Daytripping to Bath

There seem to be endless possibilities when it comes to taking an easy day trip from London.  We pondered Cambridge, Oxford, Brighton, York but eventually decided on Bath.  On the eve of my 31st birthday, we grabbed a quick breakfast from a coffee shop near the hotel and walked over to Paddington Station to take the 90 minute train ride to Bath.

First, and really the only, thing on our agenda for the day was to visit the famed Roman Baths.  The actual city of Bath was formed due to the natural hot springs around 70 AD.  The baths are considered some of the best preserved Roman remains in the world and the site of that iconic green water is certainly something to behold.

We followed the audio guide supplied with our ticket and were generally impressed by the labyrinth of different rooms comprising the Roman Baths.  While it has certainly be restored into a museum of sorts, it was still quite easy to picture just how the complex would have been used centuries ago.

From there, it was time for lunch and previous research had us curious about The Salamander.  Joe, being a beer connoisseur, was intrigued by their in house ales and given that it was in the centre of town, it felt like the perfect place to rest our feet and tempt our palates.  Lucky for us, Sunday roast was also on.  It was while we demolished an obscene amount of British fare that the weather decided to turn on us.  Without umbrella in hand, we tried to wait out the rain but just as soon as it would taper off, another short rainfall would drift in so we eventually threw caution to the wind and faced the soggy conditions.

We wandered up to the Circus and on to the Royal Crescent, ducking under porches and behind buildings when the rain reappeared.  Had the weather been on our side, we probably would have lingered longer and perhaps ventured into the city further.  Instead, we looped our way back, crossing the Pulteney Bridge and walking along the river before returning to the train station.

Aside from being impossibly picturesque, Bath is also known for fabulous spas.  For the life of me, I cannot figure out why I did not put two and two together and book us in for a night at a luxe hotel-spa. As we found with our day trip to Bruges, the city was lovely when the crowds thinned out and it would have been nice to spend more time getting to know Bath.

The next time I find myself in the vicinity and needing a little pampering, Bath will certainly be top of the list.