Saturday, May 12, 2007

Bath, England by Margot Justes

Summer is almost upon us, and if you find yourself lucky enough to go to London this year, do take a detour to Bath. It is but a two hour train ride from Paddington Station, you can sit on a train and watch the English countryside glide by.

Bath has been designated a World Heritage Site, and rightfully so. It's history goes back to 65 A.D. It is the place of the Roman Baths, incredible Georgian Architecture, the best examples are the Circus and the Royal Crescent and must be seen to be believed.

The Pump Room, where Jane Austen had high tea served (and so can you), is still in business and still serving tea. It is the Bath lifestyle Charles Dickens satirized in his Pickwick Papers. If you read any Regency books, Bath will invariably be mentioned.

But more than that, a visit allows you a brief glimpse of ancient history. The Abby had its beginning in 973. There is a restaurant that has been in business since 1680, and to this day still serves the Sally Lunn buns.

There aren't too many places in the world with that kind of sustenance. You can walk on Gay Street and be sure that Jane Austen walked that same street. There are art galleries, one museum after another, just walking down the street there is an incomparable feeling of joy and essence of its past.

That is an awesome sense of history, anywhere you turn you are surrounded by it.

Till next Saturday,

Margot Justes
www.mjustes.com
A Hotel in Paris
Echelon Press

1 comment:

Erica Ridley said...

Very cool. There used to be (maybe still is?) some kind of Jane Austin 2-week tour of England for writers. I always wanted to go on it, and now I can't find my bookmark for it. Probably didn't bookmark it... *sigh* I've been to England, but not to Bath... I'll have to make it a point next time I'm over there!