Bath

The Great Barh

On October 11, my parents and I took a day trip to Bath from London as part of their travels visiting me in the United Kingdom. I went on this trip, not knowing much about the city of Bath and its extensive history.

Our day began on a Great Western Railway train from London Paddington Station to Bath Spa Railway Station—a trip that took a little over an hour and a half. 

The rail station is located right in the middle of the city center so we walked right out and immediately started to walk around. We walk less than 7 minutes, and we reach the Roman Baths. We booked a tour for later in the day and would come back to this spot later. 

St. Michael's Church

Around the Roman Baths was just a typical city center with several shops and restaurants and a huge river nearby. We were walking down the streets, taking time to look at all the shops before stumbling across an open-air market with tents. There were artisan goods, food, and gin stalls. We spent the afternoon looking through shops and taking a look at the various stalls. We got food from a BBQ food truck and ate at a picnic table in the street. 

BBQ Brisket Sandwich

Now it was time to take a tour of the Roman Baths. We walk into the building, check in, and are given a phone-like device to listen to an audio tour. Throughout the complex there were plaques with number coinciding with information we "dialed in" to listen to.  

Dialed in at the top of the Roman Baths

The walk-through started on an elevated walkway surrounding and looking down at one of the main baths. The upper part of the bath was an addition in the 1800s, complete with Roman-inspired statues overlooking it. 

Sculptures designed by G. A. Lawson

We walked back inside the museum portion of the walkthrough, where we learned that the town of Bath was called Aquar Sulis, and the original building had several baths, a gym, a sauna, and a cold plunge pool. The baths are naturally heated through hot springs, and you can still see heat bubbling under the surface to this day. I learned bathing was an essential part to Roman life because they believed it was healthful. They would switch between the hot rooms and the cold plunge to revitalize the immune system, especially in times of sickness. 

The museum portion of the building blended into the ancient architecture, with modern walls intermixed with ancient brick. There were coins, written curses and prayers, tiles, and pieces of the original architecture on display throughout.

Gorgon Head from an original bath entrance

The Romana believed the goddess Sulis Minerva resided in the baths and would toss coins and prayers or curses inscribed on sheets of lead into the water as offerings or pleas for help. Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom, medicine, and war. She is the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Athena. A bronze head of Minerva was uncovered in the 1700s. 

Minerva's bronze head

After we were done touring the baths, we walked around the city some more before walking back to the rail station and heading back to London. Walking through the Roman Baths was such a unique experience and I learned so much about every life as a Roman that I had no idea about. With this gem being so close to London, I would highly recommend visiting. Getting to see relics as old as the Roman Empire was astounding and I was blown away the whole time. The museum does a fantastic job bringing history alive by having historic actors around The Great Bath and videos depicting what things would have looked like when the baths were at their prime. 

This blog was posted for HON491C