For lack of much else to do, this morning Christina and I went on a walking tour of Bath, which is held for free every morning by the Bath historical society. We survived about half of the 2-hour tour; after that, it was so cold and so boring that we couldn't take any more. We saw the Roman baths (the outside, at least), some of Bath's old houses, and other important architectural landmarks. We also heard a bit about Bath's history as a holiday spot for London's high society, and as a favourite town for high-roller gambling and other aristocratic pastimes. No idea what the tour contained after that, because we bailed out on it.
Our tourguide outside the Roman baths. The lady was very kind and well-meaning: but god was she a snob, and also a bit boring.
Old houses of Bath.
Apartments in one of Bath’s “circuses”, that surround the circus in a full circle of buildings.
It seems that Bath is not only expensive (it's at least on par with London), its people are also quite the stuck-up snobs. Our tourguide this morning was the perfect example. Plenty of talk of "the nobles" having a history of coming to Bath; of "baroque" and "Victorian" architecture abounding in the town; and of "the commoners" not being so welcome in these parts. Bloody class-infused, old-fashioned England — who do they think they are, anyway? Us Aussie convicts will show 'em — don't you know we're all born equal?!