Bath is a beautiful city located about 90 miles from London and is situated in the hills of Southwest England. Our group took a coach bus down to Bath and it was a very pretty ride, taking in the scenery of the English countryside. It was a nice breath of fresh air from the city. When we arrived, we oriented ourselves one of my favorite ways you can in a new city: a hop on hop off bus. These are easily the best way to familiarize yourself in any city quickly and cheaply.
Walking around the city provided us with gorgeous sites, Bath has beautiful overlooks and a hilly terrain with quaint buildings lining the streets. It was also the beginning of Fall so the trees were just starting to change colors and the air felt clean and crisp.
Bath, of course, gets its name for the beautiful Roman baths that were built here in A.D. 60 <– what does that year even mean? So long ago!! We visited the main “spa” where the Romans used to come and relax. I don’t know about you, but that water just doesn’t seem that enticing to me. There is a lot of history in this town with the Romans and we learned a lot about that history that I cannot recall for you now. Apparently, I wasn’t paying close enough attention to my audio guide. But I do recall that it felt pretty cool being in such an old place.
My favorite part of visiting Bath was the spontaneous Rugby game my friends and I purchased tickets to. Bath is well known for their Rugby team, and my friends and I had a few hours to kill. So we bought the tickets and walked to the game. It was a gorgeous afternoon and we really enjoyed the game. Rugby is crazy! They do all these wild jumps and hits, with no padding. And the crowd was the best part. Everyone was so into the game, screaming out “COME ON BAAATH” “LETS GO BATHHH!” Which was surprising to me, since the English are known to be proper and a bit reserved, but not in this stadium. There were even large trees that people were climbing up outside the stadium to watch the game without buying tickets. I was terrified this one drunk guy was going to fall out of the tree, but he didn’t.
Bath was playing a team called the Leicester Tigers. I will never forget that game. I am not a huge sports fan, but that was the most fun I have had at a sporting event by far! Bath is a really pretty town, easily accessible from London, filled with funny people, ancient history, and great sports! I definitely recommend a day-trip (or longer) to Bath.
Happy Friday!