Wombling About Jane Austen Country

Today I took a much anticipated trip to Bath and Avebury.  Before coming to the UK I did some research about different places in England that I was interested in visiting. Watching a DVD of my favorite travel guide Samantha Brown in Bath I knew that this was a place I simply had to visit!  Because of this, it was with much excitement that I boarded the bus this morning.

The two-hour long bus ride featured some of the most beautiful countryside that I have ever seen.  The rolling green hills covered with hedges, sheep, cows, and horses were so peaceful and pretty.  It is easy to see how authors such as Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters were so inspired by their surroundings.  How can you not be moved by such gorgeous scenery?

Countryside from the bus

The bus ride also introduced us to our tour guide for the day, Dave.  Dave was by far the best tour guide that I have had on any of the daytrips.  He had a great sense of humor and had very interesting facts to share with the group.  I especially appreciated how he used references to musicals such as The Sound of Music and Fiddler on the Roof.

As we approached the city of Bath, Dave shared the history of the town.  It was very interesting to hear how Bath was a Roman settlement and site where individuals would come to worship the Gods and soak in the baths.  Later, it became a place where rich families would come to socialize in the grand assembly halls.  Dave compared the city to something like a giant mixer event for the wealthy and noble. He also told us that the buildings in Bath feature a very distinct golden colored stone.  Whenever buildings are rebuilt, the stones are recycled to keep the city the uniform color and style.

Our first stop in the city was the Roman Baths.  The temple and baths located here were built between 60 and 70 AD at the location of a Sacred Spring.  It was a place of veneration for local people before the Romans came.  Its sacred pool is where the spirit of the Goddess Minerva dwelt and the hot waters were used by the Romans to supply the baths. 

Me at the Roman Baths

Statues of famous Romans

The remaining remnants of the temple and the baths were so well preserved and it was amazing to get to see them in person.  It was really fascinating to see all of depictions of the Roman Goddess of Wisdom, Minerva, as well as all of the stone relics.  Although you cannot bathe in the water, it was neat to be able to walk around the Great Bath and smaller East and West Baths and to imagine what it would have been like during the time of the Romans.  The audio tour that we were provided with gave great insight into what each of the areas of the site were used for and the layout of the museum really gave you a feeling of what it would have looked like.

Remnants of a part of the temple

Following our trip through the baths, we grabbed a quick lunch.  We had pasties which are basically flaky dough pies filled with beef, potatoes, and vegetables.  The traditional one that I had was delicious.  Soon after this, we met up with Dave who agreed to take whoever was interested on a walking tour around the city to see the sites. "Wombling" around the city, to quote Dave, we saw some of the best architectural features.  To start, we saw the Bath Abbey which is decorated with scenes from the Bible.  Dave pointed out the depiction of Jacob's Ladder showing individuals climbing to the heavens and one demon looking individual climbing down to hell.   

Bath Abbey

Continuing on, we saw the Assembly Hall which used to be used for social balls and gatherings.  Being the Jane Austen fanatic that I am, I loved picturing the social functions that would have taken place here.  I also enjoyed how Dave related many of the sites we were seeing to Pride and Prejudice characters, such as Elizabeth Bennett, and key plot points.

The coolest architecture that we saw on the tour were the famous Circus and Royal Crescent.  Designed by John Wood Sr and John Wood Jr, the Circus is a large circular roundabout of uniform houses.  The exteriors of these buildings featured beautiful columns, windows, and decorative features.  Acorns found on the top of them represented the founding of Bath by Gladud.  Gladud was a royal who was banished from the capital due to his contraction of leprosy.  It is legend that he was cured of his leprosy by rolling in the mud fueled by water from the hot springs like his pigs.  Because pigs eat acorns, the acorns tie this legend into a major site of the city. 

The Circus

The Royal Crescent is a large half-circle of extravagant buildings featuring tall stately columns.  This building overlooks a beautiful green park. 

Myself, Brittanee, and Miranda in from of the Royal Crescent

Dave said that many period movies are filmed in front of this building due to its preservation of the classical style. On our way back to the bus, we passed the Jane Austen Centre, which is dedicated to the great author and her works. Jane Austen lived in four different locations in Bath and spent some of the happiest and saddest times of her life in the city.  It was so cool that I got to trod on the same streets that one of my favorite authors walked on during her life.

The Jane Austen Centre

Our next stop of the day was Avebury and its famous ancient stone circles.  About 5,000 years old, imonuments in Europe. It is made up of two small stone circles surrounded by one larger outer circle of stones.  Much larger than the more well known Stonehenge, it surrounds a small village and allows visitors to get up close and even touch the monuments. Due to the rainy winter season, the ground was quite muddy around the stones.  This only added to the adventure of the day.  We had lots of fun trouncing through the mud and trying to avoid slipping and falling as we hiked up and down hills.  The circles were really cool to see.  It felt a lot less touristy than I can imagine Stonehenge is, because you can walk right up to the stones while relaxing and taking in the natural elements of the fields.


Path leading to the stone circles



Katherine with a row of stones

Me with one of the famous stones called the "Devil's chair"

What struck me most about this location was that just how inspiring it was.  The amazing landscape and stones provided a backdrop for a place that I could see myself just sitting and contemplating life.

On the way back into London the bus driver shared a copy of The Kings Speech in honor of the Oscars taking place this evening.  I must say, it was the perfect end to an even more perfect day.