Thursday, Sept 26. We went to Bath and have a photo of a tub to prove it.

Thursday, September 26, 2013  We went to Bath and have a photo of the tub to prove it!!

We did leave the drive way at 6:34 this morning, so we came close to being on time.  We were all sleepy but we were there.  The traffic was not bad until we got near Bath.  We followed Myrtle and also the directions sent to us by Maddy of Mad Max Tours and we right to the little unmarked lane and found the bus and driver waiting on us.  Actually, I think Maddy and Mike, the driver, were surprised we made it – early even.   

Since we were getting on the bus before it even left the bus yard, we got to choose our seats.  While we were waiting for the safety inspection to be finished, we found a bathtub in the grass and got a photo of it to prove we visited Bath!!!

The bus went to the big city of Bath to pick up the other passengers and we certainly encountered a lot of traffic – I sure am glad they let us meet them at the bus yard and I didn’t have to drive and park in all that mess.  We ended up with 15 passengers on our 16 seater bus and set off to see the sites.  While in Bath and on the country roads around it, we saw many MAMILs.  Men Age Men In Lycra. They were riding bicycles everywhere.

Our first stop was Stonehenge.  Even though it rained on us as we drove to Stonehenge, it was not raining when we got out.  The temperature was definitely cooler and it was windy so I was glad I wore socks and shoes instead of flip flops.  I think we were all very impressed with Stonehenge and the way it was presented with the audio presentations. 

 If you ever get a change to go see it, go!!  It’s amazing to think of all that work that went into the creating and building of it.  There is so much they do not understand about it and it’s kind of nice to know there are things we don’t understand. 

We got back on the bus and drove to Avebury which is a larger site that is more spread out than Stonehenge.  There is a deal of mystery at this site also.  Both of these sites were constructed at about the same time as the great pyramids of Egypt but since there are no hieroglyphics in England we don’t have any written information about the reasons for their creation or how they were made.  Look up Avebury and read about it – it’s interesting.  

We then drove by the hill containing the Cherhill White Horse, a very large design of a horse that is cut into the side of a hill.  It is periodically filled with new white chalk and school children hang from the cliffs above to stamp the chalk down.   

There are about 12 of these located in this area of England and they are pretty amazing considering how far away we were able to see them.  The one we saw may have been about 120 feet tall. 

We also got out of the bus once to pet some Clydesdales type horses.  They were very friendly and came right up to us.  Several of us petted them.

I have to admit that as we rode along before the stops, I napped.  I was tired!!!  I was awake for the times off the bus though.

We went to Lacock and had lunch.  The first two pubs we tried were too busy and wouldn’t serve us but we had a really good lunch of sandwiches and desserts at the pub called At The Sign of The Angel.  

 It was a really old building and the lady was very nice.  The food was delicious and the desserts were huge and great.  This is a village where some filming of the Harry Potter movies took place. 

According to the information I was given by a lady who should know this was Professor Slughorn’s house. 

This was James and Lily Potter’s house. 

This is a hedge that someone spent way too much time on.

Lacock is a rather large village and is definitely beautiful.

We then visited Castle Combe which is a small village of only one street but it is also beautiful. 

 The film Dr. Doolittle was filmed here back in the 1960’s and the church here is hundreds of years old, as are many in the Cotswolds.  

It was almost time to leave and I rushed into the Old Rectory Tea Room, but I didn’t notice the step down right after the front door. Down I went!!  Hopefully I won’t have bruises on my arm or knees and the soreness will go away soon.  I felt kinda silly there on her floor when she came in to see what that noise had been.  It was just me going boom!!!! 

We then headed back into Bath to drop off the other passengers and then back to the bus yard to get into our car.  Mike still had to clean the bus so his day wasn’t over with yet.  He did a really good job of making the tour really enjoyable.

We drove home without drama, much, and were home before it was dark.  I did hit one curb but no damage was done.  We are dinner from the fridge again – we have a lot of food we need to eat in the next few days before we leave.

And, we knew the housekeeper was planning to come in to Welcome Cottage today while we were gone in order to change the sheets.  We did not realize that she would also vacuum and straighten everything up.  It sure looks nice here tonight.  We have been keeping it clean but it was nice to come home to a really clean house tonight.

We have now set our schedule for the next few days. Tomorrow we are going to Wales to see castle ruins and Tintern Abbey ruins.  Saturday, we will retrace our steps to the Inn at Snowshill – we really enjoyed that lunch.  Sunday, we plan to go to Oxford and do a hop on, hop off tour and we hope that the city will not be too packed on a Sunday morning.  Monday, we will go to Stratford on Avon and Coventry.  We take the car back to the Avis place in Oxford on Tuesday and pack up for London.  Our original taxi drivers will be taking us to our London hotel on Wednesday morning and we begin a new chapter in our trip.

Here is a final thought for you to consider: