A Roman Bath September 14, 2006
We had a nice breakfast at the hotel this morning before starting out on a journey farther back in time than we have been on this trip. This morning we visited the Roman Baths in the city of Bath.
Bath is a UNESCO site and architectural student’s dream. While we are not knowledgeable enough to understand the technical aspect of the buildings we did appreciate their beauty and endurance. The town was founded by King Bladud, the father of King Lear, some 2800 years ago because according to legend he was cured of leprosy when he bathed in the muddy swamps here. The Romans established the town of Aqua Sulis on the site in AD 44 and built the extensive baths as well as a temple to the goddess Sulis-Minerva.
The Anglo-Saxons founded a monastery here, on the site of the present Abbey in 944. The town saw much activity through the middle ages, and in the early 18th century it became a favored site for fashionable society when the Roman baths were rediscovered and developed by a gentleman named Allen. This put Bath back in the limelight for a while but with the advent of sea bathing its popularity waned.
The Roman’s built their bath complex around a hot spring which is the only one found in Britain. As most things in the height of the Roman Empire, the architecture and engineering are amazing. They created a pool for the spring and the water was then diverted to bathing pools as the spring itself was sacred and off limits. They also built a dry sauna with a floor that was heated by a furnace room, cool pools and massage detox rooms. A temple completed this complex and after the proper offering or sacrifice the pilgrim would take the plunge in hopes of healing or relief from their particular suffering. The baths have been restored to a large degree and are well worth a visit. It’s easy to spend a couple of hours going through the site while listening to the audio tour that is included in the price of admission.
We left Bath and drove toward Wales which is in the west of the island, southwest of Manchester and west-northwest of London. After bypassing Newport our six lane motorway dwindled to a two lane highway as we turned into the mountains of Brecon Beacons National Park. We stopped at Merthyr Tydfil for lunch at a KFC of all places. We wanted something quick as we had quite a distance still to drive. While eating Holly noticed a poster in the restaurant with the familiar Colonel logo superimposed over a map of the state of Kentucky. The only problem was that the map was both upside down and reversed east to west. Being a proud Kentuckian Holly sought out the manager, who turned out to be the district manager, and told him of the mistake. He grinned and apologized saying that not only should the company have caught this but he had a degree in geography and should have realized the error.
Our speed dropped dramatically but the drizzled landscape more than made up for it. We passed through numerous quaint villages and a few castles as we made our way north. A long tiring drive, but enjoyable all the same. We reached our destination Llanberis which is near Caernarfon around 7 PM. We are again staying in an older hotel this one built in 1834. Originally called the Royal Victoria it is now named the Quality Hotel Snowdonia and is situated on the edge of Snowdonia National Park. This is the area of the highest mountains in Wales. Caernarfon Castle, which we hope to tour tomorrow, as well as the Roman fort Segontium are both near here and enrich the history of the area.
Bath is a UNESCO site and architectural student’s dream. While we are not knowledgeable enough to understand the technical aspect of the buildings we did appreciate their beauty and endurance. The town was founded by King Bladud, the father of King Lear, some 2800 years ago because according to legend he was cured of leprosy when he bathed in the muddy swamps here. The Romans established the town of Aqua Sulis on the site in AD 44 and built the extensive baths as well as a temple to the goddess Sulis-Minerva.
The Anglo-Saxons founded a monastery here, on the site of the present Abbey in 944. The town saw much activity through the middle ages, and in the early 18th century it became a favored site for fashionable society when the Roman baths were rediscovered and developed by a gentleman named Allen. This put Bath back in the limelight for a while but with the advent of sea bathing its popularity waned.
The Roman’s built their bath complex around a hot spring which is the only one found in Britain. As most things in the height of the Roman Empire, the architecture and engineering are amazing. They created a pool for the spring and the water was then diverted to bathing pools as the spring itself was sacred and off limits. They also built a dry sauna with a floor that was heated by a furnace room, cool pools and massage detox rooms. A temple completed this complex and after the proper offering or sacrifice the pilgrim would take the plunge in hopes of healing or relief from their particular suffering. The baths have been restored to a large degree and are well worth a visit. It’s easy to spend a couple of hours going through the site while listening to the audio tour that is included in the price of admission.
We left Bath and drove toward Wales which is in the west of the island, southwest of Manchester and west-northwest of London. After bypassing Newport our six lane motorway dwindled to a two lane highway as we turned into the mountains of Brecon Beacons National Park. We stopped at Merthyr Tydfil for lunch at a KFC of all places. We wanted something quick as we had quite a distance still to drive. While eating Holly noticed a poster in the restaurant with the familiar Colonel logo superimposed over a map of the state of Kentucky. The only problem was that the map was both upside down and reversed east to west. Being a proud Kentuckian Holly sought out the manager, who turned out to be the district manager, and told him of the mistake. He grinned and apologized saying that not only should the company have caught this but he had a degree in geography and should have realized the error.
Our speed dropped dramatically but the drizzled landscape more than made up for it. We passed through numerous quaint villages and a few castles as we made our way north. A long tiring drive, but enjoyable all the same. We reached our destination Llanberis which is near Caernarfon around 7 PM. We are again staying in an older hotel this one built in 1834. Originally called the Royal Victoria it is now named the Quality Hotel Snowdonia and is situated on the edge of Snowdonia National Park. This is the area of the highest mountains in Wales. Caernarfon Castle, which we hope to tour tomorrow, as well as the Roman fort Segontium are both near here and enrich the history of the area.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 4:01 AM
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