How to get from London to Bath? That was the question of the week, some months back. Should we take a day tour bus? Most, if not all, include additional stops at Stonehenge and Windsor Castle, leaving only a few hours in Bath proper. Renting a car was out of the question; me? drive on the left side? No, I don’t think so….
The train it was. And very easy it was: Charing Cross Station toBath Spa with departures every hour. One word of caution: buy your tickets on line before your day of departure. We paid SO MUCH more as we bought them at the station that morning…as in each round trip was about $80.00! A woman we met while out in Bath had paid about $40.00 by purchasing a week ahead.
We had been told by several people just how beautiful and unique a city it is. With gorgeous Georgian architecture at every turn, we wandered for about an hour through the very easy to navigate downtown, then hopped on the free shuttle bus up to
The American Museum in Britain.
Downtown Bath
The Museum is hosting the Kaffe Fassett exhibit. Are you familiar with his work? I know some of you are…and oh, what an absolute treat it was!!!
Color is the word of the day.
Here is part of the entrance to the exhibit:
I loved seeing these originals of his floral work, along with the color swatches.
The versatility of his style; the ability to be translated to so many different products…
Even the walls were spectacular!
Just who IS Kaffe Fassett? Kaffe is an American, born and raised in San Francisco, who eventually emigrated to England in 1964. He had worked as a graphic artist (this exhibit has some wonderful pen and ink drawings he did of the Museum collections), came to England and, after visiting a wool mill in Scotland, fell in love with yarns. And the rest is history. His website, Kaffe Fassett Studio, says it all. I counted at least forty books; paintings; fabric; rugs and more.
He L O V E S color!
The exhibit is open until November 2, 2014. If you have a chance, go…..
While in Bath we took the tour through the famous Roman Baths.
As the history of the Baths is long and complicated, I will send you to the site,
Sacred Destinations: Roman Baths
No, you cannot swim in the waters here: they have been closed for over thirty years due to risk of disease. But the tour is extensive and thorough, and you can walk at your own pace which is nice.
A day trip from London to Bath is entirely possible, although it would have been nice to have more time. We missed seeing
The Fashion Museum
That is a definite visit for me next time. And I want to get out of bus/taxi and walk the streets high up on the hill, see the Georgian houses up close, explore the side streets, and stay at
Three Abbey Green
a lovely B&B which I had originally booked when we thought a night there would work in our schedule.
That’s it for this week. Next week: Cambridge and finally, London.
Would love to know your experiences or comments!
