One can’t go to Bath and not go to the Baths! It was once the site of one of the great religious spas of the ancient world; the people of Roman Britain came to the site to worship the goddess Sulis Minerva and bathe in the waters of the natural thermal springs, which still flow with hot water today.  A temple was constructed on the site between 60 and 70 AD in the first few decades of Roman Britain, and along with it the development of the small Roman urban settlement known as Aquae Sulis. The Roman baths—designed for public bathing—were used until the end of Roman rule in Britain in the 5th century AD. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the original Roman baths were in ruins a century later.

The Roman Baths are preserved in four main features: the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House, and a museum which holds artefacts from Aquae Sulis. And of course there’s a gift shop. However, all buildings at street level date from the 19th century. The reconstruction was beautifully done. Visitors can tour the baths and museum but cannot enter the water. Back in the day the water had a constant in and out flow, now it is only changed three times per year, hence the lovely green color and prohibition from even touching it.

The self-guided tour was fascinating, with projections showing movie-like replications of life in the baths, along with lots of interesting engineering. The temple remnants are color projected to show what they would have looked like, and the findings on the site, like the mask of Sulis Minerva and various jewels, were all beautiful and well preserved.

And yes, they have purified water from the spring for visitors to sample. So we can say, “We took the waters” in more ways than one. It was great if you like warm sulphur…

The springs still exist anywhere you drill a hole in Bath today, rising at about 170 degrees. Our hotel has access to the hot springs beneath, and they cool the temperature down and then add chlorine before it enters the pools. No photos are allowed in the pools at the hotel, but I managed to get one through the skylights in the hallway outside of our room. Getting to luxuriate in all the magnificence of those pools every morning was such a gift! Thank you Mark and Jan!

Deborah