Bath, England

Back in April, I had a business trip to London. Lauri came with me as her “bucket list” included High Tea at Kennsington Palace. In spite of the rain and being ringing wet, she enjoyed the Tea. One evening we went to see Phantom of the Opera and thoroughly enjoyed it. We tacked on a couple of days to visit the Cotswolds. We took the train from London Paddington to Bath. What a delightful trip – Bath, Stonehenge, Bourton-on-the-Water! The pictures below are of Bath.

The city was first established as a spa with the Latin name, Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis") by the Romans sometime in the AD 60s about 20 years after they had arrived in Britain (AD43), although verbal tradition suggests that Bath was known before then.[3] They built baths and a temple on the surrounding hills of Bath in the valley of the River Avon around hot springs.[4] Edgar was crowned king of England at Bath Abbey in 973.[5] Much later, it became popular as a spa town during the Georgian era, which led to a major expansion that left a heritage of exemplary Georgian architecture crafted from Bath Stone.

At one time, the city collected taxes based on the number of fireplaces. When home owners refused to allow tax collectors to count, the city changed to windows – the windows tax. Of course, there was splitting of hairs … What constitutes a window – are two glass panes separated by 12 inches of stone one window or two. The answer is one. Therefore, you will see some windows “stoned up” and others moved closer together. Look for the “Window Tax” photo.

Great place to visit! (future pictures to include Stonehenge and Bourton-on-the-Water)