Bath 30 September

After another in a long line of leisurely breakfasts on this trip we left the hotel and walked a few blocks over to the Circus, a residential area consisting of a circle of Georgian townhomes broken up only by several intersecting roads. From the Circus we turned downhill on Gay St. heading to the city center. A few minutes into our stroll we came to the Jane Austen  Center and decided to indulge our sensibilities for at least an hour or so.

Although Jane (1775-1817) was borne in Steventon and died in Winchester, she did apparently spend quite a bit of time in Bath with her family, a time that figured prominently -- so we were informed -- in several of her novels such as Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Nevertheless, we felt it was a stop worth making and enjoyed the various exhibitions, particularly those focusing on Bath during the early 19th century.

the Circus

from the Circus heading downhill toward the city center

film crew

After passing a film crew shooting a scene from something -- it was difficult to tell what exactly -- we soon found ourselves at the Bath Abbey, shown here below, with the Roman baths and the Pump Room restaurant on the right.

The Abbey, as we would learn the following day during our tour -- more of that tomorrow -- has the largest collection of ledger stones (flat gravestones that make up the floor of a church) and memorial stones of any church in England, including Westminster Abbey. Anyway, there's a major "conservation" project underway in the abbey aiming to stabilize the floor and repair and protect many of the remaining stones so we signed up for a "behind-the-scenes" tour for tomorrow and hope to learn more about both abbey and its long-gone constituents.

the functional entrance is just to the right of the photo

John Mervin

Sir Philip Frowde, died 1674

We couldn't dally too long at the abbey and at 12:30 we walked across the square for our lunch reservation  at the Pump Room. Learn more. Menu.

After a brief flurry of confusion on the part of the staff everything fell into place nicely and we enjoyed tea for Susan and lunch for me. Since we were in Somerset, an area known for its apples, Susan opted for a country-style approach to afternoon tea and went with  the Somerset tea (menu below). I went for cod cakes. The food was good and the ambience quite lovely -- after all, Jane Austen herself apparently frequented the Pump Room.

Pump Room

entrance to the Roman baths with the entrance to the Pump Room just beyond; there is a hall connecting the two inside

Susan opted for a country style approach to tea

cod cakes with mushy peas -- delicious!

l-r: Scotch egg, chicken and fennel sausage and apple cake

After tea at the Pump Room we stepped next door and toured the Roman baths using the audio guide provided with the cost of admission. One can certainly appreciate the popularity of this attraction. It's very well-done, nicely signed with plenty of interactive features. At the end of the tour we got to taste the water, which was an experience I need not repeat.

Upon leaving the baths we strolled around bath center, stopping briefly at the Sally Lunn bakery and museum in one of the oldest houses in Bath. Since it was late in the baking day we didn't opt to try one of the Sally Lunn cakes/buns.

in the basement

Abbey Green

Leaving Sally Lunn we made our way to the nearest stop for the hop-on-hop-off bus. We bought our ticket, good for two days, at the tourist information center just around the corner from Sally Lunn in Bridgewater House and opted for  the skyline tour of Bath. Tomorrow we'll take the city tour.

After returning to the city center we walked back to the hotel  where we relaxed over an aperitif before heading out to dinner at The Chequers, a pub literally around the corner from our hotel. The food was very good and the ambience quite pleasant as well.

Tomorrow it's back to the abbey for a tour and then our scheduled visit to observe a hands-on bread class at the Bertinet Cookery School. Stay tuned!