Monday 5th September 2011 – Bath to Dunsford

Another big day today.  Breakfast (cooked) at the YHA at 8am and then back down the hill and up the other side (Bath is quite hilly) to have a look at the Royal Crescent – a crescent of homes where the rich and famous used to come for their holidays and probably “take the waters” at the baths.

The Royal Crescent

Then back into town to spend some time at the Roman Baths.  What an amazing spot.  They have turned it into an amazing museum with models, videos, laser images and of course what is left of the Roman Baths themselves.  Considering they were built around 2,000 years ago there is still quite a lot standing.  They had audio machines which were quite easy to operate and very informative.

The Roman Baths

Archaeological evidence shows that the site of the Roman Baths' main spring was treated as a shrine by Iron Age Britons, and was dedicated to the goddess Sulis, whom the Romans identified with Minerva. The Romans continued the use of the name Sulis when they established their spa and baths in AD43.  They called the town Aquae Sulis (literally, "the waters of Sulis").  The temple was constructed in 60–70 AD and the bathing complex was gradually built up over the next 300 years.  After the failure of Roman authority in the first decade of the 5th century, the baths fell into disrepair and were eventually lost due to silting up.

Pultney Bridge, Bath

Much later Bath became popular as a spa town during the Georgian era, which led to a major expansion that left a heritage of exemplary Georgian architecture crafted from Bath Stone.

Had a bit more of a walk around town before we set off.

From Bath, we headed to Stonehenge about an hours drive away.  From what I had read (right beside the highway behind a fence etc) I thought we may have been disappointed but found the place very impressive.  To think that these stones were erected (some of the lintels weigh almost 50 tons) between 3,000 and 1,600BC (and some brought as far as 200 miles from Wales), without machinery, is incredible.  The stones are erected to align with the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset, but for what exact purpose remains a mystery.

Stonehenge

From there it was back to Dunsford to drop off our gear and return the car to Exeter with Richard bringing in Rogers car to pick me up.  We thought we had plenty of time but came across an accident on the highway which slowed us considerably – not helped by the road changing from single lane to dual lanes regularly.  Rang Alamo to say we would be a bit late.

Have been impressed with our hire car, a Toyota Avensis (probably Camry size but not quite as wide).  It had a few niceties (dual-zone air conditioning and a reversing camera) and drove pretty well – not as smoothly as the Mercedes though.

Went to the Nobody Inn in the village of Doddiscombsleigh for dinner tonight.  How’s that for a name?  This pub had been recommended to us by a few people and was not too far from Dunsford.  They did grilled fish for Jill and I also had fish even though it was “deep fried” on the menu - was very nice.

Back to Dunsford to pack for the train tomorrow.  London overnight and then on to Paris.