Bath and the Avon Gorge Railway

Visiting Bath was next on our agenda. Using Google, we located a Park and Ride close to us.  We soon found out that the journey to the Park and Ride was adventure in itself.  We found ourselves on a very narrow road, really not more than a track in some places. That being said, the scenery was gorgeous.

Bath is another of the UK's Roman influenced cities.  We found out that if the town or city has cester or chester in the name, it means that the Romans settled there. Bath is the exception because of the restorative waters of the baths. As part of the admission fee, there was a free guided tour of the Baths.  We even had our own personal guide for most of the tour.

Until the 70s, the Baths  were open to the public.
Apparently, students from the university would

sneak in at night and swim. One morning the

staff noticed that the statue of Julius Caesar 

was missing. After an intensive search, someone

decided to look in the Baths.  They found Caesar in
the pool, installed security and now no one can swim in

the Baths.

This is the pool where the statue of Julius Caesar was found.

While taking these pictures, the characters are holographic very
similar to what you would see in the Haunted Mansion at Disney
World.  The figures actually move and perform as they would
have when the Baths were originally opened. It was amazing!

After visiting the Baths, we wandered through the town centre. I needed a new very small purse to carry for traveling and sight seeing.  My favorite store is Primark.  The only comparison I can make is to Kohl's, but much larger.  I found exactly what I wanted. We walked through little alleys and into shopping malls. The architecture in Bath is beautiful. We found the charity shops and, of course, had to look. On our way back to the bus stop to catch our bus back to the carpark, we heard a very talented musician named Lawrence Gratton. We enjoyed his music so much, we bought his cd!

On our way to the garden center one day, we saw the sign for the Avon Valley Railway.  We did a little research and discovered that pre-World War II era steam trains were still in operation. We spent one morning riding a steam train from Bitton Station to Oldland Station, and Avon Riverside Station and back to Bitton Station.  It was so much fun.  The cars were reminiscent of the ways trains looked in the early to mid 20th century. We even had cake and coffee in an old railroad car at Bitton Station to complete our journey.

Now it's off to Axmouth for a long weekend with a black lab named Murphy!

Bristol, The Clifton Suspension Bridge, and the SS Great Britain

After leaving Billy and Ted, the laid back cats from Horsham, we traveled to Longwell Green to stay with two chocolate labs and 6 ducks.  The labs, Buttons and Lily, were sweet old ladies who loved belly scratches.


We had a wonderful stay in Longwell Green.  Longwell Green is midway between Bristol and Bath.  Bristol is a lovely town with much to see. Bath's claim to fame are The Roman Baths.  We made several visits to Bristol, leaving our car at the Park and Ride.  The Park and Ride is so much easier for visitors like us. We pay a minimal fare to ride the bus to town centre. Chuck gets to see the scenery this way (I still haven't gotten up the courage to drive yet). On our first visit to Bristol, we happened upon a motorcycle show. 

We had fun just walking the cobblestone streets and looking at all the motorcycles. We also wandered through a small market and enjoyed the street performers. There is an area in Bristol known as the Christmas Steps.  Rumor has it that this little alley with its steps is the inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

On our next visit to Bristol, we toured the city on the Hop On Hop Off bus. There was so much more to Bristol than we knew. Two stops on the tour were our favorite:  The Clifton Suspension Bridge and the SS Great Britain.  The Clifton Suspension Bridge was originally designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.  Brunel designed and built the SS Great Britain. Isambard Kingdom Brunel was a true genius. Chuck and I attended several lectures aboard the NCL Jade (our transatlantic cruise to Southampton). Here's a short YouTube video about Brunel.

The nest day, we toured the SS Great Britain. It was fascinating. We spent several hours touring the ship. The brave and daring could pay an extra 10 Pounds to climb the rigging. We chose to just watch.

Touring the SS Great Britain was a time well spent.

Chuck and I found, quite by accident, that charity shops, a.k.a thrift shops, are great places to find souvenirs. We like to find prints and watercolors that remind us of our adventures. We started this while in Chester and have continued our search for treasures to document our travels. We found a great copper etching in Horsham of the Carfax where we heard the concert on Market Day. Bristol and Bath were no exceptions. We found prints of the cities that remind us of our visits.

We just missed the Hot Air Balloon Festival by a week.  This festival is held in Bristol in August.  However, one evening while on my way to put the dogs away for the night, I looked up to see 2 hot air balloons. What a way to end the evening!