed to the Roman Baths, which was adjacent to the Bath Abbey.
This was a place where we had to pay to enter. Though the entry price seemed a little on the higher side (22£), but once we were through it, it seemed worth. The place was well preserved. There were many different corridors and rooms with a history in each one. We started off with a walk on the terrace above the main bath area, and headed towards the different halls, with ancient and medieval Roman history. It was really an experience to visit. Post this we headed towards the different bathing areas of men and women (from the historical times) and then came out into the city via the gift shop. The water in the Roman Baths comes from the natural springs which are still active and out comes the hot water. Post this we came out into the city.
We had planned to visit the Prior Landscape Garden and the Alexandra Park. But by the time we planned to visit there, they were already closed. Since we had the day rider pass, we though of going up the hill on the bus and walk down the garden. This garden was facing the Bath city. We took the bus from the nearest stop and went up the hill. It took us almost 15 minutes to reach the hill top. We managed to find the entry into the garden at a corner. The walk down the hill was a steep but beautiful one. We could see the Bath skyline. It was mesmerizing. We walked down the hill into a residential complex and then by the side of the river Avon, with narrow bodied boats parked on the side. Post this we headed to the city center into an Italian restaurant for dinner.
Post dinner, we headed towards the Train Station, since we had to catch the 19:43 train to the London Paddington. We reached London around 21:15 and our home at around 22:30, marking an end to a beautiful day.
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