Bath in Somerset - rubber duck not included

Bath, Somerset, England. Ancient city. Honey-coloured Georgian architecture. Roman ruins. World heritage site. Plug holes on their hop-on-hop-off tourist buses in case the open-air top level takes on rain and it slushes around like in a bath and they can pull the plug. I’m quite sure all topless buses have this feature, but the lowkey delight of it all that this happened to me in Bath. No rubber duck though, alas.

Before you even enter the city, you have to contend with Somerset, the county that houses Bath. It is comprehensive lovely and just so English. Vast green pastures and rolling hills, endless hedges to stop cars falling into the vast green pastures. There is evidence of humans being around in the area since the paleolithic period (see: Fred Flintstone). Subsequent settlements include the Celts, Romans and Anglo-Saxons. 

There are some archaeological digs too, such as Cheddar Gorge, which houses the complete skeleton known as Cheddar Man, which dates to 7,150 B.C. (the skeleton is not made of cheese, in case you were wondering). Glastonbury is also in the area, and is known as a ‘dry point’ (an area of flood-free ground), which is interesting given it is known for the great muddy music festival.  

In Bath, you will find the Royal Crescent, a row of 30 terraced houses in a sweeping curve. It’s known as one of the greatest examples of Georgian architecture in the UK and is a Grade I (building of exceptional interest) listing.

On the other side of town are the Roman Baths. In Ancient Roman times, it was an ancient practice to steam oneself and then slip into a relaxing bath to ease one’s muscles after a hard day building Roman type things and running Roman errands, and attending Roman parent/teacher nights. It gave you a zest for life. It was the zeitgeist.

And the bathing culture lives on. In 2021,  Bath was added to the World Heritage list of  'Great Spa Towns of Europe’, that were developed around natural mineral spring waters. I wonder who funds the payments on all the filtration systems.

On a side note, Bath is also the location where Uranus was discovered. In 1781, William Herschel was outside in his backyard with a homemade telescope when he discovered the planet. Without question one of the most awkward discoveries, but, alas, his Georgian home is now a museum dedicated to him, so there’s that.

Bath is a quick train ride from London but you'll want to give yourself more than a day to have a look around the area.