Bath and the Cotswolds
22 - 24 June 2024
Julie and Anthony in Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds
On Saturday, while in Bath, we went to see a couple of interesting museums during the day and had a Ghost tour that evening. First stop was the Mary Shelly’s House of Frankenstein museum.
At 19 years of age, Mary Shelly devised the book Frankenstein on the shores of Lake Geneva while vacationing with Percy Shelly, Lord Byron and her step-sister Claire. Byron challenged them all to write a ghost story, and Shelly’s creation out shone all of the rest.
The museum went on to tell Mary’s (grim) life story. Mary lived in Bath in 1816 - 1817. Frankenstein was published in 1818. Percy Shelly was a jerk, and didn’t treat Mary very well, though Mary seemed to be dedicated to him until he drowned in an Italian Lake at age 29. Claire’s adoration of Byron was unrequited. Byron was a narcissist and (in Clarie’s mind) caused the death of their 5 year old daughter.
Mary was so dedicated to Percy that she kept his calcified heart (Drs thought a side effect of TB, possibly) with her until she died.
The rest of the museum was dedicated to adaptations of the Frankenstein story in Movies, Books, TV and PINBALL!
Julie playing pinball in the Mary Shelly museum.
Jane Austin’s home from 1801 to 1805 at 4 Sydney Place
Next we walked down Gay Street to the Jane Austen Center. Jane and her family lived in Bath from 1801 to 1806. The museum laid out Jane’s life, focusing on her time in Bath. Janes works are inspired by the Victorian era society in Bath (think Bridgerton) where the rich came from September to April to visit the Spa and escape London. Unfortunately, neither Julie nor Anthony took any pics.
Just Kidding!
Bath Abbey, waiting for the ghost tour.
Saturday evening Julie and Anthony embarked on a Ghost Tour of Bath. The tour left from the plaza in front of the Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths.
The Hanging Tree, every city has one, including our fair city Raleigh.
Intense Poltergeist activity in this building.
Every ghost tour has an example where the paranormal meet real estate and the ghosts win. This building is less than a block from the Bath Abbey, but stands empty. The stories have it that the building is haunted by a poltergeist.
The building on the end of the row is empty, note the prime location next to the Bath Abbey.
Random Photos from the ghost tour.
Courtyard below the Roman Wall
On the Ghost Tour, we visited the Royal Mineral Water Hospital, where poor people were treated using the healing powers of the mineral waters in Bath. The treatment was free(-ish) costing 3 pounds for English citizens and 5 pounds for Scotts or Irish. You got your money back to travel home, after you recovered. Needless to say, not a lot of people recovered, and they threw their bodies over the Roman wall into the courtyard above. After the tour, we went back to the wall and Julie viewed the courtyard using Ghost Tube SSL.
Julie in front of the Roman wall.
7 Trim Street, Jane and her family lived on this street when they were down on hard times. Just down hill from the death pit shown above
Photos from the back of the Theater, where Beau Nash lived. Beau was the “Master of Ceremonies” for the city of Bath from 1704 to 1761 when he died. He promoted the spas and the parties which brought in the money that helped Bath come to prominence in the 18th century.
Path where residents of Bath see a scary man in a top hat. Also the path were Captain Wentworth proposes to Anne Elliot in Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion.
We stopped in front of the house of John Wood the elder, the Architect of Bath from 1704 to 1754. His mistress hanged herself by jumping out of the window. Julie viewed the front of the building using the GhostTube app and got the following video.
On Sunday, Julie and Anthony drove through the beautiful Cotswolds. After a stop for lunch at the Penguin in Cirencester, we proceeded to the Chedworth Roman Villa.
The Chedworth Roman villa contains some of the best examples of Roman tilework existing in the British Isles.
Natural spring, used for Pagan and Christian altars.
Julie bored out of her mind (and her feet hurt)
Romans raised the floors on these little pedestals to allow for underfloor heating.
One of the lanes that we drove through. Although here, there is not a hedgerow or a stone wall on either side.
Julie’s thoughts on drivers/driving the small roads of the UK. The drivers that we have come across have predominantly, with the exception of panel van drivers, been very altruistic. Folks are very good about giving way when they have the best place to pull over. If it were the states, we’d all be dead.
The river Eye passes through Bourton on the Water. It was lovely, but crowded.
On the way back to Bath, we stopped back in Cirencester (you pronounce all of the letters) to see a Roman Amphitheater.
The Mayor of Bath’s Honorary Guides lead a free walking tour of Bath every day at 10:30 AM (except Christmas) and 2 PM (except Saturday), starting in front of the Abbey and Baths. The tour is a great complement to the ghost tour, delivering a less gruesome perspective on the history of Bath. Tragically, Julie closed a door on her foot, bruising it quite badly, so she skipped the walk.
Details from the Cathedral below.
Detail above the Baths
Location of the original Roman Bath
The front of Beau Nash’s Theater. Beau made Bath a vacation destination in the Victorian era. Unfortunately, when gambling was outlawed, he went broke and died a pauper. However, the city honored Beau by interring him in Bath Abbey
Home of John Wood the Elder in Queen Square. You may remember this building from the hanged mistress from the ghost tour, yes that one. John wood built much of Bath in the 1700s. He used speculative real estate technique. He rented the lots, then designed and built the facade of the buildings, then sublet the lots. The subletters were responsible for building everything behind the facade. He could develop a neighborhood for a fraction of the price.
Gay Street, leading up to Queen Square. Also designed by John Wood. The Shelly and Austen museums are on this street. It is on hill and you can see how each building is on a different level.
John Wood the Elder also developed the Circus and the Royal Crescent, each more imposing that the next.
Example of Detail above the ground floor doors on the Circus. No image is the same.
The Royal Crescent
Beau Nash (entrepreneur), John Wood the Elder (Architect) and Ralph Allen (provided the material) with the backing of the Bath rich and famous founded the Royal Mineral Water Hospital in 1748. The Mayor’s Guides touted this as the beginning of socialized medicine in the UK. As mentioned before, our ghost tour guide had a more cynical perspective.
On the way to Cardiff, Anthony made a stop to climb up to the location of one of his favorite songs. Julie stayed in the car because she could not walk, but she loves the song too.
Too early in the day to see the city lights.
Maps, Trip to the Cotswolds and Drive to Cardiff
