NOT Bristol!, Bristol

Day trip to Wales

As the welsh Capital is just 45 miles away then why not spend a day in Cardiff

„X Castle
„X Millinuem stadium
„X Cardiff Bay
„X Bay cruises

Read by cariff page for indepth infomation%c

Bath

Nestling in between 7 hills between the Mendips and the Cotswolds ,in South West England Bath is an architectural masterpiece , on every UK tourists 'must see' destination list and rightly so. First settled by the Celts, whom legend has is it discovered the hot springs medicinal qualities. Then occupied by the Romans, who promptly built their own temple and spa - Sulis Minerva.

By the 17th century Bath had become a fashionable resort, 'taking of the waters' being particularly popular. Many of Baths finest buildings were constructed in the next 150 years. Pulteney Bridge (1774), designed by Robert Adam is one such example. Downstream of the Bridge is a park, with a Bandstand and superb flower displays in Summer.

Why not take a cruise along the River? Boats leave from the steps below Pulteney Bridge. Also completed in 1774 , and well worth the walk uphill from Bath town centre, is The Royal Crescent, not in fact a semi circle but an ellipse. No 1 The Royal Crescent, has been restored in Georgian style.
The famous Pump Rooms were completed in 1790. Adjacent, in the Church Yard is Bath Abbey, with its imposing West Front. Dating from the 16th century, the Abbey was constructed to replace the ruinous Norman Cathedral. The Abbey contains some particularly fine stained glass, and superb fan vaulting. The Church Yard itself attracts street entertainers such as the juggler seen in these photographs.
The Romans Baths themselves were not rediscovered until 1880. They leave a memorable impression on any one seeing them for the first time. Take a tour of the ruins with a hand held commentary.
Leading off Baths main shopping streets are numerous side alleys ( known locally as passages )crammed with yet more shops and restaurants, a delight at any time of year. Though Bath is best explored on foot, one may be tempted to take an 'Official Bath Tour' in an open topped double decker bus, complete with commentary by an informed guide - an ideal way of seeing Bath if time is limited.

This is the only bridge in the UK and one of only a few in Europe with shops on it. If you walk in the direction of the city centre and take a left just off the bridge you are able to see the wier and look over the gardens. The entrance the gardens is about fifty metres futher on.

The River Exe rises high up in the hills of Exmoor, in Somerset. It cuts across the county of Devon, and emerges into the English Channel at Exmouth, some 55 miles from its source. Following disasterous floods in recent years, the river at Exeter has been tamed somewhat but it is still a beautiful area to visit. The most picturesque location is, perhaps, the old port area, now a tourist attraction, with various shops and restaurants. The rope ferry is a popular method of crossing the river at this point. There is a very large multi-storey car park within a few minutes' walk of the quayside.

The countryside around Exeter. For part two of this page please see the Travelogue on Dartmoor Just click here: Geoff's Dartmoor Page

The Cathedral Close is a beautiful area of elegant old houses overlooking the Cathedral Green. This area contains, amongst other attractions, the Bishop's palace and its gardens, Mol's Coffee House with its elegant panelled room which still retains the Elizabethan atmosphere, and next to it St Martins church, built of the local red sandstone. Cathedral Close is but one row of buildings from the main High Street, but it is in a world of its own!

Exeter is an ancient city and was inhabited by the Romans, who knew it as 'Isca', this being the Roman word for water. (The name 'Exe' is the old British form of isca meaning 'water'). The Romans constructed a road known as the 'Fosse Way', from Lincoln to Exeter, parts of which still exist. The Saxons settled in Exeter, building on many Roman sites, and in the 10th century Exeter was plundered by the Danes. The Norman castle in Exeter was one of a number erected by William the Conqueror (1066-1154) to guard the West of England. The castle consisted at the centre, of an earthwork and wooden fortifications. The earthwork was a mound, called a 'motte', on top of which was a wooden tower. At the foot of the 'motte' was a rectangular enclosure known as a 'bailey'. The picture here is of the remains of the medieval 'Exe Bridge' which used to cross the river at this point. It has now been replaced by a large modern roundabout, which straddles the river.

Exeter Cathedral is. naturally, the focal point of the city. It evolved from a Saxon cathedral of 1055 and its successor, the Norman building, of which the two transeptal towers, built in 1275, were incorporated in the present cathedral. Its style is of the middle Gothic period. Early English buildings had narrow pointed windows, called lancets, often arranged in groups of three, or five. The second stage Gothic, called Decorated (covering the reigns of the three Edwards c. 1270-1370), is marked by a great development in the tracery of windows and by the use of geometric patterns. On the west facade is the largest surviving array of fourteenth-century sculpture, and Exeter chathedral is known as the best Decorated in England.
The bells in the north tower include one which is the oldest of its weight in Britain, cast in 1616. The south tower has a ringing peal of 13 bells with a weight of over 13.5 tonnes, the tennor, 'Grandisson', weighing 3.5 tonnes. The cathedral was badly damaged during the air raids of 1942, but the damage was repaired by patient reassembly of the stone and excellent replication of the original work.