England 2014

Sept 2014 Trip to England

Monday 8 Sept 2014

Plane landed early. We managed to get through customs and immigration quickly and pick up our luggage. Interesting hand drier UI in the washroom. There is one at each sink. Stick your hands under the mirror. There is an icon, but it was fun to watch people try to figure it out. No phone so no picture.

We were planning to take the Rail Coach to Reading and train from there to Bath. Elisa gave us great directions from Terminal 5, but we came into 3. No worries, we were directed to the central bus station where we were just in time to catch the next bus to Reading. Free WiFi on the “coach” – Whoo hoo!. Got to Reading in time to catch the 9:59 train to Bath with 10 minutes to spare. No WiFi on the train, tho’.

We got to Bath just after 11. We found a nice little café across from the station to have a late breakfast – eggs and English muffins. Also got directions to the Apple store (really?? In Bath?) to find out where to get SIM cards – just around the corner. 15L for 2 GB data, 200 min and 2000 texts for a month. Not bad. Don’t lose the US SIM – taped to the folder.

Cab to the B&B. The room is very nice. Light and airy, and we can open the windows. Michael took a snooze while I fixed a knitting mistake. We’re off to see the Royal Crescent and the Roman Baths. And the Abby.

It’s been a while since we’ve traveled somewhere where there are a lot of tourists. Tour buses everywhere. The royal Crescent is at the top of Victoria Park. Very hard to get a picture with out doing a panorama.

We walked down hill towards the Roman Baths and the Abby. Michael was feeling the effects of a lack of sleep + jet lag, but hung in there. Like the Crescent, the Circus is a street with houses built in a crescent. There are 3 of them, creating a circle, with a park in the middle

The Circus

In the late 1700s and early 1800s Bath was a spa. People came to drink the waters for their health. I’m sure no one knew there were Roman baths buried under the Pump Room. If you are a fan of Jane Austen, you know she lived in Bath for several years. If you are a fan of Georgette Heyer, you know about the Assembly Rooms and the Pump Room. They are still here and you can visit them.

Bath Chimneys.

I had no idea the Roman baths were so extensive. I’m thinking military outpost, but no, the entire complex is much larger  than I expected. Not surprisingly, the baths are way below the current ground level, and excavations are still underway. Part of the complex lies under the Abby.

The Roman Baths – the Main Baths

The Bath Abby is next to the baths. It used to be a Cathedral, but the Bishop moved the Wells. Without a bishop, the church cannot be a cathedral. The vaulting is very unusual. Unlike the Gothic vaulting, this is fluted. I have never seen anything quite like it.

Fluted vaults at Bath Abby.

Michael is dragging so we found the information center and a brochure on restuarants. There is a Moroccan place a couple of blocks away.  The food is very good and we grab a cab back to the B&B. We are asleep by 8 PM.

Tuesday 9 September

Stonehenge is on the itinerary for today, but first we have to pick up the car. We have not driven on the left since 1995 when we went to New Zealand. And that was mainly back roads. This should be interesting. The car is new – a Renault “Captur”. Bright blue. At least we can find it in a parking lot. It’s a diesel, which is good. Diesel prices are cheaper.

We set off for Salisbury and the cathedral. The plan is is to have lunch there and get to Stonehenge by 2:30 – 3:00. The roads are narrow and we’re driving a lot slower than the speed limit. But we get to Salibury by noon,find a parking lot, and do the short walk to the cathedral. The spire is the tallest one in Britain. It was added after the cathedral was built. The weight has caused the columns to bend and the spire is now leaning out of plumb.

The guides are super – clearly they love what they do. We could have spent more time listening to all they had to share, but we had the 2:30 time at Stonehenge. The cathedral is huge. There are 2 transepts. Not all built at the same time. The stained glass was removed at one point as they tried to get more light into the cathedral. They were able to salvage some of it and create new windows at the west and.

Salisbury Cathedral.

Salisbury Cathedral towards the altar.

As you can see, the vaulting is quite different from Bath Abby.

Vaulted ceiling at Salisbury.

They have a very nice restaurant (refectory) at the Cathedral. Here the view through the glass ceiling.

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View from the refectory.

Off to Stonehenge. The British are not that impressed with the place. They miss being able to walk among the stone, but with 1M visitors a year, that’s impossible. The new visitor’s center is great and the new paths should get you closer than the current temporary ones. It’s still a cool place. Warm, sunny afternoon. Very un-English.

We walked the whole circuit and took lots of pictures. It’s hard to choose just one. Every angle is different.

One thing they do at the visitor center is show a 360 deg video from inside the circle, so you get some sense of what it’s like.

Off to Avebury and Wells today.