(Dr.
Samuel Johnson)
Designated a World Heritage Site, its thermal springs
were first discovered by the Celts, then by the Romans who built a series of
baths, saunas and plunge pools. Visitors to the Roman Baths Museum and
Temple can walk along the colonnaded arcades and past the hot gushing
waters. Eighteenth century records show that many patients’ physical
symptoms of gout and paralysis were often brought on by occupational hazards
that exposed them to lead. Also, alcohol, particularly port, was
contaminated with lead as a sweetener and fungicide. The Royal Mineral Water
Hospital was the first in England to be open to rich and poor alike. On
arrival, a deposit of $6 either paid for your journey home or your funeral,
depending on the outcome of your confinement. While the Baths have an
interesting past, they also have a promising future for the new millenium.
An ambitious multi million dollar spa project will include the restoration
of two historic spas - the Cross Bath and the Hot Bath. Facilities will
encompass bathing, water therapy and specialist treatments.
After your self-guided tour, visit the early 18thC
Pump Room and ask the "Pumper", a gentleman wearing a white wig,
for a cup of Bath spa water. It tastes like the inside of a volcano but one
consolation is that you have just downed 43 minerals and trace elements.
Afterwards, you can treat yourself to a dainty afternoon tea including a
Bath bun while listening to the classical strains of the Pump Room Trio.
There are many ways to see around Bath which like
Rome, is set in an amphitheatre of seven hills. You can take a free two-hour
walking tour, cruise down the meandering River Avon or do as we did and opt
for an open-top bus tour. This is a great way to enjoy the sweeping Georgian
architecture of the King’s Circus, a complete circle of houses in
honey-colored limestone. We learned that in the Royal Crescent, one of the
30 houses recently sold for over two million dollars. When the houses were
built, the architects would design the front façade of the buildings and
the interior, but leave the back for the builders to do whatever they
wished. "This" said our humorous tour guide "is why we say
that most of Bath is Queen Anne at the front and Sally Ann at the
back."
If you and your fellow travelling companion have
different interests, you can choose from 16 museums and galleries, then meet
up again for an evening repast. Choices include the Museum of Costume, the
Bath Postal Museum, the Royal Photographic Society Museum and the Holburne
Museum.
On your last evening, stroll across charming
shop-lined Pulteney Bridge. Afterwards, sit in Parade Gardens and watch the
weir gently cascade like bridal veils into the River Avon. Ponder a moment
on the famous people who loved this part of England and who probably sat on
the same spot - Admiral Lord Nelson, General Wolfe, Sir Walter Scott,
Gainsborough, Handel, Dr. David Livingstone, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen.
From Bath, it is an easy return back to the M4 and the
journey westwards. Our first port of call was the seaside town of Lynmouth
which lies on the coastal edge of Exmoor National Park in North Devon. Our
abode was the Rising Sun Hotel, a 14thC thatched inn with crooked
ceilings, thick walls and uneven oak floors. One of our deeply recessed
windows overlooked the picturesque harbor and it was from here that I whiled
away many an hour drinking in the scene before me: like eyebrows, lemon,
pink and red roses clambered over cottage doorways and windows. No wonder
this spot inspired the poetry of Shelley, Wordsworth and Coleridge in the
early 1800s. However, Lynmouth was not always so peaceful. In August 1952, a
flash flood welled up on rain-soaked Exmoor and roared through the town
destroying 93 houses and taking the lives of 34 residents. A model
exhibition in Memorial Hall tells the story surrounding this disaster.
The wooded river valleys and the maze of trickling
streams on Exmoor led the Victorians to dub the area "Little
Switzerland ". Lynmouth is twinned with Lynton which sits on the brow
of the hill 500’ directly above Lynmouth. The towns are linked together by
a Victorian water-operated cliff railway which is popular with visitors. Our
favorite hike from Lynton was the North Walk along the spectacular Valley of
Rocks with its weird jagged granite outcrops on one side and the sparkling
Bristol Channel on the other. For a different view of the coast, check the
chalkboards at the harbor to book one of the boat tours. On a bright sunny
afternoon, we coasted past the cliff faces our binoculars trained on the
rocks. I was the first to spot one of the feral goats on Castle Rock. Below
were fulmars and on narrow ledges were perched herring gulls with their
fluffy beige chicks.
The next day, it was time for us to head further west.
We hugged the north coastline via Woolacombe, and on to the quaint fishing
village of Clovelly where donkeys are the only means of transport. We
therefore parked our rental car then walked down the steep cobbled street
which wends its way down to the 14th century harbor. Our route
took us past 18thc. and 19thc. slate-roofed cottages bedecked with flowers.
In Fisherman’s Cottage, an exhibition depicts Charles Kingsley who wrote
the children’s classic "The Water Babies". Clovelly can be a
very busy tourist spot, so if you don’t like crowds and your knees ain’t
what they used to be, give it a miss. When we reached our next base,
Treglisson B&B in Hayle, we were delighted to find they had a covered
pool – a welcome experience after a four-hour drive.
Refreshed, the next morning we headed for the nearby
coastal town of Marazion and the romantic fairytale castle of St.
Michael’s Mount. Situated on a rocky island, it was once a monastery
affiliated to Mont St. Michel in Normandy. Today it is home of the St. Aubyn
Family and a property of the National Trust. The castle has a fascinating
history and its terraces offer splendid views of the Cornish coastline.
Depending on the tide, access is along a causeway or by ferry boat. It pays
to check the tidal charts. Through binoculars, I watched a crocodile of
visitors on the causeway turning back to the shore with sandals held high
and shorts a little damp.
Back on the mainland, we drove through the thriving
town of Penzance and along narrow high-banked lanes towards Land’s End.
Our destination that afternoon was the extraordinary Greek-style Minack
Theatre which was carved out of the granite cliffs. From May to September,
the theatre comes alive with 20 different productions. The Exhibition Centre
tells the story of how an indomitable woman, Rowena Cade, built much of the
750-seat theatre with her own hands. Adjacent to the cliffside theatre is
the spectacular Porthcurno beach with silky sands more reminiscent of
Majorca than Britain. Later, we rounded off our day with an evening visit to
St. Ives with its crescent of golden sands. Cobbled lanes and flower-filled
courtyards all lead down to the bustling harbor. It is easy to see why this
seaside resort has attracted many artists including Turner, Whistler and
Barbara Hepworth.
All too soon, it was time for us to backtrack
eastwards, this time along the south coast. Having read much about Cornwall
and Devon’s beautiful gardens, we decided to visit a couple of them. The
first was The Lost Gardens of Heligan – a living museum of 19thC.
horticulture near St. Austell in Cornwall. Until recently, these gardens
were lost under mountains of timber, bramble and ivy. Revived, the gardens
today boast walled gardens, water meadows and a medieval sunken lane. There
are even manure-heated pineapple pits from which Her Majesty the Queen was
given a pineapple on her Golden Wedding Anniversary.
The next garden was at Coleton Fishacre House near
Dartmouth in Devon. Now owned by National Trust, the house was designed in
the 1920’s for the D’Oyly Cartes of Gilbert and Sullivan fame. It is an
airy pleasant house with windows and doors leading out into the picturesque
gardens. The house is set in a stream fed valley which slopes down to cliff
tops. My favorite corner was the Rill Garden with its pools and canalised
gushing stream. Enjoy afternoon lunch in the outdoor patio – yellow pepper
soup, Brixham crab sandwiches and stem-ginger ice cream washed down with a
cool ginger beer from Buckfastleigh Abbey. Never alone, you’ll have an
audience of cheeky chaffinches.
For us, the town of Dartmouth was a pleasant surprise.
Pick up a leaflet which takes you on a self-guided walking tour of this
fascinating town which is truly a treasure trove of maritime history. Amble
along the pillared Butterwalk where fishing vessels from Newfoundland docked
in the early 1600’s. Continue to Bayards Cove which was visited by the
Pilgrim Fathers in 1620 and the cobbled quay which was the setting for
several films including ‘The Onedin Line’. Follow the stepped packhorse
track which is lined with exquisite cottages. If you are a photo buff,
you’ll have a challenge lining up your camera for perpendicular shots of
17thc timbered houses which sit at odd angles. To round off the
day, treat yourself to a packet of fish ‘n chips on the waterfront or take
a river boat to view Dame Agatha Christie’s estate and the Britannia Royal
Naval College. Whether in Devon or Cornwall, there’s always something
interesting to see around every corner.
For info. telephone British Tourist Authority @
1-888-VISIT UK or contact
