
We visited Bath by way of the beautiful Bristol Temple Meads station in February for our anniversary. It's not the best time to see it, as anyone familiar with the wet weather of these isles could surmise, but it was an enriching time nonetheless. When the sun did decide to rear its head on the last of three days, the already beautiful Georgian architecture became all the better.
Our first stop was the famed Royal Crescent, more precisely the No. 1 Town House exhibit. It's an odd visit with projections and dialogue from actors playing historical inhabitants, which does at least make it stand out from the myriad other preserved houses that the UK has (YMMV on how tacky it is, I found it as tasteful as something of that nature can be). More than anything else it turns a visit to the crescent from staring at the homes of the upper-middle class to an actual historical experience. A walk back to the hotel via the Pultney Bridge capped the day off.
Day two took us to the other obligate activity, the eponymous baths, which had been top of my UK bucket list for some time. It's an absolutely beautiful spot so long as you aren't too fussed about the later additions. The main audio guide is much too verbose and dry for my liking, so it wound up being skimmed through quite a bit by the time I had reached the pool itself. It seems that Bath loves a good historical role player - here too were people in historical dress, walking around and greeting you with a 'salve'. The weather actually played to my favour here, offering both the lovely sight of raindrops pattering against the pool and the calm still that you see in all the photos. A tip for visitors who find themselves in similar weather: if the top walkway is closed because of the rain when you get in and opens by the time you reach the pool, you can ask the staff to show you a shortcut back. Afterwards was the pump room, where we were provided a fully vegan off-the-menu afternoon tea. It's a fantastic supplement to a visit to the baths. Finally, the Abbey - I'm not the biggest fan of larger churches, but its historical provenance is undeniable and a visit to it really ties the history of the town centre together.
On the final morning I visited the Holbourne Museum by way of a walk around Sydney Park. It's an eclectic collection built around that of the eponymous Thomas William Holbourne. It includes a nice sampling of Chinoiserie, a wide variety of beautiful paintings, and my favourite permanent bit, the forgeries that had found their way into his hoard. What really stole the show was a temporary exhibit of Gwen Johns' work, an artist who I was wholly unfamiliar with before and now count her among my favourites. Back through the town for lunch, and then to cap my visit off, I visited the Herschel Museum. It's a small place that feels rather geared to family visits, but if you're fond of astronomy, it's a good way to kill some time and costs peanuts with a combined ticket with the aforementioned Crescent No. 1.
Bath undoubtedly deserves its inscription. It holds an unrivalled assemblage of Georgian townhouse architecture and exhibits well their relation with their own past through the Roman Baths. Three days was enough to check all my must-dos off, but you could definitely stretch it out more.
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