SOLO EUROPE IV: DAYS 4-7 [BATH & BRADFORD-ON-AVON]

after a lovely train ride (random, but i had a ham, pickle, & butter sandwich - we don't put butter on sandwiches in the us) through the english countryside, i arrived in bath. bath ended up being one of my favorite stops. it was a mix of things - the city, my stay, & the people i met. i learned when i was planning my trip that i would be in bath during the jane austen festival - and on the year of her 250th birthday. i did not partake in any of the events, but it was such a joy to see all the people in the city to celebrate. many of them were dressed up in the regency period attire. austen spent time in bath & in her books, a few scenes take place in bath.

one of the reasons people city is becayse the city is a unesco world heritage site. bath was founded by the romans & known for its thermal baths (hence the name). throughout the city are neo-classical georgian buildings made with local stones, including the abbey. because of its georgian architecture, it is a popular place to film regency era films including a few of my favorites - bridgerton, persuasion (2007), & the duchess. 

after dropping my pack at the hostel, i made my way to the bath world heritage centre. i also found that the city tourism board had 2 "podcasts" that share information about the history of bath & jane austen. i downloaded them both & switched between the two during my walk. i really enjoyed the jane austen one that had actors reading sections of the book in locations where they took place. my favorite was the persuasion excerpt while walking along the gravel walk to the royal crescent - a popular promenade during the regency era. multiple times during my walk i had to shelter under a tree. it would be sunny & then quickly the clouds would roll in & it would start pouring.

outside the visitor centre is this pretty archway

the exterior filming site for the modiste in bridgerton.

some gals in their regency garb

i ended up not visiting the jane austen center, other than the gift shop (it was very expensive, though i was tempted to see some of the props from the 2007 version of persuasion). they have character actors (theater kids having fun) outside & it was funny watching everyone swoon over the mr. darcy character. i did get a special jane austen 250th birthday cross stitch kit.

the jane austen centre

a banner for the jane austen festival

recreated 1700s georgian garden behind the circus (and free to visit!)

a popular building to visit in bath is the royal crescent, a row of terraced homes built in a crescent shape from the 1700s. one of the homes is a museum, which i did not visit, but i did go to the gift shop. i found this to be the best souvenir shop in all of bath (there are not that many). the royal crescent is well known to anyone who enjoys regency era films & shows. the exterior was used as a filming location in persuasion (2007), the duchess, & bridgerton (the featherington's home). 

the royal cresent (c. 1774 - georgian)

pulteney bridge  (c. 1774), one of only 4 bridges in the world to have shops the entire way (i have also visited the one in venice). it was also used as the filming location for javert's suicide in les miserables.

the holburne house was the exterior for lady danbury's house in bridgerton.

i then went to guildhall market to find dinner, but also found some gals in their regency garb at the haberdashery (i am tickled this is actually how it is labeled in google maps)

i took my time walking back & strolling the streets

at the guildhall market, i bought a kidney & meat pie to bring back to the hostel. i did not know exactly what it was, but i knew it could literally be kidneys and i was ok with it. i learned it was actually minced kidneys, but i still liked it. i also bought a pesto pasta at the local tesco.

my kidney meat pie

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the next morning i took my time, got a coffee, & walked the bath city parade gardens. i had morning reservations for the roman baths, but there was still time in the morning. it was just me and the landscaper.

a special landscape arrangement for the jane austesn festival & her 250th birthday.

the roman baths were one of the few places of my entire trip that i reserved before i left. man is it expensive, but i enjoyed it more than i thought. roman history is not my thing, but i really enjoyed the way information was presented. there are different types of baths romans would take & amongst the ruins, there were projections of people in the baths, smells (including aloe, lavender, & burned wood), & cold/heat to show temperature. it made the museum very immersive & i appreciated the use of senses. some of the most interesting info was about how romans exercised (they had a type of dumbell), the old minerva temple, cult tablets, & slavery.

the great bath

before the romans came, the baths were used as a temple for suris (later minerva - goddess of wisdom, justice, & victory - by the romans). the roman baths were designed for public bathing in the 1st century & used until the 5th century. the romans eventually left & the baths deteriorated. the current building the spring is in is from the 1700s. you can even taste the spa water at the end of your visit. i did & it tastes like like bloody water because if the high mineral content that gives it a metallic taste. 

the roman bath's terrace with roman statues from the 1890s & the abbey in the background

the spring overflow

royal national hospital (c. 1738) at the end of the block

  

i did not plan on it, but i decided to then visit the bath abbey (gothic - c.1611)

i found the angel ladder cool (i later learned this is jacob's ladder)

at one point, the organ was playing dawn from joe wright's pride & prejudice, a very nostalgic song for me. i was vibing.

there is even a dress up section in the basement. i dressed as an abbess. 

i then went to sally lunn's historic eating house that is from the late 1600s. i still do not know if it is a gimmick or historical, but they are known for their buns which are kind of like a brioche that can be sweet or savory. when they are open, you can eat in or you can order one of 3 options to go. i ordered to go & got the more traditional one with lemon & sugar. i tried enjoying it outside on a bench near the abbey, but bees kept coming after me so i ended up eating it back at the hostel.

lemon curd bun from sally lunn's

after eating, i left for a day trip bristol, but that is in the next post. when i got back, i had my first gregg's sausage roll (i liked it) & picked up a to-go meal from pret. i then ate dinner with a girl i had met the day i arrived in bath as she was in the same dorm room as me. i do not remember her name & we did not exchange information, but she was 30, from somerset, & a doctor. we hit it off well & throughout our visit to bath had really interesting & honest conversations about life, politics, & jane austen. she was in bath by herself for the week to attend the jane austen festival. she also had kfc for dinner so i could see how the brits do it. they get fries, corn, & beans with their chicken. no biscuit (which us my favorite & they would probably compare to a scone)! 

the infamous gregg's sausage roll

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the next day i spent most of my time in cardiff, but had plans to go out with my new friend for dinner. we decided to go to a pub as i was scared to go by myself. i read you do not need to order alcohol at a pub, but i was still nervous i would stick out. i do not like attention. she wanted to go somewhere fancier, but did not think there were many good options so we settled on a wetherspoon's ("spoons") establishment. i was happy to experience the culture of going to a spoons. to a dumb american like me, it seems to be the equivalent of a cracker barrel, a more affordable option for comfort food. they are also known to lean into local history (each name has to do with the history of the building) & as a place for college students. after we were there for a while, the workers blew out all the candles as he said it was freshers, the first week of university where freshman are known to over drink & get rowdy. on a side note, on the way there i literally slipped & would have fallen, but my friend caught me. we found it so funny. 

i had an ale beef pie with mashed potatoes & mushy peas. i also had a ginger mint no-jito since it sounded fun to have a mocktail at a pub.

it also worked out well as i have a rule i do not walk around in other countries by myself after dark. so we walked around a bit after we ate. a city looks so different at dark. bath is a bit quieter than other cities, so it was pretty quiet. there were a good amount of people dressed in their regency garb as there were night events for the jane austen festival.

there was a ball at the roman baths for the jane austen festival

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the next day i had a slow morning & took my time. i did not have much planned other than bradford-on-avon. i tried to plan a visit to the cotswalds, a region in england full of picturesque villages with cottages, but it is hard to visit without a car. it became too difficult, so i decided to visit bradford-on-avon. though not a part of the cotswalds, it is along the avon river (the river does also run through the cotswalds) & there are similar stone buildings.

before visiting the village, i decided to get off the train one stop early to avoncliff. i had my earbuds in but, good thing a train conductor walked through the carriages informing everyone that if they were to get off at avoncliff, they would need to walk to the front carriage as the station is so small, only the front carriage doors open to the platform. i was the only one to jump off. i wanted to stop here as there is an aqueduct from the early 1800s & it is walking distance to bradford-on-avon. i learned that avoncliff is a hamlet (i did not even know this was a thing) as it is smaller than a village. i do not think i visited another hamlet during my trip.

avoncliff aqueduct (c. 1805)

to walk to bradford-on-avon, you have to follow the trail for 1.5 miles along the kennet & avon canal. it was pretty empty with only a few other folks walking, running, or biking. i saw more narrowboats than people. these boats are either used for tourism (as restaurants, accommodations, or joy rides) or as living places. the weather was great. so good, this is the only full day i wore shorts. everyone else wore jackets (i learned a british stereotype is they wear according to the month, not the actual weather)

a narrowboat on the kennet & avon canal

once i got to bradford-on-avon, i stopped at a cafe for a drink & a sweet treat. i got a a type of dirty chai flat white & a lemon pistachio blondie. the cafe is on the grounds of the tithe barn. it was lovely to just enjoy sitting down, slowing down, & enjoying the presence of something so old created by humans. the medieval barn was built in the 1300s! 

a coffee with my date, the tithe barn (c. 1300s)

after walking in the barn, i made my way to the city center. the town is known for its old wool industry & the buildings from the 1600s. there is not much to visit, but it is worth the stroll to see some of the old buildings. i visited a couple charity shops & coffee place for a cold drink. from my research, it looks like tourists visit to have traditional afternoon tea here.

the river avon

the old churchyard

the old town hall which is now a church

the shambles

the bradford-on-avon train station with some daytrippers dressed in their regency costumes.

earlier in the day i felt a scratch in my throat, but did not think much of it. by the time i was on the train back to bath, i knew i was sick. and by the time i got to the station at bath the fever and fatigue hit. i was struggling walking to the hostel. i had planned to visit a park in the afternoon, but knew i would not have the energy. i laid down & tried to sleep. i confided with the girl i met and she said she also was sick & her fever hit the night before. when staying at hostels for weeks, you are bound to get sick at least once. i have gotten sick on all 4 of my trips (and sometimes twice). people plan their stays in advance & i have no expectation for someone to cancel, lose money, and spend more money for a private room if they are sick (i would not want to). it is the price to pay when saving money & being around a lot of people.

i ended up not being able to fall asleep. luckily i had some sudafed (i always bring some because you can't buy it in some countries). i was dreading getting dinner, but i knew i needed to eat something. i decided to go to the nandos by the train station & stop at boots for some throat drops. this cold or virus was pretty brutal. i ended up having a cough and congestion for over 3 weeks that really got bad at night. it made it very awkward at all my hostels as we live in a post-covid world.

i ate nandos while i almost fell asleep at the table.

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i stayed at a really great hostel in the one of the pierrepont place buildings from the 1700s. it looked old & felt old but was so lovely. everyone working there was pleasant. most folks staying were women attending the festival from all over the world. most were from the uk or us but in my dorm was also an older lady from mexico that was so excited to be there. everyone was just so happy. it was a celebration of girlhood. it was one of my best hostel experiences from any of my trips.

 

the entrance to the hostel

a girl visiting from mexico hung her bonnet & jacket in the window & it just looked so lovely.

the basement looked like an old cellar turned into a communal spot. they had a tv & couch here. i was in bath when the season finale of the summer i turned pretty was released, so some girls (and one boy) organized a watch party. it was fun to watch it with others (though i was probably the oldest). everyone was vibing to taylor swift's dress. there was also a girl from france who was very critical of the portrayal of paris.

the communal hangout in the basement