Volume 11 Issue 1 » 65
Travel to southwest England’s
ceremonial county of
Somerset where the glorious
heritage city of Bath awaits.
»
From London’s Heathrow Airport, the
M4 motorway carries us through rolling
countryside toward Bath, 185 kilometres
westward. It’s a panorama of colour. Past
Windsor Castle, the dark hedges border
patchworks of pale-green cereals and
yellow canola while white sheep and black
cattle dot lush hillside pastures. As we
descend into historic Bath, we’re awestruck
by the elegant, honey-hued buildings.
Parked at our outlying B&B, we begin our
journey with a stroll to the Roman Temple
and Baths, now boasting restored Roman
and Georgian features. Audio guides lead
us around statuary of familiar emperors
that line the terrace above its largest bath.
Downstairs, a model recreates the temple
complex that once surrounded the hot
springs of the ancient Roman settlement,
Aquae Sulis. Inside a small amphitheatre,
we learn that the façade of the main temple
featured a snake-haired Gorgon, Celtic
water spirit Sulis and owl, representing the
Roman goddess Minerva.
A portico encompasses the pea-green
Great Bath where actors portray slaves and
toga-clad nobles. A few steps downward
there are remnants of sweat baths and
pools discovered in the 18th century. As we
pass through, ghostly images of 1st-century
citizens are projected on ancient walls.
We come across exhibit 2F