"Where the waters do agree, it is quite wonderful the relief they give.” - (speaking of the waters of Bath) - Mrs. Elton in Emma
9:00 Breakfast at Royal Hotel
Teresa walk luggage down the street to the car park.
We got a 25 pound parking ticket because the hotel receptionist incorrectly told me that we can park overnight until 8am for free. Sigh.
How's that for a cool car park |
10:00 From Hotel, walk to:
Abbey Church Yard and The Pump Room
In Persuasion, Anne and Lady Russell walk through Abbey Church Yard to The Pump Room to "take the waters."
Roman Baths tour 10:30am
The spring water that flows into the Baths is 114° |
Roman genius |
Hand held devices provided informative narration at each spot |
Just like I pictured. |
Old room that had a floor sitting on top of these pillars. We took this pic for James because this was the sauna. |
Afternoon Tea at The Pump Room 12-1:30pm
What a fancy tea! We felt so spoiled as we enjoyed small tastes of many different sandwiches and treats. A pianist played a lovely variety of music, and we walked over to the "pump" in the Pump Room that brings the warm spring water into the room. The water was thought to have healing properties, and many used to come to Bath to drink the water and bathe in the pools for their health.
Lumps of white and brown sugar for mom's tea |
Hibiscus tea |
Trying the natural spring water. It was warm and didn't taste bad. |
View of another bath from the pump |
Scones with clotted cream and jam. This was our third time eating this in England and this one was the best. Soooo good. |
Walk to Bath Street
Bath Street
The kiss at the end of 1995 Persuasion
2:15 pm Drive away from Bath
Drive 35 minutes
Wells Cathedral - drive by
Wells Cathedral
Built between 1175 and 1490 Wells Cathedral has been described as “the most poetic of the English Cathedrals”. Set in the medieval heart of England's smallest city, Wells is the earliest English Cathedral to be built in the Gothic style.
Drive 20 minutes
Tour Glastonbury Abbey - tickets have no set time, but the last tour is at 5:00 and it closes at 6
Glastonbury Abbey
The Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. It was left to decay when Henry VIII closed down all monasteries. Christian legends have claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century, and that he brought young Jesus to England.
"And did those feet in ancient time,
Walk upon England's mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England's pleasant pastures seen!"
-Jerusalem by Blake
Mom had heard from Mabel how special this place was, and she was so happy to finally see it.
Just outside the Abbey. What a cute town. The English sure know how to do flowers! |
Abbey entryway |
Where Glastonbury monks found the remains of King Arthur and Guinevere |
One of the Thorn trees descended from a Thorn brought here by Joseph of Arimathea |
The Abbot's Kitchen. He was the senior authority at the Abbey. |
This Abbey was IMMENSE and was not open to the public. Only the monks worshipped here. That absolutely blows my mind. |
Monk quarters foundations |
Since our washed clothes were still wet, we decided to find a laundrette. We only had one pound coin for laundry, so we dried our garments for 6 minutes and it helped a lot.
Little pub with a surprisingly spacious room. We both liked it. |