Monday 16th July 2007

Roman Baths, Bath

Stonehenge

Wet weather greeted us as we awoke this morning, but fears of getting a bath in Bath were unfounded.  We boarded the coaches for the journey to our most westerly destination on the ISCA trip.  As we drew near this city made famous for its hot healing springs the sunshine broke through and we were able to walk to the Roman Baths museum in warmth and admire the 18th architecture that has marked the city out as one of the most beautiful in Britain.

The Roman Baths are hidden underneath a much later structure but once in the museum you can see why the Romans made so much of Aquae Sulis - their name for the sacred town.  The hot springs that pour out at a constant temperature of 46 degrees celsius were the reason for one of the most important Roman bath houses in Northern Europe.  The museum is fascinating and gives you a very good idea of how the baths worked and the importance the Romans gave to this spiritual site.

Bath itself is a lovely city and with its many shops and beautiful setting is a great place to spend time.  All our group enjoyed sampling fudge, browsing the shops and tasting the legendary water in the Pump Room.  The water is definitely an aquired taste!

And so on to Stonehenge in the county of Wiltshire.  Stonehenge dates back to around 3000 BC and it sits on Salisbury Plain as it has done for thousands of years, attracting attention and wonder from all those who pass by.  Many people feel that it is much smaller than they imagine, but all are left without any doubt that it is an amazing site and stand wondering what those people from the Bronze Age had in mind as they hauled the great stones into position. 

A great day and some very important historical landmarks visited.