Wednesday 18th August

We had a lovely day in Bath. I had done some research on cartilage repair before going out and it said that recovery can take anything from 4 weeks to 4 months. That cheered me up a bit as I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t getting any better, so I decided to get a walking stick (I’d left mine at home!). We wandered round Bath trying to find one that didn’t cost an arm and a leg (!) and finally found one which was very good value from a small shoe repairers. Bath is a lovely city with lots of little lanes – Richard lost his bearings completely - thank goodness I have a good sense of direction! We had a quick lunch then went to visit the Roman Baths. I thought it was going to be what you see in photos but it wasn’t. The Roman Baths is below the modern street level and has four main features, the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman bath house and finds from Roman Bath. The buildings above street level date from the 19th century. The water which bubbles up from the ground at Bath fell as rain on the nearby Mendip Hills. Hot water at a temperature of 46 °C rises at the rate of 257,364 gallons very day, from a geological fault (the Pennyquick fault). There was a museum which then led into the more recent excavations – these are under the streets of Bath. It was fascinating and extremely well done. Everyone had commentary devices which were extremely informative. I’m really glad we went as I came away feeling that I had learnt a lot.