Sorry for the long break. Over the next few weeks we will try
and bring our blog up to date; starting with our visit to Bath and Bristol to
see the Bath Christmas Markets.
We took a few days off for a long weekend and took the train
to Bristol. We were looking forward to escaping the bustle of London and going
to our first winter xmas market.
Our first day was spent wandering around Bristol fairly
aimlessly stumbling across the Bristol Cathedral, which was founded in 1140,
1140! It amazes me how far back the history here goes and how well preserved
and accessible it is.
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| Bristol Cathedral |
After that we got a bit lost trying to find the suspension
bridge and ended up in Brandon Hill Park, which is home to Cabot tower that
offers great views over the city.
Further on we found Clifton suspension bridge, which hovers
over the river Avon.
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| Clifton suspension bridge |
We headed back to town and popped into Brew Dog, which is a
great Scotland-based brewery that offers American style beer packed with
speciality malts and hops. So far my favourite UK-based brewery.
The next day we headed for Bath and the famous Christmas
Markets.
Going to Bath is like stepping back in time. The Romans
established the city itself sometime in 60 AD. The city sits on top of natural
hot springs, hence the name.
Once we arrived we quickly learned that Bath being such a
huge tourist attraction was just as busy as London. We sat down for tea and
cake at ‘the Mad Hatters tea party’ café.
We entered the markets only to find that there were so many people you couldn’t
stop and look at things as the current of people dragged you along. We managed
to get some mulled wine and after 20 minutes or so decided it wasn’t worth it
and set of to explore the rest of the city.
We came back early the next day to see the Roman bathhouse
before the tour buses arrived. The facilities were amazing, main pool, spa,
plunge pool, steam room and sauna.
Amazing sculptures and awe-inspiring architecture all built
around 300 AD. They have done an amazing job at excavating the site and
restoring it to its former glory. Earlier on in the year (2012) they found a
hoard of around 30,000 silver Roman coins.
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| Roman spa in Bath |
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| Bath Abbey |
For the rest of the day we wandered around town and visited
the circus and the royal crescent both amazing buildings built during the 1700s.
After walking around all day in the cold we were freezing so
I decided to warm myself up by hiking up the hill behind the station for some
dusk shots.
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| Royal Cresent |
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| View over Bath |
