The Baths at Bath. One of the most fashionable places to be seen for English society in the 18th century.

A bit green now, but that is because it is open to the sun. Originally, it was covered so the algae didn’t grow and turn the water green.

Below you can see that the baths are well below the current street level. Since Roman times, the baths were covered with subsequent development. It wasn’t until the 18th century that anyone realized the baths existed below their city. A constant leak in one of the buildings instigated an investigation, and the baths were found. Where the people are standing overlooking the bath (yes, Ji m is th ere in the middle) is the current street level. Everything below has been excavated.

There are several smaller baths under the streets and the tour explains how the water flowed through the baths, creating hot, warm and cools baths. It really is quite an amazing structure and an amazing engineering feat, especially for the time.

The town of Bath itself is worth a bit of time to explore as well. We stayed in a very nice small private hotel and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The town is plagued with tourists but it is possible to escape the maddening crowds for a walk and the number of small hotels seems almost unlimited, unless of course you go during the tourist season.

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