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Devon and Cornwall conjure up images of secluded coves and wild windswept beaches, lonely moors and bustling holiday resorts, Cornish pasties and clotted cream teas. This area known as the West Country has attracted writers such as Daphne du Maurier, Agatha Christie and Rosamund Pilcher. A delightful gateway city is the elegant city of Bath. A relaxing spacious town, it is easy to reach by motorway or train from London.
Exploring England’s West Country
Angelica2006-04-05 12:26:51
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Devon and Cornwall conjure up images of secluded coves and wild windswept beaches, lonely moors and bustling holiday resorts, Cornish pasties and clotted cream teas. This area known as the West Country has attracted writers such as Daphne du Maurier, Agatha Christie and Rosamund Pilcher. A delightful gateway city is the elegant city of Bath. A relaxing spacious town, it is easy to reach by motorway or train from London.
Designated a World Heritage Site, its thermal springs were first discovered by the Celts, then by the Romans who built a series of baths, saunas and plunge pools. Visitors to the Roman Baths Museum and Temple can walk along the colonnaded arcades and past the hot gushing waters. Eighteenth century records show that many patients’ physical symptoms of gout and paralysis were often brought on by occupational hazards that exposed them to lead. Also, alcohol, particularly port, was contaminated with lead as a sweetener and fungicide. The Royal Mineral Water Hospital was the first in England to be open to rich and poor alike. On arrival, a deposit of $6 either paid for your journey home, or your funeral, depending on the outcome of your confinement. While the Baths have an interesting past, they also have a promising future with the planned opening of an ambitious restoration project called the Thermae Bath Spa.
After your self-guided tour of the Roman Baths Museum, visit the early 18thC Pump Room and ask the “Pumper”, a gentleman wearing a white wig, for a cup of Bath spa water. It tastes like the inside of a volcano but one consolation is that you have just downed 43 minerals and trace elements. Afterwards, you can treat yourself to a dainty afternoon tea including a Bath bun while listening to the classical strains of the Pump Room Trio.
There are many ways to see around Bath which like Rome, is set in an amphitheater of seven hills. You can take a free two-hour walking tour, cruise down the
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See photographs from:
United Kingdom Gallery
