NCHS Band: Day 4-A Journey Back in Time

Adventures for today included tours of the City of Bath and Stonehenge. Bath is a Georgian town with rolling hills. In the 1700-1800's, it was a very popular resort spa town for people to escape pollution and enjoy the spa waters. It was also a popular gaming spot. The wealthy would travel from London to Bath during key months of the year to arrange marriage contracts for their children. The famous author Jane Austin wrote stories based on the people of this time period and the town of Bath.

The town was first discovered by the Romans, who must have been delighted to find the hot springs in the midst of the cold, rainy climate. A small portion of the original Roman wall around the city is still in existence. In later times, the town was organized and run by monks. Although the monastery is gone, some of the homes of the town still have connecting pathways left over from the monastery.

The Bath Abbey has some very interesting facades, including two ladders running up the sides of the front facade, with angels climbing up and down from heaven. The Bishop of Bath, Oliver King, is said to have had a dream with these angels ascending and descending into heaven which inspired the design.

Following the walking tour in Bath, we enjoyed some time to have lunch and do some shopping before departing for Stonehenge. These ancient rock formations are indeed very curious! We learned of the history and speculation about this wondrous site.

Upon return to London, we dined in another pub before returning to the hotel to get rested for another day tomorrow. Enjoy some photos of our day:

God looking down from the top of the Abbey

Students enjoyed hearing of the history of the town of Bath from our tour guides

The beautiful interior of the Abbey

The care and cleaning of the Abbey is serious business! This plethora of tools was laid out ready to be used on the many intricate details in the wood and stone.