Britain 09 - Day 35

Introduction

Friday was another of those days when there was not enough time to fit in all the places we wished to visit. We left Cwm Chwefru early and headed south through Brecon and on to Cardiff. The drive around Cardiff was slow, due to the long series of roadworks, but we eventually drove over the bridge over the Severn Estuary and back into England. We might have visited Tintern Abbey, a few miles up the River Wye, or we might have driven close to Bristol to view the Clifton Suspension Bridge, designed by Isambard Brunel and built only after his death. But to visit these locations would have stopped us from visiting Bath and Stonehenge, so on we drove. We arrived in Bath at about midday. On our last visit, in 2003, we had been defeated by the one-way systems and the impossible traffic on a sunny Saturday afternoon. This time I went prepared, and we headed straight to a central carpark without a hitch. After a quick lunch in Bath, we visited the Roman bathhouse, the cathedral and walked up to view the Royal Cresent and other imposing buildings. Then it was on to Stonehenge and finally to our hotel in Salisbury.

Cardiff and back to England

We did not spend time in Cardiff, apart from the slow crawl along the M6 to get to the Severn Bridge.

Approaching the Severn Bridge

Dropping down the other side....

and back into England.

Bath

The city of Bath is one of many places that you should spend a day or two experiencing. Although it is a compact place, there are many fascinating locations, but be warned, many of them are carefully designed for the tourist. After all, Bath has been a tourist town since its founding by the Romans. But 2-3 hours was sufficient to see the highlights - the Bathhouse, the cathedral and a walk through the city to the Royal Cresent and other imposing buildings. Bath is a reminder of life as it was in Georgian and Victorian times, when men had money and time to spend it.

View from the bridge over the Severn River at Bath

Bath Cathedral

Some of the remains of the original Roman Bathhouse

The source of he hotwater - the hot spring at Bath

The large bath from water level

A view across a thicket of steel spikes - Victorian entranceways

The view of the steel spikes in context

One of many curved apartment buildings built of limestone

A corner shop full of antiques.....

in Margaret's Building

A section of apartments built overlooking Bath

Part of the Royal Cresent

Closer view of the far end

The middle section

The nearer end

The end of the Cresent showing the size of the building. This is also No.1 - the Museum

The full curve of the building

A puzzling sign on the fence beside the lawn

The full sign, based, I presume, on the saying "fly by night..."

The Jane Austen Centre, with photographic model at the ready

Back to the river, now with canal boat

The view upriver and to the weir

The river with Bath behind

A panorama of the Royal Cresent at Bath, built 1767-1775. It comprises 30 houses, a hotel (centre of building) and a museum at No 1. The lawn in front is owned by the associated Cresent Lawn Company to preserve the lawn and view.

Stonehenge

From Bath it was a pleasant drive east to the Salisbury Plain and to Stonehenge. As usual, Stonehenge was awash with tourists, with the carpark full of large tour buses. But we arrived in the later afternoon, and although this meant a lower sun angle and longer shadows, it did mean a few less people.

General view of Stonehenge