One of the most interesting, and beautiful aspects, of bath, in my opinion, was the pump rooms. The Grand Pump Room was built between 1789 and 1799 to accommodate the large number of people who wanted to actually drink the waters from the baths. The waters were thought to be rich with minerals and had “healing” powers. The pump rooms are known for having famous visitors such as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens (which I was very excited about). I even went to the Jane Austen Centre to try and see the Jane Austen Exhibit but it was sadly closed for the time we were there that day. The gift shop was open though (of course)!
I loved our tour of bath, especially the pump room. It was so cool to experience drinking tea in the very room Jane Austen also drank tea in. The atmosphere in bath for some reason felt completely different than the atmosphere in London. I definitely felt like I was farther away than just an hour or two by train. One of my favorite parts was the street performers. Those are also here in London, but I have not seen as many as I did in just this one trip.
The actual baths were very cool to see in person and learn about. I never realized how intricate the different rooms and systems really were. I only ever really saw the big outdoor bath before going there in person. As my friend Reese found out very soon, the cobblestone around Bath is definitely more of a sneaker friendly road. But this is also pretty prominent in London too. I did feel as though this place was filled with only tourists. It is a very touristy spot so I can see why it felt that way. Once we got out of just the bath area and more towards the main part of town it seemed to be filled with a few less tourists and a few more locals. But overall, I really only got a touristy vibe from this place. It was still beautiful and fun of course though because I am a tourist!!
- Jill Qualls
Theatre in London U of A 