Bath, England - The Roman Baths

Bath, England is situated approx 156 kms from London. The city was established as a Spa with a latin name Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis") by the Romans in the 60s AD. Romans built baths and a temple on the surrounding hills of the city Bath in the valley of the River Avon around hot springs.

I couldn’t wait to reach there as the pictures in the pamphlet of the Bath city which I was holding looked so amazing, My friend was on the driver seat and I chose to sit on the rear seat enjoying the beautiful views on the way having sandwiches. It was sunny, the road was smooth and stomach was full after sandwiches so I didn’t even realise that when I slipped into my napping mode, which I am not very proud of. Glad that the mode deactivated after half an hour as we entered the city of Bath. The city looked nothing like London, infact it was different from all other towns in UK. Of course Romans left their architectural presence all over there.

An old church

Despite the scenic beauty of the city, Bath is famous for "The Roman Bath" which is a major tourist attraction and receives more than one million visitors a year. There are four main things to look for are:

• The Sacred Spring
• The Roman Temple
• The Roman Bath House and;
• The Museum holding finds from Roman Bath.

We were glad to find the parking spot quickly and rushed towards the Roman Baths only to wait in the queue for the tickets. It didn't take too long though but we were in a hurry as it was already 4 pm and we had Stonehenge on the list for the day as well. Soon. we entered to witness some great architecture and beauty of the Roman era and the way they designed their buildings.

Along the way, we entered the place where the Roman Kings used to take baths. It is amazing to know how they built all the reservoirs and techniques to keep the water warm enough for the kings to take bath. The technique Roman engineers used was that the hot water in the spring rises at a rate of 1,170,000 liters each day at 46 degree Celsius. It bubbles up into the king's bath which was built in the 12th century A.D. Beneath the King's bath is a reservoir built by Roman engineers who used the hot water to supply the baths. This still continues till this date as I tested by touching the water which was still warm and good enough for bath despite the weather.

The Roman Baths

It is believed that in the past this natural phenomenon was beyond human understanding and Romans thought it to be the work of the ancient gods. In Roman times a great Temple was built next to the Spring dedicated to the Goddess Sulis Minerva, a deity with healing powers.

Goddess Sulis Minerva

The mineral rich water from the Sacred Spring supplied a magnificent bath-house which attracted visitors from across the Roman Empire.

Natural Hot Spring

Painting depicting Kings on their way to Bath

I almost felt like a Roman emperor as I wandered through the history and learning all the facts and totally amazed by the Roman engineers work, boys did well. It was already 5:30 pm and we were already late for our next destination, Stonehenge. I left my Roman spirit there and rushed towards the car to make it on time.