Tuesday, January 27, 2009

BEGINNING TO DISCOVER BATH AND VICINITY


+ Bath.co.uk offers a Virtual Tour.

+ Rick Steves recommends Mad Max Tours of Stonehenge and Avebury and the Cotswolds and other places near Bath.

+ Rick Steves describes nearby Glastonbury as a town which "gurgles with history and mystery." He says that it is "located on England's most powerful line of prehistoric sites (called a 'ley line')." Major sights are the Abbey and the Tor. The town is full of New Age shops and eateries.

+ Rick Steves does not cover the nearby city of Bristol in his book on England so I wonder if it is worth seeing. The University of Bristol certainly thinks it is. Their web page on the city informs us that John Betjeman, former poet laureate, describes Bristol as "the most beautiful, interesting and distinguished city in England." Hmmm. I definitely would like to see the Clifton Suspension Bridge completed in 1864. Photo above.

+ Another nearby city is Wells which is included in the Rick Steves book. He says Wells is "wonderfully preserved" with "more medieval uildings still doing what they were originally built to do than any town you'll visit. He says that the cathedral is "the highlight of the city" and is "England's first completely Gothic cathedral (dating from about 1200)." He devotes more than two pages to a description of the cathedral and the nearby buildings and grounds.

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