June 19, 2025 - Today we’re driving to Bath (an hour drive). We’ll tour the Roman Baths, the Bath Abbey and do some exploring. It’s then an hour drive to Stonehenge and then 2 hours back to Chipping Campden.
We did a tour of the Roman Baths ($40/each), which came with an audio guide
view of Bath Abbey behind us
The town of Bath is located at the site of a hot spring, and was founded by the Romans in the 1st century. They built a sophisticated bathing and temple complex known as Aguae Sulis.
These curse tablets were thrown in the spring by the Romans hoping the goddess would punish those who had wronged them
people would also throw in objects as offerings
the complex had hot pools, cold plunge pools and areas for exercise
that's a bench
Bath Abbey (The Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul and a former Benedictine monestary)
The Abbey is known for it's fan vaulted ceiling
There are ladders on each side of the West entrance with angels climbing to heaven
Next we walked to The Circus, Georgian townhouses arranged in a circle, designed by John Wood
The Circus
Next it was a short walk to The Royal Crescent, also designed by John Wood. I think he liked curved buildings
Next we drove 45 minutes to Stonehenge
Stonehenge consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each about 13 ft high and 7 ft wide, weighing about 25 tons, topped by connecting horizontal lintel stones, held in place with mortise and tenon joints. Inside is a ring of smaller bluestones and inside these are free-standing trilithons.
It was constructed in several phases beginning about 3100 BC and continuing until about 1600 BC. The whole monument is aligned towards the sunrise on the summer solstice and sunset on the winter solstice.
It's one day before the summer solstice, so these guys came with their foil hats. Stonehenge was getting ready for A LOT of people tomorrow. They had parking lot after parking lot ready.
There was a bus that drove us out to the site, it was $42/person and came with an audio guide
On our way into Chipping Campden every day we see a few houses with thatched roofs
I love the thatched roof over the entryway
We went back to Da Luigis for dinner and Kev and I split this amazing sausage/mushroom pizza
When we're in Chipping Campden for the evening we always walk through the market. I love the crazy patchwork of a floor in the market.
In the Cotswolds we saw these X's on a lot of houses. They are tie rods that are designed to strengthen the house and keep them from bowing out.
June 20, 2025 - Today we're headed to our final stop, London. But first we have reservations at Highclere Castle, which was used in the filming of Downton Abbey. It's a tour of the castle (which is actually the home of the Earl and Duchess of Carnarvon). The tour cost a whopping $175/person (luckily it included lunch and a signed book about life at Highclere by the Duchess of Carnarvon, but it seemed to me to be a bit pricey!) It's an hour and 20 minute drive to Highclere from our apartment in Chipping Campden, then after the tour it's 40 minutes to Swindon to drop off the rental car and pick up the 1 hour train to Paddington Station in London.
Downton Abbey!! I can hear the series theme music swelling, as I walk down the road!
We need a pic at the front door
Now it's time for the guys in front of Downton Abbey! On the tour they asked if anyone hadn't watched Downton Abbey and Kev and Jim were the only ones to raise their hands.
The first written account of the estate dates from 749 when an Anglo-Saxon King granted the estate to the Bishops of Winchester. Highclere was built in 1679 and largely renovated in Jacobethan and Italianate style in the 1840's by architect, Charles Barry.
OK, one last selfie because no pics in the castle.
The tour took us through the entire first floor and many of the bedrooms on the second floor. They told stories about what it was like during filming. They used most of the rooms as-is, using the castle furniture and artwork. The guide showed us a small room, not used in filming, that was Maggie Smith's private room, so she could get away for some quiet. The main room of Downton, the Grand Hall, was especially fun to see, with the stone balcony above and the staircase leading into it (with the red carpet). It was really fun to walk down these famous stairs. The guide said that Mary's bedroom was a set at Ealing Studios in London to accommodate filming needs. Also the servants quarters and kitchen were recreated sets, since these areas had been modernized at Highclere.
Lunch
quiche, sandwiches and mushroom soup
4 desserts!
we walked around after lunch (the estate is 5,000 acres)
It was a great tour! It was fun to hear about the filming of the Downton Abbey, as well as the history of the castle and the current residents.
we made it to London!
Paddington Station
Nice clock in the station
dinner anyone?
view from our Airbnb
Home for the next 5 days
Our Uber driver said that the Westbourne Tavern, 2 blocks from our apartment always has "a vibe" when he drives by, so we thought we'd try it out
a few beers before dinner
mussels and beers, the kitchen was actually quite good for a pub bar
Kev liked the pic on the chalkboard
When we left, the place was jam packed
Google said "popular with young media types" (not sure what that means, but we were definitely the oldest people there)
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