Here we are again in England, this time getting around the south and in particular the southwest of the country. After one night's sleep near Heathrow Airport we have come to Bath, where we have an Airbnb for a few days. Bath is a compact town on the river Avon, or a least one of the several rivers Avon, famous for having the only geothermal springs in Britain. This has drawn visitors to the town since at least two thousand years ago when the Romans developed public baths here, so Bath also retains many signs of the Roman occupation.
After the Romans left Britain in about 400 AD their public baths fell into disuse and ruin, and were eventually buried and built over for hundreds of years, until they were rediscovered, excavated, and enclosed in the 18th century buildings still here today. The baths are now a museum and tourist attraction, but are no longer considered safe for swimming. There are newer spa facilities nearby using clean water from the same underground sources. We may investigate these more closely!
 |
| The main bath at the Roman Baths. |
 |
| Part of a hoard of Roman coins found here. |
 |
| The hottest pool, where over one million litres of water per day rises from below at 46 C. |
 |
| This statue of Minerva was in the adjacent Roman temple. |
 |
| Looking up at Bath Abbey from the Roman Baths. |
Bath is also the home of Pulteney Bridge (1774), one of a handful of bridges in the world lined with shops on both sides. When crossing the bridge you cannot see the river, so it's just like walking down any other street.
 |
| Pulteney Bridge, Bath. Completed in 1774. |
Just below the bridge is this elegant weir (below) built much more recently in about 1970 as part of works to reduce flooding in Bath. Flooding is still a bit of a problem, and there was a particularly big flood in 1968.
This weir was used as the scene of a drowning in the film "Les Miserables", where it was made out to be in the river Seine in Paris!
