This hotel had obscenely expensive breakfast, so we declined the breakfast option.  We have had a lot of Fulls this trip, Full Scotish, Full Irish and Full English  We are happy to have a break from a Full, so we cross the street to the Cabot Circus Shopping center to the Pret A Manger for coffee and a muffin.  After that we head to the train station and take a few photos along the way.

Canal boats on the Avon Canal

Burges Salmon is a Law Office

The Valentine Bridge with modern tower behind

We purchase return tickets to Bath and one way tickets to Torquay for tomorrow.  We arrive in Bath.  The spa town to the medieval aristocracy.  It is a very welcoming city.

A creative re-purposing of the traditional red phone booth

Umberellas floating above the shopping district

Bath Abbey

From another side

Clever add for a comedy walking tour

We take a “Free Walking Tour” at 2pm.  There are a lot of people waiting to take this tour.  They do have 2 guides so the group is divided into 2 groups.  We go with Bill.  Bill is a retired Head Master is 80 years old and is passionate about Bath’s history.  Particularly it’s architecture.  He spends 2.5 hours showing us Bath’s interesting architecture that we would just have taken for granted.  Columns, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian!!

Lots of chimney pots

Houses designed by John Woods senior.

At the end of the tour Bill takes us into the Baths (which cost about $40 CAD to tour), the free sections where we can see the baths and the beautiful tea room.  We have taken free tours in other cities and it always ends with a tip.  Another Canadian tourist handed Bill something and he was very adamant that he would take nothing for this tour, that it was absolutely FREE!!!!  She was only giving him Canadian flag pins.  We were still wanting to give him something, but while we were looking at the baths, he disappeared!!

The hot pools

Another angle

These stones have been carved to create these patterns. There is a term for the effect, but I have forgotten what it is 🙁

Before he left us Bill pointed out some architectural features of the Cathedral.

The ladder with people climbing up. These are on both sides of the massive window.

An intricate carving on the side of the ladder

We notice many people in Victorian era costumes.  This is apparently a thing in Bath!!  It is in tribute to Jane Austen,  I manage to get a photo of one couple.

We head back to Bristol on the train and are amazed at the bicycles in the train station.  WOW!!

They go so far back!!

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!

We are cold.  The wind has been blowing and the rain has been falling.  We have decided to go to Sardinia!!  Why Sardinia???  Well it is warm!!  I have a friend who is there right now and we have seen her photos on Facebook!!  And it is WARM.  And it will be cheaper than staying in England for those 8 nights, with accommodation, food and drink!!

We will go from London Gatwick on Wednesday the 20th and return on the 28th as we have pre-paid hotel reservations in London for 3 days before we fly home.  Tomorrow we travel south to Torquay, a seaside resort town on the English Channel in Devon, south west England.

More adventures to come.