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| Bath Abbey from the top of the Roman baths |
Bath was a delight: beautiful Georgian and Victorian architecture, and seemingly quite prosperous. Given it was a weekday, raining and low-season, we were surprised that there were so many visitors to the Roman baths. It must be unbearable during the summer.
The baths had been derelict for over a thousand years before being resurrected, starting in the late 18th century. The Victorians then did quite a good job of recreating them - the upper level and columns in this pic (right) are Victorian but the pedestals in front of the columns and stone floors are Roman. The original baths had a domed roof.
There were other baths inside through some of the archways, as well as original Roman architecture and many artifacts that have been found during excavations.
After a civilised lunch at Marks and Spencer (soup, although they did ask if we'd like a bowl of chips with that) we headed to the bus station. We had earlier checked that the 267 to Frome via Beckington left at 28 past the hour from Bus stop 8. So when we boarded the bus, we were somewhat perplexed to be told that our return tickets were invalid because they were purchased for a different busline. "But it was a no. 267, " we said, to no avail. We were instructed to scuttle across the bus depot (fortunately, not far) and catch another 267 bus, same destination, leaving at precisely the same time - 28 minutes past the hour. We made it, but we're still scratching our heads. Another Shitting Telford moment!
'm In the arvo, we headed for Marlborough, Wiltshire - home of many Adenoid ancestors and just an hour's brisk pony ride from Devizes, visited yesterday. Gggg grandfather Isaac Newton was a soldier and then a fishmonger, and he was living at 103 High St Marlborough when the 1851 census was taken. That's it in the pic on the left - now a Boots chemist. Am still umming & ahhing as to whether the upper floor would have been built by 1851. It certainly looked old up close but is unlike surrounding architecture. Anyway, that's the spot where Isaac sold his fish, but probably not chips or scallops.
It was pouring with rain in Marlborough so after getting drenched photographing Granddad Isaac's fish shop, we headed to a pub for a warming coider. (Yes we were in Wiltshire, not Somerset, but only a spit from the border). A cosy log fire looked promising but as we sat down I was aghast to realise that the patrons were all loudly yahooing about that worst type of horse-racing - a steeple chase - that was being shown live on TV. Just a couple of horse fatalities this time, so that's okay then. More cheerily, we bought a packet of chips at the pub because the name seemed so ...erm...appetising. Back home it would proably be called 'barbecue' flavour:
After Marlborough, with the rain still pouring down, we headed to Avebury - a world heritage site of neolithic stone circles, burial mounds and barrows. It really is surprising that Stonehenge is the big deal when it comes to neolithic monuments. There is so much to see at Avebury and yet the teeming multitudes all troop to one-trick-pony Stonehenge. Maybe it's the lintels - Avebury doesn't have them. But there is so much more variety at Avebury. And I have to say it's smack bang in the middle between Devizes and Marlborough, so there is some possibility that my ancestors had a hand in the pagan religious rituals that took place there, and in building the stone circles. Well, it's a nice thought!
Wish we'd had a wide-angle lens to get some perspective - this is a huge stone circle that actually goes across the road and into a neighboring paddock.
The same stone circle taken about 50 metres away from the previous pic.
Smaller Avebury stone circle. If it hadn't been so wet, we'd have taken pics of all the magnificent lumps and bumps in the landscape - burial mounds and monuments. This is definitely a top place to visit.
Tomorrow: Wales, boyo!
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