When we last left our intrepid travelers (daughter Liz, SIL Peter, granddaughter Adeline and yours truly), we had just arrived at Radford Villa, the charming British home of Peter’s Uncle Peter and Aunt Carol.  They had moved from London to this beautiful estate in Timsbury in the heart of the Cotswolds nearly 20 years ago, and for a time they ran it as a bed and breakfast.

According to the Timsbury website, John Collins constructed Radford Villa in the early 19th century. It was originally called the Mill Mead House and was part of a brewery belonging to Collins.  It was later taken over by the Rossiter family who converted it into a market garden farm. (According to Aunt Carol, the new owners were Methodists and drinking beer was frowned upon.)

Our stay at Radford Villa was quintessentially English. That evening, Pete and Carol served a classic and delicious fish and chips dinner, seasoned with malt vinegar and accompanied by mushy peas. Then we were off to our bedrooms for a well-earned rest that would fortify us for the continuation of our Cotswolds campaign.

The next morning, we were off to Bath, a picturesque city that got its name for its Roman Baths that were built in 60 A.D. because of the hot springs found there.  Those springs made Bath a spa town ever after.

Uncle Peter and Aunt Carol had devised a tight schedule so we could see many of Bath’s greatest hits.  Our first stop was the Jane Austen Centre. This museum is compact, and a period-dressed docent gave a short talk on Jane, her writing career, and her time in Bath (which was not particularly productive from a writing point of view). An exhibit of clothing and scenes from her various novels was on display. And, fear not, dear ones, Mr. Darcy is well-represented!

From there we were on to the famous Roman Baths. The engineering genius of the Romans is on full display, and the museum does an excellent job of explaining the origin of the baths, the continuing excavation of the site, and its cultural significance. One can easily spend an hour or two walking through the Baths, listening to the audio guides, one geared for children and one for adults.

Every day Romans would go to the baths and exercise to work up a sweat. Their bodies would then be covered in oil. Next, they would enter a warm room, followed by a hot bath. Their bodies would be scraped with a special tool to remove the dirt and sweat. (They didn’t have soap.) A cold plunge completed the experience.  Roman baths were also a place for men to socialize and nearly all their cities and towns had one.

After a rest on the side of the bath, we exited through the large and well-stocked gift shop and onto a sunny street where buskers lined the way. Our time in Bath was only half done, and Peter and Carol had still more sights (and an exciting, death-defying adventure) planned for us in this lovely city.