Bed, Bath, and Beyond

We had a great time in Bath and saw a lot during our three days there. We stayed at the Queensberry Hotel and our first night's dinner was at their one-Michelin-star restaurant, The Olive Tree. It was excellent, probably one of the best tasting menus I’ve ever had. No photos, as it felt a little too fancy for that. The service was very professional, though occasionally a little comical. They used tray stands beside the tables to present each course, but the trays never seemed to quite fit on them and there weren’t enough stands to go around, so they were constantly being shuffled from table to table. Every now and then a dish also ended up in front of the wrong person. The food itself though was beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. It was a wonderful way to celebrate finishing the Cotswold Way.

Tristan, excited to be staying in one place for three nights - what a treat!

View from the hotel room.

The next morning we headed to the Roman Baths which were really interesting to learn about. It's amazing how much of the original complex survives. It was built nearly 2,000 years ago around Bath’s natural hot springs, was in use for around 400 years, and eventually fell into ruin and were buried as the city grew over them. The baths weren’t fully uncovered and explored until the late 1800s. Even more amazing is that some of the original Roman engineering is still doing its job today. The Romans built an elaborate system of channels, lead pipes, overflows, and drains to control the water. The water pictured above is flowing through the spring overflow into the original Roman drain, which still carries excess water to the River Avon just as it did nearly 2,000 years ago!

Parade Gardens

Pulteney Bridge

Bath Abbey

After exploring the sites for a bit it was time for lunch where we headed to OAK, a creative vegetarian farm-to-table restaurant. It was so good we went back there for lunch the next day. The standout dish is pictured on the bottom left, roasted pumpkin in a cider cream sauce topped with toasted hazelnuts. Yum!

After lunch, it was time to get back to walking in nature again. We happened upon this beautiful old tree with a tag on it and learned that it was part of one of several self-guided tree tours around the city, so we decided to follow along. This enormous London plane stands in Abbey Green, a tiny square right in the middle of the historic center. London planes are hybrids between the American sycamore and the Oriental plane, combining species from North America and southeastern Europe. This particular tree was planted around 1880 and is considered a champion specimen because of its enormous girth. It was especially striking to see something so massive and old growing right in the middle of the city, almost completely filling the little square around it. We followed the tree tour through Bath until it eventually led us to the Botanical Gardens, pictured below.

In the evening we went to see Tristan & Yseult, which was actually the reason for this whole trip. We first saw the play thirteen years ago in Boston, and it was hands down the best play either of us had ever seen. Afterward, Tristan got on playwright Emma Rice’s mailing list so we’d know if any of her future productions came our way. When he learned that she was bringing back Tristan & Yseult we had to see it again. That was what first brought Bath onto our radar, which led us to discover the Cotswold Way and think, what better way to get to Bath than to walk there? And so, thirteen years after first seeing the play in Boston and 111 miles of walking later, we finally got to see it again. While we didn’t think this cast was quite as good as the original, the play still stands as the best we’ve ever seen. It was worth the wait and definitely worth the journey. We're still in awe that it all worked out.

Note from Tristan: They're bringing Tristan & Yseult to New York for three weeks in November. It's worth traveling to see it (we went to Bath to see it!) It's really outstanding in nearly every way, and November might be the last chance to see it ever.

The next morning we treated ourselves to a massage and soak at the Thermae Bath Spa. No pictures of this as phones were strictly prohibited. The spa had two pools filled with naturally warm spring water, one on the roof overlooking Bath and another on the lower level. We actually preferred the lower pool because it was a bit warmer and had better jets. We also had fun trying out the various treatment rooms, with the Georgian steam room being our favorite. It was the warmest and smelled wonderfully of eucalyptus.

Going to the spa the morning after visiting the Roman Baths made the experience feel particularly special. People have been coming to these same hot springs for health, relaxation, and community for thousands of years, and now we were doing essentially the same thing. The modern spa was, of course, more commercial and touristy, and with the cost of admission and treatments, it’s clearly more of a luxury experience than the communal gathering place the Roman baths once were. Still, I love the basic idea of having a place centered around warm water, health, relaxation, and spending time together. I really wish we had something like it back home.

Did we mention that the Jane Austen Festival just so happened to be taking place in Bath while we were there? While not nearly as many people were dressed up as we had hoped (we were imagining most people), it was still so fun to come across people wandering around in Regency attire. It seemed so perfectly suited to the setting that it’s hard to picture Bath when it’s not Jane Austen week.

After the spa and another excellent lunch at OAK, we toured No. 1 Royal Crescent, the first house built in Bath’s famous Royal Crescent. The house itself wasn’t the home of anyone particularly famous, but it has been restored and furnished to show how a wealthy family and their servants might have lived in Georgian Bath. Since we were there during the Jane Austen Festival, the tour used quotes from Austen’s novels to connect the rooms and objects in the house to the world she wrote about. We were pleased to discover that we’d apparently done our Jane Austen homework since we recognized most of the references!

Do you think they're still mad?

During the second half of our time in Bath, we met up with some friends we met along the trail who had arrived in Bath the day after us and were also staying at the same hotel. Together we went to Evensong at Bath Abbey which is a traditional Anglican service held in the late afternoon or evening, with much of the service sung by the choir rather than spoken. While we are not religious, it was a beautiful way to experience the building as it was intended, not just as a historic site to walk around and photograph, but as a place still being used for worship and music.

Church was then followed by a proper pint to celebrate finishing the walk and a delicious Indian dinner. It was such a lovely way to end our time in Bath and in the Cotswolds. Off to Oxford next!