Tales from the South West - Baths, Bark and a Boat

Monday, August 13 - The Romans and Bath
There were two things my dad was keen on seeing on his visit: The SS Great Britain and the Roman Baths in Bath. We chose to do the latter on Monday as the weather was still fairly nice, especially in the afternoon. I knew my dad wasn't too keen on seeing cities, but I hoped he would like just wandering around Bath and that we would spend most of the day there.

Took the train from Bristol Temple Meads which only takes about 7 mintues to Bath and then walked up to the entrance of the baths. I hadn't been yet and thought it really was just an old bath, so a ticket price of just under £20 felt a bit steep. Well, I was completely wrong! We spend probably two hours in there.
Of course it's all centred around the main bath, but there are so many other rooms of the vast complex to explore. There are plenty of exhibits and the audio guides we got told the tale of not just the bath but also of the Sulis-Minerva temple that was built next to it and how crafty the old Romans had built everything.

Stunning entrance hall ceiling

The Roman Bath

We were quite impressed and although it got busier and busier we greatly enjoyed the visit! I even tasted the water from the hot spring the bath is built around. Not something I would generally recommend, it has a bit of a weird taste, but I paid nearly 20 quid so I better take it all in, haha.

Choosing a place for lunch in Bath is a difficult endeavour. There is simply way too much choice. Thanks to Google Maps I quickly chose the Courtyard Cafe which was less than five minutes away and got good reviews. What would we do without mobile phones and internet, eh?

Nestled in the courtyard it takes its name from, the cafe is nicely hidden away from the tourist traffic on foot, and it offers a good choice of different lunches from light to large. We both had coffees and and a bit of grub. My chicken, haloumi, bacon salad was just perfect for a bit of peckishness and dad had a jerk chicken panini. Ticked of jerk chicken for him there, haha. Something very Bristolian.

Yummy food at the Courtyard Cafe

We had a few hours left, so we headed into the Bath Abbey first. Sadly, we missed one of the rooftop tours so I took him up the hill to the Circus and the Royal Crescent then back down to Pulteney Bridge and treated him to some Marshfield ice cream. Again he was pleasantly surprised. He had had no idea that British ice cream can be THAT good. I had some Gin & Tonic sorbet which he was raving about for days, haha.

Bath Abbey

Bath Abbey

The Circus

A very typical Bath road

Pulteney Bridge

Back on the train half 4 and back to Bristol. I had still some time to kill before I had to head to my Spanish class, so we walked the Bristol-Bath cycle path from Temple Meads all the way home to St.George.

Tuesday, August 14 - Westonbirt Arboretum and Tetbury
After the awe my dad showed when we visited Castle Combe, I suggested visiting the Westonbirt Arboretum to satisfy his craving for nature and parks and go for a wander to Tetbury afterwards, another Cotsworld village with the typical Cotsworld architecture.

My suggestion was well received and so we arrived at Westonbirt around half 10 after an easy 40 minute drive from home. It was a bit overcast, but still fairly warm. Perfect for a wander in the vast arboretum. We got some coffees to go and headed for the sky walk first marvelling at the impressive trees reading all about the highest, oldest and other super trees along the way.

Back on earthen ground we headed off into the "outskirts" of the Arboretum which are much more like wild woodland once we strolled off the path. My dad was like a kid in a sweet shop. So many stunning specimen and to top it off we found some bushes ladden with perfectly ripe and deep black blackberries. Again we stuffed our faces and regretted not having brought a box of some sort to take some home.

Found this little fella on the railing of the Sky Walk

Eventually, we got back to the main path and stopped at the cafe for a cuppa tea and a wander around the shop. I couldn't say no to a glass of Mango and Raspberry jam and my dad bought me a postcard with a drawing by Hannah Dale which I will frame and hang up on the wall. I was so in love with her drawings. One of the few artist where I literally like all the work! Have a look at http://wrendaledesigns.co.uk.

Walked for another hour or two through the rest of the Arboretum. It surely is impossible to walk all the paths in one day, but we've had enough at some point. What an amazing place to visit. It was my second time here and I'll happily go again. Wouldn't mind seeing it in winter when there has been some snow.

We didn't have enough time to head over to one of the National Trust Gardens so instead we drove the 10 mins to Tetbury for a wander around. I've been there a few times and driven through even more. It's a very typical Cotsworld village so always worth a wee visit.

Had a quick peek into the church and then felt a bit peckish so we had some cream tea at The Snooty Fox hotel. With 2 scones we were both quite stuffed, half the portion would've been enough. My dad was quite impressed the the still used open market building. His words: "The whole village looks like a museum."

We wandered up and down the road with one antique shop after another! My dad loved it. Back to Bristol after yet another great and chilled day. The hours had crept by faster than we thought and before we knew it, it had been 5pm.

Wednesday, August 15 -  SS Great Britain, Avon River Trail
As the weather turned to a more typical British summer with constant rain and dark clouds, we decided to spend the first half of the day visiting the SS Great Britain. Another one of the main tourist attractions I had not done yet!

As with the Roman Baths I didn't quite fancy the steep ticket price. Yes, it's valid for a whole year, but I don't think I'd go again once I'd seen it. As with the Baths however, it was much better than I had initially thought and we easily spent three and a half hours in there,

So far, I hadn't had much interest in the SS Great Britain and didn't know why it was such a famous ship. Turns out, the iron hull was a first for such a ship and allowed a lot more passengers. You can actually go "under water" and have a look at it. It's battered by corrosion and the University of Cardiff came up with a clever de-humidifier to keep humidity under 20% to halt corrosion.

Walking around the hull "under water"

The ship's story really is a sad one with a good ending though. Twice it had to be rescued after having been severely damaged. Any conventional wooden ship would've not survived as long as sturdy SS Great Britain. It changed owners a few times and travelled to Australia 32 times! Even though it had had initially five masts which where reduced to three at some point, it was still a steam engine boat! Imagine that. A steam engine ship going to Australia and back 32 times. Incredible.

Eventually, it was sunk on the coast of the Falkland Islands when there was no one who wanted it anymore. It stayed under water for years before first an American and then a Brit attempted to rescue it. The Brit succeeded in bringing it up and float it all the way back across the Atlantic Ocean. It was in a very sorry state. Stripped of everything but it's rusty hull.
Still it was repaired in Avonmouth for months and finally was seaworthy again to make it's way back on the river Avon into Bristol where it had set sail 127 years ago. People lined the river banks and cheered their beloved SS Great Britain's homecoming.

The ship was done up to get it as close to what it looked like when it left the dock in 1843. It is an impressive sight up close. The best part for us was walking through the passenger cabins, kitchen, engine room etc. which are decorated with all the stuff people had and used on their journey to Australia. You can even hear and smell what it was like back then!

Those were the first class cabins

The kitchen

Second class cabin

Tourist class :)

Dining in style for the upper class

It was time for a quick coffee break around mid day for us, then over to "Being Brunel" another building focusing on the famous engineer, who I knew so little about. I really understand now why he was one of Britain's greatest engineers not only of his time.

After all it was well worth the money and it truly is not just a museum but a whole experience. We drove back home and headed down to the River Avon Trail as it was already 2pm. A lazy stroll along the nice path next to the river followed all the way to The Old Lock and Weir pub for an afternoon pint.
The rain had stopped and again it was very humid and warm. Really enjoyed the walk on my standard trail running route, chilling at the pub with an iced cider before heading back.

Iced Thatchers!

Another great day. Done less than planned but still had a great time and seen stuff I hadn't seen before, learned new things and made the best of the day.