Day 16, Roman Baths, River Walk, Postal Museum
Our second day in Bath (Bath, Day 15) began with a tour of the Roman Baths. The natural hot springs were a social center for Romans in the first to sixth centuries AD, and then for the Georgians in the 1700-1800’s. Museum exhibits describe life in Roman times. Docents dressed in Roman attire add to the ambiance, anachronistically juxtaposed with the adjacent towering spires of Bath Abbey and other Georgian buildings, and the modern day tourists and buskers.
The Roman Baths
The Great Bath
Roman History
Georgian History
Floor plan
More exterior details:
Brick Arch
One of many Victorian-era statues of Roman leaders on the terrace
View of Bath Abbey beyond the terrace
Roof tiles
Another Roman – Agricola
Ionic columns
The Great Bath
The Sacred Spring
History and archeology exhibits were informative and a little overwhelming. A few visits to this museum would be necessary to take it all in.
Reconstructed model of the Roman Baths
Mosaic floor from the bath house
Pottery
Many items have been recovered from the springs during archeological studies. 
Pre-Roman coins
Keys
Roman Coins
Jewelry
Curses written on metal pages
More underground architecture:
The spring
Hypocausts – The Romans devised a method of underfloor heating. Stacks of bricks allowed for warm air to be circulated in the space below the spa room floors.
A last look at the Sacred Spring and the Great Bath:
Roman docent
River Walk
After our tour we wandered up and down both sides of the River Avon, and found a picnic ground viewpoint to eat our lunch.
Pulteney Bridge from the Parade Grounds
Looking toward the weir and Bath Markets
Tour boat
Pulteney Bridge
North side of the Pulteney Bridge
Looking up river from the Pulteney Bridge
We did a little window shopping and wandering.
Approaching the backside of one of the crescents
Book shop window
Fascinators for the upcoming Royal wedding (Meghan and Harry, 2018)
Street mural
Public staircase
Looking up
Old school
Bath Postal Museum
After shopping and walking for a while, we decided to visit the Bath Postal Museum. The well curated exhibits highlight many curiosities from the early history of mail as a commercial and government endeavor.
A lightweight coach designed to speed transport of mail delivery, 1874.
The world’s first self-adhesive postal stamp
Victoria on the Penny Black stamp
WWI era postcards
The cross written letter uses every bit of letter paper – must have been a challenge to actually read.
At this point, we had used up all of our sight seeing time. We ended the day by driving to an airport hotel near Heathrow, to prepare for our flight home the next day.
Margaret Quilts 