In England: Day Three

Patient friends, at last I am able to write more England!

Limpley Stoke, Somerset

This morning, I awoke early as I most often do, around 5: 30. At six, I gave Grant a wake up call and we braved the morning chill for a walk into the village of Grasmere, this time by a different route. We strayed from the road, climbing over a breach in the fence, a sort of stile, I think. The pasture was quite damp, so we turned back after a few paces. On our way back, we happened upon a gate we'd missed in the dark, and finding it unlocked, took the footpath between two pastures where sheep dotted the murky morning. A little stream gurgled along our path. Crossing a bridge, we found ourselves in the village, behind the church. We had our bearings now, and made off for Waterside rather hurriedly because breakfast would soon be served!

Arriving in Bath some five hours after leaving Grasmere, we were met by a woman who took us on a three hour walking tour of the Jane Austen's Bath. We saw the Roman Baths of course, and Bath Abbey (although, disappointingly, we didn't get inside), stuck our heads in the Assembly and Pump Rooms, sashayed through the Costume Museum, meandered through the Jane Austen Centre. It was all very interesting, but quite exhausting.

Bath, one of the places I was most looking forward to seeing, was disappointing to me. It's a big, bustling city. I don't fault Jane Austen for disliking the place at all. I'd rather have stayed in the Lake District, to be honest. I liked the Georgian architecture. Very much.

How to Get There from Here


Miss Newton and Miss Austen: We Meet at Last! (Miss A. seems a bit distracted.)

Elegant Entry in Bath

Sally Lunn's, the Oldest House in Bath and Home of the Delicious Bread

Tonight and tomorrow, we are staying at Limpley Stoke. Our hotel, though a former manner house or something like it, is shabby to put it mildly. There are a dozen clashing carpet and wallpaper patterns, in some places, the wallpaper is missing entirely. Dinner was decent, at least. Something about the place just seems off somehow. After our experience at the Waterside in Grasmere, this is quite disappointing, but we shall make the best of it.

Comments

Lauryl Lane said…
oh, i'm so sorry you were disappointed with bath! i loved the city, it was so busy but in a good way. and so white! when the sun glinted off the white buildings it was quite dazzling. did you visit the royal crescent and take a turn in the park? did you enjoy tea at the pump rooms? did you spend hours drooling over the exhibits in the costume museum? oh, how i long to return...
Rebecca said…
I think had I been able to stay a day or two in Bath, my appreciation for the city would have grown. We were there late in the afternoon on a cold, rainy day, and we simply hadn't time to soak in the city's splendors.

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