Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Travel Blog of the Gaps
Hello, again, Blogonauts!
Let's keep the scribbles brief for a few days ... just so I can catch up. More pictures mean I don't have to spend so many words, according to the old adage. Right, Love?
The city of Bath has bubbled up from near obscurity several times over the centuries. There is no record of how the prehistoric locals treated these, the only natural hot springs in all of Britain. The Romans, however, acted as if, in Bath's three steamy water sources, they had found the fountains of youth. During the centuries that they ruled the island, Bath received acclaim, adulation, and architecture to accommodate the sick and dirty Romans looking for a scrub and a salve.
When the Roman era came crashing down, the Mediterranean invaders abandoned the city and their temples. The River Avon flooded repeatedly, and eventually gravity's weight crashed the roofs and mudflows covered the remains. The hot springs kept flowing, but they lost their allure, except as superstitious healing founts for the poor.
Then Queen Anne in the early 1600s came twice to Bath in futile attempts to relieve her bouts of gout. To the rest of the populace, it mattered not whether she improved. The commoners flocked to Bath, simply because the queen had considered the journey worthwhile. The city grew as a healing center, and London's elite built holiday homes here in the style of the day .... which, after Anne's tumble into the grave, meant Georgian architecture. Anne had given her name to a style of furniture, but the string of King George's (I, II, III, & IV) gave their name to an entire architectural movement.
Nowadays, Bath so idolizes Georgian architecture that even new construction must pay some tribute to this overriding custom.
During much of my time here, I ended up dodging raindrops. Nonetheless, I toured the city with a local tour guide, visited the 16th-century Bath Abbey (including climbing to the peak of the bell tower), ventured through the now subterranean Roman Baths, took a sip of the famous spring water, and visited the Holburne Museum, where many of the superb portraits painted by the renowned 18th century artist Thomas Gainsborough are on display.
Have a look at some of the photos. Ask any questions that may arise, because I've been far from exhaustive.
Next up, some different sorts of temples, and ones that are far older than these.
Blog to you later!
Let's keep the scribbles brief for a few days ... just so I can catch up. More pictures mean I don't have to spend so many words, according to the old adage. Right, Love?
The city of Bath has bubbled up from near obscurity several times over the centuries. There is no record of how the prehistoric locals treated these, the only natural hot springs in all of Britain. The Romans, however, acted as if, in Bath's three steamy water sources, they had found the fountains of youth. During the centuries that they ruled the island, Bath received acclaim, adulation, and architecture to accommodate the sick and dirty Romans looking for a scrub and a salve.
When the Roman era came crashing down, the Mediterranean invaders abandoned the city and their temples. The River Avon flooded repeatedly, and eventually gravity's weight crashed the roofs and mudflows covered the remains. The hot springs kept flowing, but they lost their allure, except as superstitious healing founts for the poor.
Then Queen Anne in the early 1600s came twice to Bath in futile attempts to relieve her bouts of gout. To the rest of the populace, it mattered not whether she improved. The commoners flocked to Bath, simply because the queen had considered the journey worthwhile. The city grew as a healing center, and London's elite built holiday homes here in the style of the day .... which, after Anne's tumble into the grave, meant Georgian architecture. Anne had given her name to a style of furniture, but the string of King George's (I, II, III, & IV) gave their name to an entire architectural movement.
Nowadays, Bath so idolizes Georgian architecture that even new construction must pay some tribute to this overriding custom.
During much of my time here, I ended up dodging raindrops. Nonetheless, I toured the city with a local tour guide, visited the 16th-century Bath Abbey (including climbing to the peak of the bell tower), ventured through the now subterranean Roman Baths, took a sip of the famous spring water, and visited the Holburne Museum, where many of the superb portraits painted by the renowned 18th century artist Thomas Gainsborough are on display.
Have a look at some of the photos. Ask any questions that may arise, because I've been far from exhaustive.
Next up, some different sorts of temples, and ones that are far older than these.
Blog to you later!
- comments
R1 Nice sweater...nice pictures..hope you are having fun!