Saturday 3 September: Bath

After our disappointment with Oxford, we hoped for better things at Bath.

Leaving Witney, we drove through some very pretty little Cotswald towns with very strange names - Stowe-on-the-Wald, Burdon-on-the-Water, and of course Upper and Lower Slaughter. The Slaughters were in fact very lovely, despite the off-putting name. Sadly, the weather was again overcast and hazy.

Our B&B in Bath left a poor first impression - right alongside the A46, with a service station next door. Definitely down-market from Witney, but we received a warn welcome from the landlady Angela. After checking in, we caught the bus into town to have a look at this very famous Georgian town with its Roman ruins.

Bath is very old (thousands of years), but was totally rebuilt in the 1700s in the Georgian style. There are many tall grand houses, and just about everything is built of a local limestone. Even the buskers are high class - there was an excellent classical guitarist (we bought a CD) and a guy playing a kora. We took the bus tour, which was pretty average, and very hot - the day had cleared up nicely since the morning. The tour took us to some of the "highlights" of Bath including the lovely houses of the Circus and Royal Crescent.

We then went to the Roman Baths, after which the town is named. We swallowed hard when we saw the entry fee (equivalent to AU$25.00 each), but it was well worth it. The displays were extensive and exceptionally well put together. The audio-tours were also top rate. We spent three hours there and could easily have spent some more.

When we came out of the baths, the evening was beautifully warm and balmy, so we went back to the Royal Crescent and Circus for some pictures. After a particularly nice meal at the Cafe California we got the bus back to the B&B. we were disappointed with Oxford, but really liked Bath a great deal.