Roman Baths, City of Bath Review

...and so on to the last day of the honeymoon (boo!) but we do have two weeks all-inclusive in Mexico to look forward to (29 degrees, scattered cloud at the moment, if you were wondering) in about 4 weeks time (yay!), we decided that enough was enough, and one really can't come all the way down to this neck of the woods and not manage to actually visit the city of Bath, so, failing to wake up early (as we had planned) we finally pulled into town (through the fog) mid-morning, took an interesting tour of all the local car parks, and finally found a spot not too far from the heart of the city -

- the Roman Baths being the *must* do attraction, we headed off there first, deciding to buy the combination ticket which gives you access to the Fashion Museum "for only £3 more" (although we really should have saved the money) -

- anyway, dodging the school parties (screaming and hitting each other) inside, we collected our audio tour batons, Flyingpops enquiring from the attendant as to how long the tour would take (as we had only put 4 hours on the car parking ticket), to be told that you would spend all day in there if you listened to everything, but the average visit was around 2 hours (fair enough)...the tour starts with a walk around the balcony above the main pool (extraordinarily still consisting of the original Roman engineering of driven piles, rock walls and lead sheeting to master the hot waters from the spring) the tour then leads inside, and is also actually only a very small hop from the street below, making me think we could probably have saved *all* the entrance money and just vaulted the wall (but I kept quiet having already coughed up) -



- past piles of scattered stone work (reclaimed from around the county where it had scattered into various buildings/fields/walls over the intervening years), and then a nice wooden model showing roughly how it all would have appeared when the Romans originally assembled it -

- past the emergency overflow, which I can imagine getting rather full in the days when Romans would have been jumping in and out of the main pool all day -

- and then out, stepping on the same stones as the Roman bathers -


- wandering around the side rooms (very dimly lit) to see the remains of the hypocaust (under floor heating) in the steam room -

- the frigidarium (plunge pool for the brave/foolhardy) where projected figures wandered the walls, removing and replacing togas as if unquiet ghosts still going about their hygiene routine -

- then out stepping over the plumbing channel that trickles the hot water from the spring itself into the main pool (we tested the water, contrary to the warning signs on the wall, and it's just a little cooler than I would want a bath at home to be, so actually pretty hot, especially as the place used to have a high roof back in Roman times *and* it was a rather chilly day) -

- and past some original Roman lead piping that used to feed the pools on the far side -

- then to the exit, walking past the hot spring itself -

- and some rather yucky looking tertiary pools preserved by small mist spraying devices (which also help the slime and mould to flourish under the bright lights), and then, even though I had a very bad childhood memory of the experience, we took the waters (again, in my case), it being free to do so, if in possession of a tour ticket -

- and it tasted precisely as I imagine my own bath water to taste after I've finished washing, rather unpleasant, but it didn't (as I seemed to remember) taste at all of sulphur, so that was a pleasant surprise, if not much of a consolation...anyway, we finished our visit off with a trip through the gift shop (as you do), noting with amusement Harry Potter books in Latin -

- and casting about my mind unsuccessfully for anyone I disliked enough to bring them back some of the spa water -

- and then the visit was over, taking us roughly the "average" two hours...

The fashion museum, which was about a ten minute walk away (up a hill past the Royal Mineral Water Hospital...those poor souls with Rheumatic diseases in the 1700s...) -


- we spent more time getting to and from than actually in. A bit of a waste of time, the only people in there other than us were a bunch of students who were miserably filling out work sheets and sulking, so you can probably skip this "attraction" and save yourself a few quid (imho) unless you really want to see how uncomfortable it was to wear a corset, although when we got to that (potential highlight) there was no attendant to explain how to go about putting it on, I never even took the lense cap off...

Anyway, then it was time for lunch, and the last of the touristy *musts* (recommended by my folks) of the city was calling... ;)

The Hungerford Arms - Farley Hungerford - Review

Back to the mini-honeymoon now, for dinner after visiting Longleat, we decided to go and eat at the Hungerford Arms in Farley Hungerford -

- spurred on by four things. Firstly, the funny sign outside -

- then the close proximity to the both our castle/hotel and to Farley Castle (clear view from the window in the restaurant section) -

- (and handy historic map on the wall) -

- next came our quick glance at the menu from the day before noticing the chef's advice to the diner *not* to request the fillet steak anything above medium (a very good sign) -

- and last but not least the roaring log fire...all of with were rather compelling... ;) We started with the rather startlingly good (and never before encountered) beer battered camembert, followed by fish and chips for Flyingpops (which she confessed was a bit much battery-goodness after the starter) and I couldn't refuse the aforementioned steak (done medium-rare) which was very tasty indeed -


- after dinner we retired to one of the large, and extremely comfortable leather sofas, and enjoyed the warmth of the crackling fire while we finished our drinks and read a little of our holiday novels..absolutely idyllic...

Surrey in the snow

Longleat Continued

So anyway, we had finished the (excellent) Safari park section of Longleat, and then drove past the extremely impressive house to the car park behind (which was actually pretty full, despite being there firmly out of season), we wandered around taking in a bit of the gardens -



- (very nice indeed) and then past the mini electric railway -

- and into the mini-butterfly house/gift shop (it's about a 60-40 split)
but actually that's a bit of a relief as huge butterfly houses can be a
bit draining (humidity-wise) especially dressed, as we were, for
indeterminate weather -




- and from there on to the Safari Boat -

- flanked by noisy Sealions -

- past invisible Hippos -

- and finally to the famous "Gorilla Island" where there now lives but one, extremely old Gorilla (who apparently is now of the equivalent age to a 90 year old man), and yet they still torture the poor old fellow by hiding his food all over the place -


- then into "Old Joes Mine" where fruit bats fly free (and right past you using their incredible powers of echo location) a quite extraordinary experience -

- however, flash photography was banned, so the only way we managed to get a decent shot was by me using my green focus assist lamp and Flyingpops to shoot low light, click the picture if you want to see them close up (however, they look like hamsters with wings) -

- next we went on the Gorilla Adventure simulator ride -

- which made Flyingpops feel distinctly unwell, and then on to the house itself, which has a zero photography policy (probably wise, considering the taste in art) -



- we stopped for a spot of lunch, and then headed back to the hotel, the plan to eat in Farley-Hungerford later on... ;)

Perfect Wedding Poem - Readings

I went through books and books, and searched the internet for hours to find a suitable poem to be read during the wedding ceremony and finally found this one which I felt was perfect. So, just imagine Tim standing at the front of the church and reading this...

On Your Wedding Day

Today is a day you will always remember
the greatest in anyone’s life.
You’ll start off the day just two people in love
and end it as husband and wife.
It’s a brand new beginning, the start of a journey,
with moments to cherish and treasure.
And although there’ll be times when you both disagree,
these will surely be outweighed by pleasure.
You’ll have heard many words of advice in the past,
when the secrets of marriage were spoken,
but now you know that the answers lie hidden inside,
where the bond of true love lies unbroken.
So live happy forever as lovers and friends,
it’s the dawn of a new life for you,
as you stand there together with love in your eyes
from the moment you whisper, “I do”.
And with luck, all your hopes, and your dreams can be real,
may success find its way to your hearts.
Tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys,
but today is the day it all starts.

Thanks Tim, well read :)