Thermae Bath Spa, Organ Recital at the Abbey, & a Walking Tour
Tuesday, May 31
I was pretty excited for this day because it was Thermae Bath Spa day! This place touts itself as "Britain's original thermal spa." The waters at this spa rained 10,000 years ago and drained deep into the earth. They are the same waters that flowed at the Roman Baths. The water is naturally warm and has 42 minerals.
I didn't have a reservation, but was instructed the day before when I stopped by that if I arrived a little before opening time that I could walk in. So that's what I did. There was a bit of a queue, but I got in within 20 minutes of opening.
They give each person a bathrobe, flip flops, and a waterproof electronic wristband. There is a maze of little changing rooms and lockers for you to put your stuff. The wristband unlocks your locker at the end. They give you two hours in the pools and saunas and steam rooms, with an extra 30 minutes to change and an extra 30 minutes if you decide to eat in the café.
We were only allowed to have our towel/bathrobe in the spa areas. It actually felt really nice not having anything on my person for the experience.
No photos are allowed inside, so here are some stock photos! This first photo is the main pool. I spent most of my time here.
I float-walked around a bit, but mostly stayed in one spot in the corner. I was able to hold onto the edge and put my feet on one of the columns and just float there flat. It's so nice to have your ears underwater where you can't hear anything. I moved my head back and forth so that my hair flowed from side to side. I definitely felt like I was some sort of water goddess.
Next, I headed into the sauna and steam room areas. There were two saunas which had different heat levels. The first one I went into felt pretty typical heat-wise for a sauna, but the second one was hard for me to breathe in because it was so hot! The photo below is the first sauna.
After the two saunas, I found a room that was kind of hidden and I'm so glad I did because it was the room in the photo below. It had four tiled lounge chairs which were surprisingly comfortable and some ambient music with video footage of the universe. I would like this type of room in my home. It was perfectly lovely and I just zoned out for a bit.
After the universe room, I headed over to the steam room (below). I didn't really know what this room looked like at the time, because the steam was so thick that you couldn't see who was sitting next to you or across from you! It was somewhat disorienting, but also quite nice. Breathing in thick steam was something to get used to. It kind of forced me to focus on my breath, which is always a good thing.
I decided to have a bite to eat at the café at this point. For some reason, my stomach always feels more hungry when I'm in a pool and I hadn't had anything to eat yet anyhow. It was a basic café; I got a sandwich and some crisps (chips) and a coffee.
Next, I headed up to the rooftop pool! The weather for the first part of my visit was pretty cool for the time of year, hovering at around 60. It was really nice getting into a warm pool when the outside air was chilly. The views were beautiful! You could wave at people on the street. 😂 I bet this is very delightful in the evening when the sun is going down. Superb!
After the rooftop, I headed back down to the main indoor pool and did my mermaid thing until my very last minute. I don't think they really kick you out, but I respected my time limit. Here's the one photo I took, inside the changing room! I just wanted to document it somehow.
It was a bit pricey to have this experience ($45), but when will I get ever get back to Bath? And when will I ever get the opportunity again to swim in thermal bath waters? So I had to do it! I enjoyed every minute and would highly recommend it to anyone.
The timing worked out kind of perfectly for me to head over to Bath Abbey for a free organ recital. They had TVs set up so that you could see the person playing the organ, so that was cute. We would clap after the song was over and he'd look at the camera and wave and smile.
After the recital I decided to do more walking around Bath. The Bath website had a free audio tour so I used that and saw some of the sites.
Below is the Royal Crescent, a circular formation of posh townhomes. It was pretty cool to see!
This is the Pulteney Bridge with its cool water feature!
The photo below is the Holburne Museum, which houses a nice collection of art that I wasn't too interested in.
If you watch Bridgerton, you might recognize the exterior of Holburne Museum as Lady Danbury's home.
And a very pretty hotel entrance (below).
I had walked about three miles at this point and didn't have any other places to visit, so I decided to find some food. I had downloaded an app called Dusk before the trip. My main draw to the app was that you can find pubs that offer a free drink. So I decided to take advantage of that and went into The West Gate. I got something called dirty meatbag fries. 😂 I think it was fries with pulled pork and some sort of sauce, delivered in a bag. It was good! And I got this free drink, which was absolutely tasty and cute to look at too!
It's a passionfruit martini and the foam was sweet!
Just a thoroughly pleasant day in Bath, but I was ready to move on to London.