7/24/2024 & 7/25/2024

After disembarking from the amazing Disney Dream, we took a train to Bath. The train was a direct trip from Southampton and took about 1.5 hours. Because we were in London last year and did many of the tourist stops, I thought we would see something different. Bath has a rich history of being a luxurious sap getaway for Romans, then European Aristocrats. Many people know it today for its features in entertainment, such as Bridgerton, scenes seem below.

For our visit to Bath, we chose an independent and locally owned inn. We chose Eight. I am assuming the name comes from the fact that there are 8 rooms in the main building. Each room features 1 bed, so we had two rooms.

After dropping our luggage at the inn, we explored a bit before dinner. Right behind our hotel was an amazing bookstore absolutely crammed with books from floor to ceiling from basement to loft. Our luggage was already at capacity, but we managed to snag a few books.

We ate dinner at Chez Dominique, a locally owned French & British restaurant recommended by the hotel. We had a fantastic meal, and getting there allowed us to explore Bath a little more. We had a little visit to the self-service bar in the basement of our hotel to end day 1 in Bath.

We started day 2 exploring Bath on our own. We had a tour later in the day, and we weren’t sure what all would be covered. We started our day getting pastries and coffee at a little bakery. Bakeries seemed to be all over Bath. After this, we started wandering to the Royal Crescent, which is a building featured in Bridgerton. Upon arriving at the Royal Crescent, we took a tour of 1 Royal Crescent. In Bridgerton, this is the Featherington house. This is one of the units of the Royal Crescent that was restored and renovated as a museum. We just happened upon it, but we all enjoyed it and that it was really well done.

Our tour of 1 Royal Crescent featured a family in the 18th century in Georgian Bath. They had a fun way of telling a story of a family during the height of the season in Bath.

After this, we had lunch at a pub where we ate meat pies and bangers and mash, and found another really cool bookstore. We also stopped by a Jane Austin historical site. Jane and her family lived in Bath for 6 years, and Bath is featured in many of her writings.

After lunch, we met up with our tour guide, Bob, for our walking tour. Once again, I booked this tour on Viator. On this tour, we focused on the architects and builders of Bath. Bath was known as a spa town for the natural springs that filled manmade baths. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the water that flowed from the hot springs was considered medicinal, curing whatever ails you.

After our tour with Bob, we got tickets to see the Roman Baths. The Roman Baths, from which the town gets its name, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The baths were constructed around 70AD as a bathing and socializing for the Britain Romans. Every Day 1.1 million liters, or around 300,000 gallons ( I think), of water around 110 degrees Fahrenheit fill the bathing site. The water is rich in minerals, and it is thought to be medicinal. After we walked through the site, we did take a swig of it ourselves. It was warm and minerally tasting.

After our visit to the Roman Baths, we ate at Sotto y Sotto. It was a nice Italian Restaurant in a grotto in Bath.

This concluded our time in Bath. Off to London tomorrow!