The city of Bath
Trip Start
Feb 15, 2008
1
31
57
Trip End
May 31, 2008
Abergavenny,
United Kingdom
Friday, April 11, 2008
Bath Abbey is a replacement of the original and much larger Norman cathedral
Bath Cathedral
. Bishop Oliver King began the construction of the abbey in 1499 but the building was not actually completed until 1611 which was after the protestant reformation hence as it was completed it became a Protestant place of worship as opposed to Catholic as originally intended. The building is a good example of neo gothic architecture and is well work a quick visit. The buildings in Bath were mainly constructed in the 1700s during the Georgian era and are of the Palladian style. Spending time in Bath became popular when Queen Ann had gout and visited the baths as she found they had therapeutic effects. What was good for the queen was good for the aristocratic society and they soon began buying properties and passing seasons in the town. The main architect and planner of the city and its buildings was a fellow by the name of John Wood and the style and sheer size of these buildings is impressive. Some of the best and most sort after properties in Bath include those in the crescent, an elliptical shaped development fronting a large park and the circus, an impressive circular development. The park which fronts the crescent was originally grazing land but later became the world's first public park and the most recent house to be sold in the circle was purchased by movie star Nicolas Cage for 4 million Pounds.
Other points of interest include Queen Square, the Jane Austin Centre (she wrote a couple of books while in Bath) and the 'Assembly Rooms' which are particularly impressive
The River Avon
. These rooms were the meeting places of the aristocratic and it was here that they enjoyed live music, dancing, theatre, gambling and gossip. Some good foresight was used during the 1930s and the precious artefacts, including about twelve crystal chandeliers and a number of valuable paintings were stored down a mine in Wales for safekeeping. During the Second World War Bath was bombed and the assembly rooms were among a number of buildings which were damaged. The rooms have now been fully restored and the original artefacts replaced.No trip to Bath would be complete without a visit to the Roman Baths and with the walking tour now complete I went to take a look. Entrance is 10.50£ which is not cheap though defiantly worthwhile. There are audio guides available or you can take a guided tour which departs hourly. The original Roman baths had been abandoned when the Romans made their departure in 533 AD and were not discovered until the 1700s. The British did not reuse the old roman baths but constructed a new bath known as 'the Kings Bath' above the original site. The king's bath still exists and entrance to view this pool is free. The Roman baths are quite amazing and the collection of original Roman artefacts which were found at the site are also available for viewing is superb.
With my visit to Bath now complete I headed again for the train station I was off to Abergavenny, gateway to the Black Mountains in Wales.
I spent the night in the Black Sheep Hostel at Abergavenny which forms part of the Great Western Hotel. That evening I shared the hostel with a group of young people form a theatre group from Conway in Wales called Anvil Productions who specialise in performing plays by Shakespeare. With the pub being so close, down stairs, we got in to a couple of games of pool and had a watch of that night's football match between Manchester United and Roma.
