Bath Day!

Our class spent Saturday (1-19) in Bath. After a bus ride lasting just over an hour, we arrived in the city that was once (and still is to an extent) Britain’s playground. Knowing that the city has a long history of fun and excitement, I was ready to take it on. Our first stop was the Roman Baths, from which the city got its name. We had an individual audio guide tours around the museum and hot spring baths. During the time of the Roman Empire, the baths were considered supernatural, and they were a place of worship. They have also long been considered a source of healing for a wide variety of ailments.


I was able to live a dream during our afternoon break. You may know that Bath was a residence of Jane Austen for several years. Becky, Kimberly, Kelly, Dr. Swicegood, and I thus thought it would be fitting to dine at the Pump Room. For those of you who don’t know, this is a place mentioned in Austen’s novel Northanger Abbey as an important social gathering in Georgian times. Well-dressed ladies and men used it to “exercise” (i.e. stroll around the room gossiping and watching members of the opposite sex). We enjoyed a fancy 3-course meal at the Pump Room complete with goat cheese brioche, Somerset chicken, and apple honey mousse for dessert. There was even a pianist (who played “A Whole New World”!) and we sampled water from the hot spring (gross!).

After lunch, Becky and I set out for the Jane Austen Centre. It was surprisingly closeby; the town of Bath is quite compact. We were treated to a talk on Jane, her family, and their lives at Bath by a lovely British lady and then made our way through the small museum. On display were many of the costumes used in the new version of Persuasion that I just saw a week earlier. We also learned about her letters, the social scene she was involved in, and what her daily activities were like. There was a great gift shop where I purchased a china mug of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett (from Pride and Prejudice). Noticing that we had about 30 minutes before the group was to meet, we hiked up the hill to see the Circus, a circular housing area, and the Royal Crescent, a beautiful crescent shaped row of housing at the top of Bath.


When we met back up with the group, we toured the Bath Abbey. There has been a religious building on that site for centuries, originally to counteract the pagan worship at the Roman Baths. The Abbey was first Catholic, but became Anglican when Henry the VIII changed the official religion of England. It was a beautiful building inside and out, especially the detailed ceiling and huge stained glass windows.

One thing I do want to point out that does not at all relate to Bath or this particular blog entry is that I have had surprisingly good food while in Britain. Everyone kept saying that the Brits were not known for their food, but I have enjoyed it all, including tea and scones, baguettes, a Ploughman’s lunch, a gourmet burger, and fish and chips. I am looking forward to seeing what is next!

Written by: Alyse Line