Our visit to Bath

On Friday, Peter flew in the morning at 8:30 and after debriefing was home at about 11:00. So, we took off for the day to visit the UNESCO heritage city of Bath in Somerset. It is really hard to describe how beautiful and unique this place is ... it is most famous for the Roman hotsprings which were established during the first century AD and still stand today. Much of the original pumping and draining system is intact, as is the lead lining that kept the pools watertight. The hot water that was naturally pumped from the ground was thought to be a gift from the god called Sulis Minerva, who was believed to be the patron deity of healing. People came here for centuries to sit in the hot spa waters in hopes of finding healing for whatever ailments they suffered from. It wasn't known until the mid-19th century that the reason for this naturally occurring bath like water, was in fact due to rare seismic action under the earth's surface. The steam continues to rise from this water, and much of the structures surrounding the baths have been trod on for nearly 2000 years! Its really quite amazing to see this place ....

The second place we visited in Bath was the adjacent late-Gothic style Abbey, almost equally as well known as the Roman Baths. The present building dates to 1499, but the area has been the site of a place of worship since the 7th century, starting in 675 with the establishment of a convent, and later, a monastery. It would even later become a Norman cathedral. We visited the Abbey Vaults museum which shows layers of ground in which can still be seen remains of the Norman ruins from the original church. The current Bath Abbey is built with the same cream colored stone that is seen used in nearly every building in Bath, its like nothing I've ever seen.

On the advice of a friend of mine, we also visited Minerva's Chocolate shop for some yummy hot chocolate with views of the Abbey out the window in front of us ...

As always, check www.flickr.com/photos/teampm if you'd like to see more pics ...

Team PM