Bath trip report
Nov 15th, 2006, 08:18 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 766
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Bath trip report
I took a group of Chinese students to Bath last Saturday and I thought Fodorites might be interested in hearing about how we filled 6 hours from 11-5.
Arrived just before 11am and, as we rounded the corner into the square in front of Bath Abbey, we were confronted by a large crowd surrounding a row of dignitaries and a line of military uniformed men holding flags. I realised that it was 11a.m.on the 11th day of the 11th month and this was the Armistice Day service followed by 2 minutes silence to remember the dead and injured from war. The students were intrigued and I had to answer lots of questions about the reasons behind the ceremony.
We visited the Roman Baths Museum, with excellent audio guide, and tried the spa water (50p per glass!).
Then we set off on a walk around all the main sights which takes about one hour, not including entrance to some of the museums.
First of all, to the Cross Baths, one of the many bathing places around the town. The new Bath Spa has recently opened and this is close by. The roof top bathers waved to us as we passed.
On to the Theatre and next door the home of Beau Nash, a famous master of ceremonies in the 18th century when Bath became a fashionable place for society to see and be seen.
Into Queens Square- Jane Austen stayed here for a few months. In the centre garden there is a large obelisk which is a memorial to a Prince of Wales, Prince Frederick who died at an early age after being struck by a tennis ball! It was a wooden one.
On the north side of the square is a large imposing house with a pedimented roof. This was the home of John Wood the Elder, the architect of Regency Bath.
Up the hill, past the Jane Austen Museum and 1st right takes you past two small 'houses' which were the offices of the sedan bearers. Sedan Chairs were a popular mode of transport in 18thc. The occupant was seated inside a wooden frame which had two long staves of wood inserted in the sides. They were lifted by sedan bearers. Useful for keeping one's shoes out of the mud!
The path through a park leads you past the backs of the houses in the Circus. I wanted to show the students the backs of the houses as they are all different. The uniformity of the fronts hide the fact that they were all custom-built for their owmers.
On to the Royal Crescent, an iconic scene, where No.1 is open to the public as a museum. It's decorated and furnished as a middle class Bath home. Most interesting and worth a visit.
Down Brock St to the Circus. A circular arrangement of houses around a green. John Wood and his son, also John, designed the Circus. They were both freemasons and the carvings above all the doors replicate emblems of masonry. It's said that they are all unique.
Round the corner are the Assembly Rooms. The ballroom would have been frequented by Bath society in the 18th century. There is a small costume museum in the same building.
The walk continues to bring you out at the top of Milsom Street, the main shopping street of Bath. In Jane Austen's 'Persuasion' Anne meets Capt Wentworth as she shops for ribbons in Milsom Street.
If you haven't visited Bath, do make sure to include it in your next visit to the UK
Arrived just before 11am and, as we rounded the corner into the square in front of Bath Abbey, we were confronted by a large crowd surrounding a row of dignitaries and a line of military uniformed men holding flags. I realised that it was 11a.m.on the 11th day of the 11th month and this was the Armistice Day service followed by 2 minutes silence to remember the dead and injured from war. The students were intrigued and I had to answer lots of questions about the reasons behind the ceremony.
We visited the Roman Baths Museum, with excellent audio guide, and tried the spa water (50p per glass!).
Then we set off on a walk around all the main sights which takes about one hour, not including entrance to some of the museums.
First of all, to the Cross Baths, one of the many bathing places around the town. The new Bath Spa has recently opened and this is close by. The roof top bathers waved to us as we passed.
On to the Theatre and next door the home of Beau Nash, a famous master of ceremonies in the 18th century when Bath became a fashionable place for society to see and be seen.
Into Queens Square- Jane Austen stayed here for a few months. In the centre garden there is a large obelisk which is a memorial to a Prince of Wales, Prince Frederick who died at an early age after being struck by a tennis ball! It was a wooden one.
On the north side of the square is a large imposing house with a pedimented roof. This was the home of John Wood the Elder, the architect of Regency Bath.
Up the hill, past the Jane Austen Museum and 1st right takes you past two small 'houses' which were the offices of the sedan bearers. Sedan Chairs were a popular mode of transport in 18thc. The occupant was seated inside a wooden frame which had two long staves of wood inserted in the sides. They were lifted by sedan bearers. Useful for keeping one's shoes out of the mud!
The path through a park leads you past the backs of the houses in the Circus. I wanted to show the students the backs of the houses as they are all different. The uniformity of the fronts hide the fact that they were all custom-built for their owmers.
On to the Royal Crescent, an iconic scene, where No.1 is open to the public as a museum. It's decorated and furnished as a middle class Bath home. Most interesting and worth a visit.
Down Brock St to the Circus. A circular arrangement of houses around a green. John Wood and his son, also John, designed the Circus. They were both freemasons and the carvings above all the doors replicate emblems of masonry. It's said that they are all unique.
Round the corner are the Assembly Rooms. The ballroom would have been frequented by Bath society in the 18th century. There is a small costume museum in the same building.
The walk continues to bring you out at the top of Milsom Street, the main shopping street of Bath. In Jane Austen's 'Persuasion' Anne meets Capt Wentworth as she shops for ribbons in Milsom Street.
If you haven't visited Bath, do make sure to include it in your next visit to the UK
Nov 15th, 2006, 08:41 AM
#3
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,205
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Isn't Bath splendid! On a visit in 2001 we lucked into the free tour that begins in front of City Hall at 9 a.m. daily, led by totally-awesome docents (retired univ. professors). He filled us in (with documentation) on amusing origins of many expressions we use without knowing whence they sprang.
In hilly Bath, everyone used sedan chairs to get to the posh parties on Royal Crescent & vicinity. The chair men stayed at the foot of the drive waiting. When the evening was over, the mansion's servants would call out for them -- "Chair Ho" ... it eventually became the bye-bye word, "Cheerio."
Another common Brit word is "loo" for the W.C. It seems that in 17th/18th C, servants merrily emptied chamber pots out of upstairs windows. THeir "refined" employers gave them a French phrase to use as a warning: "Gardez l'eau!" (Watch out for the water). Of course, Brits make it a point of honor to mangle french pronunciation, so it soon became 'Gardy loo!" so there you are!
In hilly Bath, everyone used sedan chairs to get to the posh parties on Royal Crescent & vicinity. The chair men stayed at the foot of the drive waiting. When the evening was over, the mansion's servants would call out for them -- "Chair Ho" ... it eventually became the bye-bye word, "Cheerio."
Another common Brit word is "loo" for the W.C. It seems that in 17th/18th C, servants merrily emptied chamber pots out of upstairs windows. THeir "refined" employers gave them a French phrase to use as a warning: "Gardez l'eau!" (Watch out for the water). Of course, Brits make it a point of honor to mangle french pronunciation, so it soon became 'Gardy loo!" so there you are!
Nov 15th, 2006, 10:34 AM
#4
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,087
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thank you for this.
You put me to shame! I live around 30 miles from Bath, and only visit a few times a year for shopping, business meetings, the theatre.
You have made me realise that Bath has so much more to offer than I had ever thought, and you described it from an interesting perspective, for example going behind the Circus to view the backs of the houses.
So now I can't wait to see Bath properly and not just as another nearby city with useful amenities.
You put me to shame! I live around 30 miles from Bath, and only visit a few times a year for shopping, business meetings, the theatre.
You have made me realise that Bath has so much more to offer than I had ever thought, and you described it from an interesting perspective, for example going behind the Circus to view the backs of the houses.
So now I can't wait to see Bath properly and not just as another nearby city with useful amenities.
Nov 15th, 2006, 03:00 PM
#7
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 266
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I found your walking tour route rather familiar. It's exactly the same route I take with my groups. Do you go from Nash's House via Beaufort Square before entering Queen Square and which alley do you take from the Assembly Rooms to Milsom Street?
Nov 16th, 2006, 11:57 AM
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 766
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Henneth
We may meet up one of these days then!! LOL I do stop by Beaufort Sq as we go towards Queens Square as it's such a perfect 18th century street apart from the double yello lines!
From Queens Square we walk up Gay Street and opposite the Jane Austen Museum you need to take 1st LEFT (not right as above) into Queens Parade Place. This is where the sedan chair 'houses' are. Up Gravel Walk to see the backs of the Royal Circus houses.
From the Assembly Rooms we walk along Alfred St and down Bartlett St, crossing George St to enter the top of Milsom St
Recommended restaurants
Demuth's Vegetarian Restaurant in North parade www.demuths.co.uk
Moon and Sixpence off Broad St through a period cobbled passageway
www.moonandsixpence.co.uk
Any ideas for afternoon tea now that my favourite little cafe "Cafe Fromage" above the Paxton & Whitfield cheese shop seems to have closed??
We may meet up one of these days then!! LOL I do stop by Beaufort Sq as we go towards Queens Square as it's such a perfect 18th century street apart from the double yello lines!
From Queens Square we walk up Gay Street and opposite the Jane Austen Museum you need to take 1st LEFT (not right as above) into Queens Parade Place. This is where the sedan chair 'houses' are. Up Gravel Walk to see the backs of the Royal Circus houses.
From the Assembly Rooms we walk along Alfred St and down Bartlett St, crossing George St to enter the top of Milsom St
Recommended restaurants
Demuth's Vegetarian Restaurant in North parade www.demuths.co.uk
Moon and Sixpence off Broad St through a period cobbled passageway
www.moonandsixpence.co.uk
Any ideas for afternoon tea now that my favourite little cafe "Cafe Fromage" above the Paxton & Whitfield cheese shop seems to have closed??
Nov 16th, 2006, 12:05 PM
#9
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 266
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I know the sedan chair houses, I think one is a solicior's office or something. If I catch someone addressing a group and talking about those little buildings I might venture over to ask if it's a Fodors contributor by the name of bellini!!
