Bath, UK. part 1

“If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.”

― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey, volume 1, chapter 1

Once in a while everyone needs a trip by himself. And this trip to Bath was one of mine. You are just left with your impressions of the city on your own and enjoy it, nothing can distract you. So Bath is an English city, situated in 156 km west of London, which history goes back to the AD 60s and Romans. They build baths back then and centuries after that, during Georgian era it became popular as a spa town. It’s all Wikipedia stuff, but for me, as a fan of Jane Austen, it is a location from her novels and the city where she lived. Jane Austen is an English writer, who was published during Regency era. Her six novels (Pride Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey) are included in classics of English literature and appreciated in terms of day-to-day life details of the period and quality humor and irony. A lot of movies have been prodiced based on her novels. Behind girly romantic stories with happy endings there's a whole world of observations and discussions. The way she described characters and their behaviour, motives are amazing. I find it interesting, that there are a lot of similarities between 200 year ago English society and perceptions and our contemporary Azerbaijani mentality. So Jane Austen Centre is situated in Bath, which I have been dreaming to visit since I arrived in UK. And in April 2013 the trip eventually happened.

I took a 10:30 train from Paddington to Bath Spa station and arrived at 12:00. Bath is a small city, so you won’t need a taxi or a bus to get to the main tourist attractions of it, though there are sightseeing bus tours. A good walk along the River Avon and didn’t even realized how got to the Henrietta Road, a very quiet street with villas, which have a view to the park along the road. Enjoyed the silence of the street after  noisy and crowded London. The architecture of the city is all about Georgian era. The Circus, circular area surrounded by three buildings faced three entrances form an impressive construction attracting tourists. If there were no cars, you would think that you are somehow back in time. Little shops, cafes, museums, squares, churches,  musicians on the streets are welcoming even on a rainy English day. I think it is a perfect place to escape the rush of London and stay close to city life. The city is charming in its own historical way. It makes you want to come back again.

to be continued...

part 2