Bath

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. This is what gives Bath its name and fame. I could not come to Bath and not visit the baths. I did not bathe in Bath (I did shower!) But I did taste the spring water. It is warm and rusty.

The Baths (natural hot springs) which give Bath its name have been a pagan worship site, a Roman temple and pleasure centre, a medieval monastry and healing  centre, a Georgian era resort town, and now a historical tourist attraction. The buildings are layers of Georgian built over older houses  built over medieval monastry built over Roman buildings which are the most interesting. There is not one bath but several. And they had steam massage rooms, saunas and cold pools too. The museum takes you underground to walk literally through the temple forecourt and numerous large rooms, all hidden under the visible buildings. I had no idea there was so much there and found it much more interesting than I expected.

It is hard to comprehend the age.

 The king's pool, once exclusively for the king.

 The main pool. The water is green due to algae because of the sun on the water. In Roman times it was covered by a huge high arched roof and this prevented the growth of algae.

 Even older stuff - image of one of the pre-roman coins found here.

 Part of the Roman drainage system that still takes the excess water away to the river.

  Part of the temple forecourt area, now underneath other buildings.

Looking down on to the baths from the Abbey roof. Near the top of this picture is a rooftop pool. This is the current bath fed by the springs where people can now 'take the waters'.