When in Bath, do as the Romans do...

Of all the places I have been to so far in my 3 weeks in the UK, none have mesmerised me more than the Roman Baths at Bath. Hilary was working in Taunton on Friday 10th (which is in the south of England) so she offered to drop me off on her way. So after waking up at 5am we were off on the road. 2.5 hours later we were in Bath. Given that it was still very early and next to nothing was open I decided to get something to eat. So there I sat, right outside the Roman Baths, in Bath, sipping on a hot chocolate and eating a Danish pastry. Life is tough! I sat there and watched the town come to life as more shops around me opened up and people started their day.

When the Tourism Centre opened up I headed in to check out what was on offer. I started the day with a trip to the actual Roman Baths. It is difficult to explain how amazing the baths are. The architecture used, the technology and science incorporated…the Romans knew how to build a leisure centre!

The baths were constructed in around 43AD around a natural hot water spring which earlier settlers thought to be sacred. The spring was named the Kings Bath and therefore no one bathed in it. Lead pipes were used to direct water into the Great Bath which is an Olympic sized pool in the centre of the complex. On each end of the Great Bath lies a wing of smaller baths and rooms, men one and women the other. Originally they all bathed together but the then Emperor caught wind of it and decreed that they should have separate bathing times and rooms. No one took any notice though. It took 43 decrees and him turning up personally to stop everyone stripping off for a swim together.

The water in the spring comes up at about 43 degrees Celsius and by the time it reaches the Great Bath it is about 36. You can see steam coming off the water in both the spring and the Great Bath. Apparently in winter the steam fills the whole place and people have to walk through a thick fog.

The spring is fed from rain falling on the mountains. It takes 10,000 years for the rain to reach the spring. As part of later renovations the Romans built a number of saunas. People would be covered in oil then go into the sauna where a servant would scrape them with a butter knife type object. The servants would often bottle the men’s sweat scrapings as women liked to add it to their make-up thinking they would be more appealing to the men. For a civilization that controlled a huge part of the world and were ridiculously innovative and industrious…they were pretty delusional!

Four hours later and I forced myself out of the place to get some lunch. Lunch was at another café just outside the baths in an open forecourt area where some girls were trying to sing opera.

Following lunch was a 2.5 hour guided tour of the city. My guide was a retired school principal so he had a lot of odd quirks. Even still, he was a great guide, discussing the diversity of the architecture throughout the town, how to ‘read’ a building, the principal players in Bath’s history and the history of the place. There is a lot of money in Bath. The famous Royal Crescent (row of million dollar town houses shaped in a crescent) is ridiculously exclusive with a large private lawn out the front and a Ha-Ha (a hidden wall).

By the end of the day I was exhausted, both physically and mentally! I did a huge amount of walking and a huge amount of learning.

It really blew my mind to see something so old. My whole trip this far has really made me realise: Australia is barely a toddler in the great scheme of things. I am exploring castles that were built hundreds of years before Capt Cook was even born, churches that were built in the 1000s and 1100s, and the Roman Baths which were built in 43AD, left to ruin, grown over, forgotten about for hundreds and hundreds of years then rediscovered when somebody wanted to build a new building on top of it.

It is a huge reality check to read and hear the history of some of these places and really appreciate where we have come from and what people have had to go through in the centuries before us.

It is a humbling experience.



The tough European lifestyle!




The Great Bath
I was quite tired here...and it was only 9am.



The King's Bath/Sacred Pool



Remaining stone work from Temple entrance

The original entrance - steps mid left is the original doorway
Curvature of the stepping stones indicates how popular the baths were

Original Roman drain. Very steamy as water temperature is about 46 degrees Celsius!

Great Bath
Green tinge comes from sun exposure. Originally Bath covered with a giant arcing roof.

Original lead piping used to transport water to the individual baths and saunas

Piles of tiles supporting flooring
Originally a floor would have sat atop of these piles. A furnace would be burning in an adjoining room with the heat directed into this room. Water would be thrown on the walls which, combined with the hot air travelling in the space below the floor, would create a steam room!

Water fountain from spring

My glass of 10,000 year old hot water...yummy!

The town finally coming to life. Buskers were everywhere!

The only remaining part of the town wall erected in medieval times.
Significantly lower than the current ground level.

Bath weir...installed to control major flooding issues.

Part of The Circus...exclusive townhouses made up of three similar stretches which face in to make a circle.

The Royal Crescent
The stonewall in front is a Ha-Ha (hidden wall). It is used so that the owners of the flats didn't have their view interrupted by a big wall...but were still protected from people trying to climb it.

The Bath Abbey was where the coronation of Edgar took place in 973AD

Looking back on the Roman Baths with the Abbey in the background.