Bath: Jane Austen Central

I waved the gang off as they set out to walk the last official section of the Cotswold Way, picking up where we left off in Cold Ashton. Remembering yesterday's slog through mud and across highways, I elected to stay and explore Bath. Yay, me!!

First order of business: walk over to the Theatre Royal and get tix for Emma for tomorrow night. Got the first sketch of the day in while waiting for the box office to open.

That accomplished, I strolled on down to near the railway station to catch a bus to Prior Park Landscape Garden. Today, as part of the Jane Austen 250th birthday celebration, the park was offering a discount to those in Regency period dress. Not me, obviously, but I was hoping to sketch some folks!

The bus took me up up up (still, I bet we walked steeper hills on the CW 😉) and dropped me off at the uphill entrance to the park. Walking the loop counterclockwise, you first see the HUUUUUUGE palatial mansion at the top of the hill that is now . . . a private school. A green runs downhill from there, surrounded on both sides by wooded walking paths that twisted and turned.

Apparently, that was a big change in landscaping at the time, away from more geometric and formal gardens to something more natural. It reminded me of Japanese gardens, how with each round of the bend comes a new sight to enjoy and explore. It was quite beautiful.

From a side path above, you could look out over the city of Bath. Really, it was very impressive.

The place was built in 1730s-40s by Ralph Allen, who made his riches from the stone quarry on the other side of this hill. Much of the golden stone you see in Bath came from that quarry. Allen apparently built the estate to celebrate his success. (Ha!)

As you continue down the steep wooded path, you come to the Palladian Bridge, one of only 4 in the world (with 3 being in England). I sketched here for the longest time and ended up talking with some women dressed in period dress.

Two were a grandmother - grandaughter pair from the Netherlands 🇳🇱 who had come for the JA festival. How sweet is that? The other was British, whose mother had made her outfit: skirt, jacket, AND bonnet. And the skirt was reversible so she could wear the fancy side out at a ball!

While sketching the bridge, I was actually not looking forward to slogging through to complete the mirror image on the left side, and I thought, "Heck. It's my sketch. I can leave the unfinished side open." Then, as folks came by in period dress, I was able to fill that space with quick captures of the Regency folks. Brilliant! I was pretty chuffed with how it turned out.

I had a lovely walk down from the park to the River Avon. Just outside the park, a young woman in a flowing white dress with a blue velvet jacket and matching bonnet was strolling a ways ahead of me down the lane, and I honestly felt transported through time!

Back in town, I was working my way along the river to the Bath Abbey, the official end of the Cotswold Way and where I would meet up with J, A & E. The lock system for raising and lowering the water was quite impressive, and there were many barges where it looked like folks were living, tied up to the near bank. You got it: I couldn't resist sketching the scene. I found a bench and set up studio. First, I popped out the last quarter of my steak & ale pie for lunch (yum!).

Also on the bench was a man named Ball. It turns out he used to work for the church across the river (St. John the Evangelist). He was such an interesting character with interesting opinions! He told me that he was waiting for a call as part of his smoking cessation program and he was hoping they wouldn't keep calling him weekly as that was making him anxious and so was smoking more, not less. That call came, and I got to listen in. I was so impressed. This is how government can work: meeting people where they are and helping them get done what needs doing.

Ball had walked a segment of the CW years ago with a friend. They carried their backpacks and tents, though, and said they threw in the towel after that first day. I shared that's what we were doing in Bath, and he asked how far we walked. When I replied, "100 miles," he was so impressed! "Good on you, mate! That's really somethin'." 😊 He went on like that for some time before heading off for groceries and catching his bus. 😊

About then, I figured the gang would be arriving at the Abbey soon, so I walked over there. In front of the Abbey was a happening place! Lots of folks walking through the square and sitting on benches, with buskers doing their thing and little kids dancing to the music.

The women next to me noticed the mud still on my shoes 🤣 and said, "You must be a hiker!" It turns out they had just finished walking the CW yesterday, so we had lots to talk about.

Before I knew it, I saw Eric striding in, then Abby, then Joe, so I hopped up to join them at the circular marker in the pavement, just like the one at the beginning of the CW. Pretty soon, the two women were taking our pictures for us, and chatting all together.

We celebrated with a scoop of ice cream, went to vespers at the Abbey ("evensong"), and then we were off to dinner at an Italian place nearby called Solaris. E & I had the crab ravioli, Joe the zucchini & cheese ravioli, and Abby the orecciette. We chatted with the young tattooed woman seated next to us on her own - from Kansas City! After tiramisu for dessert (A&E had the affogato and J the mango sorbet), we headed back up the hill to our B&B.

What a day! What a great day!

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