Bath time

There were a few places outside of London that we had hoped to see during our time here.  Stonehenge was top of the list and Bath was another.

After Christmas we made our way to this ancient city to see the fabled baths for ourselves.

In terms of history, this place in southwest England has quietly had bubbling warm hot springs flowing for as long as anyone can remember.

These springs were discovered and became the focal point of settlers, progressively building larger and more impressive structures to take advantage of this natural phenomenon.

The Romans, with their strong interest in bathing for cleanliness and health, were thrilled to encounter this place nearly directly west of their stronghold in Londinium.  

The Romans called this place Aquae Sulis and built beautiful buildings there, likely starting around 2000 years ago.

The official site for the Roman Baths can be found here and gives some nice details about it:
http://www.romanbaths.co.uk/walkthrough

We found a nice place to stay in Wick, about 30 minutes from Bath and made the sunny drive into town.

Our main goal was to see the Roman Baths but would be happy to see the famous Royal Crescent.

When we hit the intense traffic which brought Bath to a standstill, we were just happy to finally find parking.

Our parking spot was fortuitous in the fact it was right near a gigantic playground!  We spent some time there where the boys found new and exciting things to do.

A crazy teeter totter that would move up and down and use the momentum of one person to speed the rotation of the other, here you can see Sammy the recipient of his older brother's momentum:

Please note the giant blue angled rock wall in the background, Sammy had an insatiable desire to climb that which resulted in some challenges for me and for him but we both survived.

Here was the longest slide we'd seen to date:

There also was another giant zip line that Joey and Sammy raced down.

After that excellent playground break we made the walk to the Roman Baths.

They were pretty popular as a destination and it took a bit to make it through the line.  Once we did, we walked out to the main terrace which has a beautiful view of Bath Abbey behind it and the great pool lazily waving below it.

The Abbey itself has an interesting history and is reputed to be the site for the coronation of the first English king, King Edgar, in 973 AD.

The Abbey's history page has good information here:
http://www.bathabbey.org/history

Here's a better close up of the Abbey itself:

Those jade green waters were pretty mesmerizing and we moved through the upper level to get closer to them.  Before we did, we saw a different green:  Seahawks green (and blue)!  There were two folks there wearing Seahawks hats.  I had to talk with them and they were very uninterested in anything we had to say.  On that sad note, we moved forward through the Baths to see pieces of the ancient stones that decorated this popular temple.

Lanna and I took a selfie before leaving the platform.  She is clutching the audio guide with great enthusiasm, nearly strangling me.

There were a lot of great models and history which was challenging to enjoy with the kids (which is par for the course). 

We perused these things and progressed lower into the Baths, seeing the ancient temple stones and where some of the water comes in.

At the lower level we were able to touch the water (strictly illegal but done by at least 80% of the people there) and found it to be pleasantly warm.

We also had a chance to meet people in period dress and acting in character.  They attempted to befriend Joey but he was dubious about this whole thing.

From there we went back inside to see the ancient stonework where the original temple to Minerva existed and the flagstones that ancient Romans walked.

Night fell while we explored the inside.  The baths had a distinctive look in the night.

We also saw the Sacred Spring from where nearly all the waters spring.  

After the Sacred Spring we saw a few more ancient areas before the end of the walkthrough.  

Before leaving, they offered a chance to taste the spa mineral water, boasting 43 minerals.  All of us but Sammy did not finish it given the metallic mineral seasoning.  Sammy had seconds.

The walk back to the car went quickly in the chilly dusk.  We drove out in a traffic free night and apparently just missed the Royal Crescent by about a block.