"A Rainy Day in Bath" Bath Travelogue by grandmaR

July 23, 2002. We (Bob and I and our grandson) got a late start on the first really rainy day we've had (and it was just a drizzly type rain) - Bob drove our daughter's Rover to Bath. He did have some problem with trying to shift with his right hand and hitting the door instead. I was antsy about how close he was to the left-hand side of the road. And in fact he did hit a curb pretty hard, but he said that he was avoiding a cyclist. Our daughter had told him the way to go and we had maps - both a big book map and a map of Gloucester and Cheltenham where our daughter lived. Getting to Bath was OK (we went through a town called Pennsylvania), but we didn't realize how far out the park and rides were so we ended up in the middle of Bath which is not where I wanted to be. I had intended to park out at the North Parade. Somehow we missed this. I think at some point we drove through the Royal Crescent. It was hard to find where we were on the map, and watch Bob's driving to keep him from going the wrong way down a one way street or something. Bob insisted on following the signs to the long term car park lot (£3.80 until 6 pm), and after he and our grandson used the bathroom, he took a short cut out of the lot on foot. We ended up getting thoroughly lost (even after asking directions at a store - I asked the wrong question - I asked what the name of the street was, and not which way we should go on it) and walked in the wrong direction, ending up a Victoria Park, which has a big playground for kids. Our grandson stopped and had a few minutes to play while I used the bathroom and found out that we were on our way out of Bath on foot and got directions for the bus from some of the mothers who had their children there.

Downtown Bath

We took a bus back in (£2.40 for the three of us) which let us off downtown near the railway station, and then by default had lunch at McDonalds £7.29 because it was too late (and we were too lost) to try for anything else.

Listening to the tour

We got to the baths and admission was £18.60 ($29.29 - two seniors and child). We had a good time listening to the recorded tour. It was somewhat confusing though, because the numbers were not consecutive. It started with 1and then went to 16, and there was no #2. We didn't wait for the free guided tour. There were so many people we probably couldn't have gotten close enough to hear it anyway.

Looking down into the Baths

We heard all about Sulis Minerva, and saw the various baths, and our grandson touched the water. The Baths were packed with people. I took a few pictures, but not many because there were so many people there. One lady (apparently not a primary English language person) asked me what a glove was. I had one in my pocket which I showed her.

Pump Room

When we finished, we went to the Pump Room, but it was full and we didn't want to pay to drink the waters. I heard later that the service was terrible there. Our grandson wanted to buy a souvenir (he knew exactly where the shop was), so after we did that, we went out and wandered around in Bath until we got directions from a bus driver (He said, "You don't want to take THIS bus.") to walk back up past Queen Square to our car park.

House our daughter leases

I had wanted to go to Sally Lunds and maybe the costume museum, but once we found the car park I thought it would be better to leave. We wanted to get back before rush hour at 1700 (and we did). We did manage to find our daughter's house, and park. They park the Toyota in the driveway, and the Rover has to make do on the street. Since there is no parking in front of her house, it is parked up a side street across the street. Her house is listed - see the yellow plaque