Dave
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Post by Dave on Jul 20, 2010 20:19:14 GMT
The evening beforeMy car was meant to have its MOT last week( not due to today) but Carols brother who looks after such things for me had so many issues to deal with he simply could not find the time to get my car sorted out. As Carol always has two of her grandchildren every school day Tuesdays we never make any plans to go out on this day during our week off work together. So Carols brother took my car today to get its MOT and it needed new wiper blades and three new orange indicator bulbs as it seems some of their paint had come off, so not a bad result in the end. Tonight its all been about planning our day out in bath and we have decided to use the Odd Down Park and ride at £2.50 each return( beats those charges in Budleigh Salterton ;D) and I have printed off pages and pages of street maps, lists of all the things to do and we may well end up spending half the day just reading all those pages  Really looking forward to what I know is going to be a great day and we are setting off around 7am and as the last bus back to the park and ride is 8.30pm, we should get to see and do nearly all the things on our list. I will write about our time in Bath ( maybe not tomorrow night ) and will put up a few of the best pictures out of the hundreds I expect to take. Many thanks Barton Down for your help. Dave
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2010 20:44:38 GMT
Many thanks Barton Down for your help. It's a pleasure, Dave. I did put in a strong plug for Beckford's Tower but I notice it's only open on weekdays by arrangement. Nonetheless it is worth visiting should you ever get the chance: www.bath-preservation-trust.org.uk/index.php?id=9 Quite a character was old William Beckford as is testified by his Wiki entry: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomas_BeckfordBeckford was notorious for a number of misdemeanours including his construction of Fonthill Abbey in Dorset. An ambitious project, yet cheaply constructed, it eventually collapsed:   You hope that Odd Down's stand is more structurally sound. Never been myself. This picture comes from Pyramid Passion:  Ponder this as you walk around the city: when I first visited the Bath - as a kid in the mid 1960s - the buildings were black with soot, grime and who knows what. Does anybody else remember this? Enjoy your day! |
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Post by chrish on Jul 20, 2010 21:41:24 GMT
I certainly do. My Grandparents moved to Bath when they came back from South Africa in the late 1970s so I can remember spending lots of time in their Riverside Flat in Bath in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It's a special place and one of the truly great cities in the UK for it's buildings. Edinburgh always struck me as being quite similar in terms of its buildings. As for the soot. Coal was to blame I believe. The famous Bath Stone picked it up quite well.
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merse
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Post by merse on Jul 20, 2010 21:53:52 GMT
As for the soot. Coal was to blame I believe. The famous Bath Stone picked it up quite well.  ...............and if you go to Twerton Park there are still a number of buildings nearby still disfigured by the grime. Interesting that Stefano described Bath as a "small city" as in Regency times it was one of the most populous cities in the country and there was a serious movement to re-locate the Royal Family there and make it the capital of England! Can't say I'm a lover of this rather overpowering Georgian city myself, although the buildings hold a fascinating history and are fantastically built; I just feel the overpowering brutality of the buildings are out of character with the natural environment of the place. It is a "must see", iconic city though but I much prefer Bristol. It's strange how the outwardly rural and picturesque idyll image of North Somerset and the Cotswold area to the north centering on Stoud, has such a fabulous industrial heritage though; what with coal mining and leather tanning just two of the ancient trades that were practised in the vicinity. |
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Jul 20, 2010 22:08:34 GMT
 an amazing day on the TFF with so many wonderful things to read on such a wide range of subjects   and a very  from me and I will be dropping in on you all tomorrow lunchtime from the grounds of the Royal Terrace.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2010 9:11:14 GMT
Can't say I'm a lover of this rather overpowering Georgian city myself, although the buildings hold a fascinating history and are fantastically built; I just feel the overpowering brutality of the buildings are out of character with the natural environment of the place. It is a "must see", iconic city though but I much prefer Bristol. It's strange how the outwardly rural and picturesque idyll image of North Somerset and the Cotswold area to the north centering on Stoud, has such a fabulous industrial heritage though; what with coal mining and leather tanning just two of the ancient trades that were practised in the vicinity. I enjoy both Bath and Bristol but - yes - I prefer Bristol of the two. For all its' delights there's something "heavy" about Bath that doesn't always put me in a good mood. Also I don't like the way I end up feeling even older, poorer and uglier than usual when walking its streets (although a quick trip to Twerton usually allays those feelings). There was a fair amount of industry around Bath itself - I'm thinking particularly of printing and cranes (Stothert and Pitt); cloth at Frome; rubber at Bradford-on-Avon...certain similarities with parts of the Pennines? PS to Dave. There's always the canal tow path to walk if the crowds get too much for you. To the east of the city centre close to the railway line. |
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merse
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Post by merse on Jul 21, 2010 10:02:44 GMT
For all its' delights there's something "heavy" about Bath that doesn't always put me in a good mood. Also I don't like the way I end up feeling even older, poorer and uglier than usual when walking its streets You and I share the same reservations about the place then Barty..................one of the aspects that spoils it for me is the overwhelming proliference of seemingly smug, self satisfied middle class types heading in and out of the Rec for instance when rugby is on with their superior air and "university" lecturer style of dressing. The Pennines? Hmmn, I see where you're coming from; but it's a long way from Halifax old fruit isn't it and give me The Shay any time! I get the impression that only a small minority of the people on Bath's streets have actually lived there all their lives................not unlike many other cities I guess; but a far cry from the Pennine towns where most folk one sees are born and bred there although granted many of them are second or third generation Asians. Best not to get to far into that, or some people will jump on my head with glee ~ you know what I mean but certainly (and rather like Ashburton, Buckfastleigh and Newton Abbot to an extent) there is an industrial heritage that owes it's existence to the steep hills and valleys and the resource of harnessed water that powered the early machinery. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2010 10:14:46 GMT
The Pennines? Hmmn, I see where you're coming from; but it's a long way from Halifax old fruit isn't it and give me The Shay any time! of the Cotswolds and parts of the Pennines, rather than Bath itself I need to add. Ashburton, Buckfastleigh....after working on the fringes of the South Devon arts scene until last week I hadn't realised how "arty" some of those places have become. Best not get started on the topic of Totnes either....but Hebden Bridge, there's a fascinating place. |
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Rags
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Post by Rags on Jul 21, 2010 10:26:27 GMT
PS to Dave. There's always the canal tow path to walk if the crowds get too much for you. To the east of the city centre close to the railway line. What - no 1910 map of Bath's canal area for guidance? Don't you like Dave or something? |
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merse
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Post by merse on Jul 21, 2010 10:31:00 GMT
....but Hebden Bridge, there's a fascinating place. I bought a pair of clogs there many moons ago and kept them on the sundeck of my garden in Hackney.............only used them for walking around the garden in, and painted their "names" on them Erwin & Ronald ~ my ex wife thought I was completely bonkers, but can YOU guess who I had the 'ump with to do that? ;D |
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Rags
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Post by Rags on Jul 21, 2010 10:51:08 GMT
Ashburton, Buckfastleigh....after working on the fringes of the South Devon arts scene until last week I hadn't realised how "arty" some of those places have become. It's all the same with these trendy South Devon tourist attractions. I spent a couple of years being brought up in Ashburton and when I went back there recently I was stunned to find the sweet shop had gone. Many's the time I bought a cone of mixed thingies for 6d on the way home from Infants school. It's the same with Kingsbridge. I was back there last year and horrified to be unable to find the old toy shop where I managed to emotionally blackmail my mother into buying me a tractor (it must have been a Dinky as I don't think Corgi would ever drop their standards as low as farmyard machinery) ** on the basis of having fallen over on the drive and managing to extract blood from a surface wound on my knee. The powers of a small boy bawling... I'm sure it had been turned into some sort of gallery or craft shop. **Modification: I do them a dis-service and I believe what I managed to obtain through such evil means was a Massey Ferguson 165, model number 66: www.chezbois.com/corgi/1966/Model_66.htm |
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merse
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Post by merse on Jul 21, 2010 11:00:24 GMT
It's the same with Kingsbridge. I was back there last year and horrified to be unable to find the old toy shop where I managed to emotionally blackmail my mother into buying me a tractor (it must have been a Dinky as I don't think Corgi would ever drop their standards as low as farmyard machinery) on the basis of having fallen over on the drive and managing to extract blood from a surface wound on my knee. You're lucky pal.........................had I pulled that stunt with my old mum, the best I could have hoped for would be a hankerchief to tie around my knee and a bollacking later on for getting blood all over it. Well, she might have pushed the boat out and bought me a blood transfusion van (Matchbox model though) to ease her conscience!  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2010 12:57:07 GMT
What - no 1910 map of Bath's canal area for guidance? Don't you like Dave or something? Apologies for the oversight:  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2010 13:12:29 GMT
I bought a pair of clogs there many moons ago and kept them on the sundeck of my garden in Hackney.............only used them for walking around the garden in, and painted their "names" on them Erwin & Ronald ~ my ex wife thought I was completely bonkers, but can YOU guess who I had the 'ump with to do that? ;D "Do I not like that" to quote the man himself? |
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merse
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Post by merse on Jul 21, 2010 13:22:16 GMT
Got it in one ~ I was more of a Cool Man  than a "Koeman" clumping around in them!
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