Friends, Romans, Countrymen...

Talking of Romans... This weekend (22 - 23/01/05) saw Emma, Justin (Em's boyfriend), Garry and I heading off to Bath for the weekend.

As with all weekends away it started with the best intentions of leaving the house at 7am on Saturday morning for the 2 hour drive west to Bath but being the young party animals we are we only ended up getting home from after works drinks on Friday night at 12:30am. Luckily for Garry and I we had not been drinking but Emma and Justin crawled into bed a good few glasses of wine and pints of beer down and so when Saturday morning 6am arrived there was little movement in the house... So there went the good intentions... But we finally did leave the house at 8am and headed off in Toni's car with AA directions in hand and hit the motorway out of London!

The first stop that had to be made along the way was a coffee stop for Garry who had warned us that he gets very grumpy if his coffee craving isn't saited so of course there were no complaints when he pulled off into the nearest garage for a Costa coffee. Justin had by this time told us he really needed a fry up (bacon, eggs, beans, etc) because his hangover was catching up with him but we were determined to get to Bath before we made another stop because we had been told that the traffic in Bath is awful after 10am so Justin, poor guy, was made to wait another 3 hours...

The trip to Bath itself was pretty (very pretty) and uneventful, that was until we got into Bath (absolutely beautiful town but more about that later) itself and were trying to find our hostel. All of a sudden all the road signs disappeared and we found that the AA directions did not cater for this eventuality... After driving in what seemed like circles for about 15 mins sense prevailed and we went to find the nearest open shop. And my word, the shop we did find was a beaut! It was an old clock shop and the owner was a lovely old man who pulled out a map book and took great pains to explain to us exactly where we had to go... Typical that we had gotten ourselves to the other side of town and had to turn around and head back in the direction we had just come in.

Turns out that our hostel is near the top of one of the hills surrounding Bath on a very steep road, woe to weary travellers who have to carry a bacpack up this road and then up the equally steep drive! But luckily for lazy us we had the car!! The hostel is based in a lovely Italianesque old house but we checked in quickly and then parked the car and headed off down the steep road again towards the town centre. The views from the road are something to be seen, breathtaking!

Once in town we wandered past all the old houses and then over the Pulteney Bridge over the Avon river which has been compared to Florence because you do not realise you are walking over a bridge until you look through the shops windows and you are looking down on water. We headed straight to the Abbey because we were due to meet up with Bruce Wilkins who now lives in Chippenham, a town a few miles out of Bath. Once there we got absorbed into a side show outside the Roman Baths. Two men in g-strings doing a comedic acrobatic act. Now just take to heart how cold it was... the wind was blowing and it was only about 6 degrees celcius to start off with and they were in nothing but their underwear!! It was a hilarious show though and kept us amused whilst we waited for Bruce to find parking (a near impossibility in Bath)

The first thing we did was take a wander around the centre of town. We passed loads of lovely little shops many of which were chocolate cafe's / shops and fudge shops. I could see that living in Bath would not be good for the waist line. But after the walk we decided the best way to take in the town was on an open topped bus... again, in the freezing cold. It seems to be that the only time Emma, Garry, Bruce and I take open top bus tours it is the middle of winter because we did the same thing in Cambridge. So, armed with fudge and bravery we headed out to see the town and hear some of the history. Bath really is a beautiful town especially seeing as it does go back to the Roman times and is steeped in history. The stories we heard were as diverse as why Queen Victoria only came to Bath once and never returned (apparently whilst getting out of a carriage when she was visiting a gust of wind blew her skirts to her knees and one of the locals commented that she had fat ankles) and why the houses were built with lovely fronts but the backs are a complete mess. It was a really interesting tour!!

After the bus tour lunch was in order so we headed off to the nearest restaurant. After lunch Bruce had to leave us so we said our goodbye's and then headed into the Abbey. The Bath Abbey is a really impressive building as it is made 60% of glass. And inside there are over 600 memorial plaques on the walls. Apparently one of the plaques reads something like: "Here lies father and daughter, died from drinking the spa water, obviously if we didn't, both of us would still be living". We didn't find it altho' we did find a plaque for the first prime minister of Australia who is buried in Bath.

Then it was finally time to go and see the famous Roman Baths. It was 4pm by this time and luckily for us ended up being the best time of day as the sun was setting and it made the baths look completely mystical and magical. I will have to send the pictures for everyone to be able to appreciate the sheer beauty. A lot of the baths are in ruin but the one main bath is still in almost perfect condition and the water really is warm from the hot springs that run under the city. You can imagine exactly what drew people to the baths over the years when you see them.

After the baths we were debating heading back to the hostel to relax before coming down to town again for dinner and a night out but hunger and interest got the better of us and we headed to the Saracens Head (the oldest pub in Bath) for a drink and ended up staying for a very good pub dinner. Whilst we were eating we noticed that the rain, yes, true to form, it had been raining most of the day, had turned light and fluffy. It was snowing!! So being the typical South Africans (and one Irishman, Justin) we finished eating very quickly and headed out into the snow! We then did a bit of bar hopping to take in the town and had an early night.

Do yourselves a favour when staying in a hostel... Make sure you take your own sleeping bag and pillow and take earplugs if you are sharing a room and the beds are wooden bunks. You get given a sheet which is shaped like a sleeping bag but this hostel didn't change it's pillow cases and me being paranoid didn't sleep very well because I had my head under the sheet for most of the night. Also, earplugs.... Everytime someone turned over on the wooden bunks it made the loudest noise... all in all, not bad hostel but not a good night for me!

Sunday morning we were heading home but in the direction of Stonehenge and Salisbury. But first a fry-up was in order so we headed off towards a cafe that Garry had seen the previous day. Did manage to do a major detour first because we wanted to try and get a view from the top of the very steep road our hostel was on so we drove up the hill only to find no views but the Bath University campus. The snow from the previous night had settled nicely here and so had the ice on the roads so we slid around for a little while checking out the sights. It really is a nice looking campus... Left me feeling like RAU left something to be desired. So after the obligatory snow pics we headed back down the hill and off to brekkie! Yum!

On leaving Bath Justin, being the good Irish farm lad that he is, came out with the best comment of the whole trip. We had just driven past a field and there were cows in it and Justin comments from the back seat: "Cows, Class!!" This had us all in stitches because he was so excited to see some cows instead of sheep! Don't ask me, I didn't ask either...

Finally, after stressing that we would not reach a petrol station before we ran out, we reached Stonehenge only to be assaulted by the coldest wind ever. The day was crystal clear and icy cold but the wind was another story... I am not kidding if I tell you that I reckon the windchill factor brought the temp way below the zero mark.

Stonehenge.... It is where you least expect it to be. As you are driving along the motorway all of a sudden you see it on the right and it is literally about 500m's from the side of the road. Another motorway runs on the other side of it. But out we got to go and see it up close and personal. We were bundled from head to foot but somehow my travel companions all decided they had to leave their gloves in the car... This did not make for much happiness as you get an audio tour handset as you walk in and after listening for 5 minutes they all had partially, if not fully frozen hands. Luckily for me I had my gloves stowed in my jacket pocket and took full advantage of having them.

Stonehenge really is rather spectacular if you are lucky enough to have a clear and dry day. The rolling hills surrounding it are a lush green and the rocks themselves are in stark contrast to the surrounding environment. As you come to the end of the tour you realise how much of an effort it must have been to raise this structure and it was done over 3 times during the course of history.

After seeing the great stone monoliths we headed south again for Salisbury which I had heard, from various family members and friends, had a beautiful catherdral. Once getting there we were throughly shocked by the state of the side of the city we were driving through and were busy hoping that the whole town didn't look like this because it was rather a dump. Luckily by the time we reached the centre of the old town all had improved and we were greeted by some beautiful old buildings and the first sight of the cathedral. Salisbury Cathedral is as beautiful as people had said and absolutely massive as well. The courtyard out the back of the cathedral looks like something out of the set of Merlin or First Knight with domed ceilings over the passageway surrounding the courtyard and lush lawn inside with a single huge tree growing in the centre.

After all these beautiful sights it was time to head back to London and real life...

My friends and other creatures...

Hello all and welcome to my blog page.

I figure it may be easier and safer for all your email accounts if I put all my loads of news on to this site and I can then just send you a quick shout when I update my blog because this way I can post all my pictures on the web as well and I don't have to worry about how long it is gonna take for you all to download them.

After this weekend will probably be my first real blog because as most of you know I am off to Bath with my flatmates for Saturday & Sunday. Planning on taking in the sights Bath has to offer including the incredible Roman Baths and then take a short drive to Stonehenge to finally see the famous rocks. Garry booked us in to what seems like a fairly decent hostel for the night so all remains to be seen! But I will be sure to update you all next week. The photo's will have to follow at a later date...

So until then I will leave you!