A Mini-Tour of Bath

In case you aren't able to make it over to Bath, England anytime soon, here is a little tour of what we saw in Bath.

 We saw several buildings throughout Bath with windows covered by stone.  The explanation behind this also happens to be the story behind the phrase, "Daylight Robbery".  A window tax was put in place in 1696.  It was basically a property tax based on the number of windows in a house, so many home owners bricked up several windows in their homes to avoid the tax.  Many of the homes around Bath still have bricked up windows because the window tax wasn't repealed until 1851... 156 years later.

 We also visited the oldest house in Bath... built in 1482.  I cannot believe that it is still standing.  Can you imagine the history and secrets that this 530 year old house has seen?!

 We only had one day to tour the city of Bath, so we skipped the tour of Bath Abbey (above) and just admired the beautiful architecture from the outside.

 We did, however, get a chance to take a walk through the old Roman Baths in Bath.

 To this day, hot water still flows through the baths at the same rate it did back in the day.

 I wouldn't recommend taking a dip in the baths though.  Other than probably getting hauled off to jail, you might slip and hurt yourself climbing down into the water.  The years of open air and lack of cleaning have really yucked up the bathing area (the baths were originally enclosed).

 The water is still thought to have medicinal powers to cure the sick and keep you healthy.  I was warned that only the brave should try the water because it has quite a sulfury taste, but I tried it anyway and I didn't think it was all that bad.  Maybe I'll even live a few years longer because I tried the water?

 This is just a little side history note... Some streets in Bath have raised sidewalks because the wealthy refused to walk on the same muddy paths that the commoners walked.

There is much more to see in Bath, but this is just what we had time to see.  Hopefully, we will make another trip to this historically rich town to see the rest of what Bath has to offer.