So sorry for the long wait, i have been pretty busy recently! As promised, here is part 2 of my day trip in Bath. Tension probably hyped up at the meeting point after the visit to Windsor Castle, maybe too excited or aftershock from visiting one of the most gorgeous places in the Royal Family history! We were asked to make our own way back to the place where we alighted previously, at the allocated time to board the Coach and depart. My family were there a little earlier and we quickly boarded the bus, escaping the cold bone shattering breeze and enjoy the nice warm feeling in the coach, we also munch on some cross buns that we bought from Marks and Spencer the day before. Times up and there are still about 15 passenger whom are still missing, they are late. I guess that it is just pretty normal for people to be late, especially when you are travelling with kids or elderly. Often, we get over engrossed with some unique local stuff or waiting for food, or perhaps the most common reason every, using the toilet. A point to take note, if you are not a time keeping person, it is best to go free and easy, where you have the most flexibility. Although slightly pissed, the tour leader said to the rest of us to wait for another 10 mins before departing. He also reminded us to be punctual for future allocated time as the driver have a rigid driving hours and also there are closing times for the attraction. Actually I do understand his point of view, especially when labour unions are so powerful in the EU, hey, after all it makes us safer while travelling in the coach and also, it is also fair to others to have the precious hours at the attractions following on too. However being a Singaporean, it is our expectation that even if after 10 mins is up, we will still wait for the rest. It is a joke of the day and also quite entertaining that the tour guide starts counting down to the 10 mins allowance and once up, he made a call to inform his company after driving off. This is where the fun part starts, when some Chinese guy came down and prevent the bus from leaving. The tour leader just shrugs him off and says they are late. Then here comes a circle of bus moving a bit, stopping, he telling the tour leader where his friends are and finally some passenger running towards the bus. In the end, most caught up with the exception of one family I guess, which they met up with us in Stonehenge, the last part of the tour for the day. It is actually quite bad, since most of the passenger left some of their stuff in the bus, like jackets and bags. But I actually side with the tour guide, after all being late is wrong in the first place. Time to get used to the way Londoners to things. Then finally we move off with the tour guide giving another stern warning to the late comers before continuing on giving us the knowledge and history story. It just delight me that i am finally travelling to one of the most gorgeous piece of land.
It was a journey of around 2 hours where we made our way towards the gorgeous countryside of Somerset and the city of Bath. Bath is located between valleys and the scenery there was gorgeous, having the quietness and country side feeling. It was cooling in the late morning, with some fog too, which makes the place so so beautiful. It has always been one of my dream to come here after watching Triumph In the Skies 2, a HK Drama that was filmed here. I am also kept busy, understanding the history behind this city and also the forming of the legendary Roman Baths. The full name should be Roman Public Baths, as you probably could infer from the name, it was built after the Romans came here in the past and the baths were built to as a form of recreation for the soldiers and to also provides sanitary needs. In the past, to be able to take a nice shower would be a pleasure after lengthy conquest and wars. It is also got to do with the geographical location of this city, after all these won’t be possible without the natural hot springs. Although the city is now not known for taking a bath or soaking in the spring water it is still possible to do so here. Not at the Romans Bath obviously. Although the baths are well maintained and the water are still there, visitors are encouraged not to touch the water when visiting this attractions. The water are so concentrated with sulphur and also full of germs and dirt. Hey, there is nothing much you can find fault with a pool of water a couple centuries ago. Besides the Roman Baths, the city is also full of culture and other attractions too, there is the Bath Abbey which is gorgeous and also the city centre, which is labelled a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If I have the luxury of time, I wouldn’t mind sitting on one of the benches, staring at the Abbey and reading a book, occasionally looking at the gorgeous people and also pigeon watching. It is a life that I hope to have in the future. Life would be pretty great if I could sit there with my love ones too. The city of Bath is also known for its Rugby Team and their Georgian era houses are pretty unique. The city is also famed for its university and also scenery.
We were told of the meeting time before disembarking, trust me, almost everyone was paying attention. We alight at a famous pub in Bath city centre and were also given a short walking tour before we went to the main attractions, the Roman Baths. The queue was actually quite long but moved orderly and soon we were in, audio guides were also provided for all guest. Actually, personally I do not really like audio guides, I couldn’t take in much from them, I am a person that prefer the human personalize voice. Being well reserved, the main bathing pool has a open roof which allows for view of the Bath Abbey, seriously, I don’t think there is a greater view during bathing than this. Life is perfect if you can shower here every day. Opened from 9am till 9pm, I believe the feeling will be so different when you visit here at night, under the stars and moonlight, I think it will be pretty romantic. There is actually plenty to see other than the gorgeous green pool of minerals waters. The water also contains high amount of sulphur which were said to be good for our body. Although not being able to do this.
However life is still pretty perfect here! First stop for all of you would be the terrace, lined up with amazing sculptures, you get a whole view of the main pool below you, known as the Great Bath, against the background of the simply gorgeous Bath Abbey, this is a view that you can’t miss. Then you go through some of the exhibition where you get a glimpse of the building process, the rocks, the water and their beliefs. Some of the rocks also had religious carving on it. The highlight of the tour would definitely be the Great Bath. It is still great to see the pool. Even the rocks used to create these are way older than you. Given a small place, you actually do spend quite a lot of time here, the place was made so that you could follow a path and see everything without missing a portion of the place. To the history till how they came up with ways to drag those heavy rocks and stuff, there is lot to be seen. You could easily spend up to 2 hours inside. I will let your eyes have some delight and enjoy these pictures. Before leaving you would also pass by the heated rooms and plunge pools. You could actually feel the hot temperature of these waters.
After leaving, I grab a piping hot and delicious hotdog sandwich that is really good. In the cold weather, there is nothing better than biting into the melting cheese and caramelised onions then that meaty sausages, finally on a soft steamed bun. Prefect! In the meanwhile here are some pictures of the city centre and also the Bath Abbey that can’t be missed before I strolled towards the meeting point.
It is just so relaxing here! Together with an Ice Cream, I don’t really think you can ask for anything more in life!
Hope you guys love this place. Hang on for my last episode which is on Stonehenge! I will also disclose the outcome of this meeting for departure! Are there still people who are late ? Are there still people who are left behind? Stay tuned!
Seeing The World In Steps 