Vintage Bath

This image of the London Road has been heavily photoshopped but gives an interesting glimpse into what Bath must have been like 100 years ago (if you remove the cars!).

Welsh Wales

Apologies for all you out there. We realise that we have been extremely tardy in keeping up the daily element of our blog of late. Several reasons... Firstly I (Emma) passed all responsibility for the upkeep of our blog to him (Tom) and look what happens? And secondly we have been away.

But we have been back for two weeks so no good reason except we have been very busy! These shots show the wondrous Portmeirion in North Wales. The Prisoner was filmed here and it was designed and built by Clough Williams-Ellis. An Italianate confection, this village perches on the edge of the beautiful and wild Snowdonia national park. We are in love with this part of the world and are returning there very soon. In the meanwhile we will catch up with some great shots of Bath in the summer, complete with masses of visitors and traffic, but still beautiful and Georgian! We hope you are all well and thriving out there in the blogosphere! Do come and say hello!

Gruesome Stone Figure

This ugly looking fellow was photographed by my father whilst on a visit to Bath. The below image gives it a bit more context but id love to know where the figure came from and where it is going next. We will be using some more of my dads working over the coming weeks as he took some great images of Bath. More examples of his work can be found at Dawson Images.

The King William

The King William is perhaps one of my favourite pubs in Bath. It serves many a fine ale and has a friendly, laid backed atmosphere as well as servings some of the best food in town. It can be found on the busy London road, one of the main routes into Bath.

The Mysterious Pink Milk Float of Walcot Street

I see this strange vehicle every day as I wander down Walcot Street on my way to work. Quite what its purpose is I have yet to work out. Originally I thought it was something to do with the Bath Fringe Festival but that has been and gone, yet the milk float remains. I would love to hear peoples suggestions as to why it is this striking pink colour and has a sofa on the back!

Tour Bus

Love them or hate them, there is no getting away from these tour buses in Bath. I guess they are the scourge of every city which is visited by a lot of people. I personally don't like them as they seem to clog up the streets and slow the traffic down considerably. But then I don't begrudge our visitors a guided tour round the city so I suppose they are a fairly necessary evil! As you can see from the photo they don't blend in particularly well with the more sedate surroundings of Bath! I would prefer an old-fashioned double decker which I used to get to work on in London years ago!

Pulteney Bridge Flower Shop

Is'nt this flower amazing? I should know what it is but I don't! This flower shop occupies the best spot on the bridge. It has a wonderful view across the river towards Prior Park.

Great Britain!

This is indeed a great selection of of tourist bits and pieces covering all cliches from telephone boxes to London taxis and buses! Luckily in Bath we are not subjected to too much of this kind of merchandise but actually it does make me smile when I see it!

River Tours

This week I have been in a touristy mood for some reason, I think perhaps because it is that season in Bath! This is the boat which takes people down the river to the weir at Bathampton and it is a trip which I love and have not been on for years. Everyone gets all friendly and waves from the river banks and bridges. Normally Bath is not necessarily known for it's overwhelming friendliness!

Orange Grove

This shot shows a part of Orange Grove in Bath, it could be anywhere in Europe! Orange Grove has no oranges: the name comes from a visit by William of Orange in 1734. An obelisk stands in the circular garden, which is called Alkmaar after Bath's twin town in Holland.



This is Orange Grove in 1930!

Bath Abbey Revisited

This wonderful figure was created not very long ago and stands outside the Abbey

Strange Window

I have walked past this window many times over the years and wondered why it is on a fairly grotty side-street and why it is bricked up and why someone would leave an ugly polystyrene cup on the ledge! Next to it is a bricked up archway, of the type which in past times perhaps a horse and small carriage could pass through. The street is called Parsonage Lane which gives nothing away either! My brief research shows that it could have been connected with the Theatre which was in this area in 1705.

Guitar Shop

This is the window of the guitar shop Duck Son & Pinker in Bath, possibly one of Tom's favourite shops!

More of the New Bath

Here is another shot of the new shopping district being built in Bath. The first shops are due to open later this year with the project being completed in 2010. I think we are looking forward to some new places to eat rather then new shops!

The new bus station is now open and fully operational. It has made a big difference to that part of Bath which had become gridlocked with traffic due to the construction.

So Many Places, So Little Time

There are endless places to go in Bath. These are just a few of them! I am ashamed to admit I have never been to Prior Park Garden. Can you believe it? Me a gardener! Anyway, it's on my list of things to do this summer!



Lovely blog award goes to:

Liz
Sarah
Leigh
Michele
Henny

Congratulations ladies! Just copy and paste on to your own blogs!

Bath Rugby

The good people of Bath love their rugby. They love Bath rugby and the city is thick with supporters! We have to confess that not being from round here and not being particularly interested in sport, it has passed us by. There is no missing the hordes of fans on a Saturday when Bath are playing at home, all wearing their kit and filling the streets with the distinctive blue and white shirts and scarves. This is the home shop on Pulteney Bridge. Needless to say I have never set foot in the place and probably never will!

Book Shop Polaroid

This shot was taken using my latest new 'old' Polaroid which is a model from the 1970's and is white plastic with a rainbow stripe! Very retro. We were browsing in our local book shop yet again and I decided to take this photo to see how it would turn out! Notice John and Yoko taking centre stage!

The Forum

The Forum can be found at the bottom end of Bath town centre, across from the new shopping development.

It was originally built as a cinema in 1934 before being used as a dance school and bingo hall from the end of the sixties. It is now used for conferences, concerts, meetings, graduation ceremonies and users include local choirs, orchestras, schools, colleges and universities as well as businesses. It is a lovely building and I hope one day it will become a cinema again!

A big thank you to Christopher for nominating us for this award! I am now searching the net for new blogs to pass it onto!

Have a great weekend everybody :)

Free Music at Parade Gardens

Recently after work I stumbled upon a free concert being held in Parade Gardens. This park can be found next to the river very close to Pultney bridge. Lots of people were out to enjoy the sunshine and music as the concert kicked off a season of festivals in Bath.

The Cloister at Iford Manor

Iford Manor sits on the steep slopes of the idyllic Frome valley, which itself has been occupied since Roman times. The house is mediaeval in origin, the classical façade having been added in the 18th century when the hanging woodlands above the garden were planted.

Iford is best known for its Grade I internationally listed Gardens, designed during the early part of the 20th century by the garden architect Harold Peto . He lived at Iford from 1899 until his death in 1933 during which time he built up an extensive collection of artefacts, brought back from his travels abroad. His great love of the Italianate style is plainly evident at Iford, where flowers occupy a subordinate place amongst the more structural elements of cypress, statuary, broad walks and pools.

In addition to his planting and structural work, Peto also created a cloister, his "Haunt of Ancient Peace", where he displayed many of his treasures. Today this building is used as an intimate venue for opera and other musical events during the summer months. Iford Manor was the recipient of the Historic Houses Association/Chies Garden of the Year Award in 1998.

Fashion!

Bath has a Fashion Museum which is housed at the Assembly Rooms, right in the centre of the City. It has a permanent collection as well as visiting exhibitions. I love it there as I studied fashion in London years ago and was going to design clothes instead of gardens! How things have changed! Anyway, well worth a visit for the fabulous clothes, some of them extremely old and a very interesting collection of fashion photography prints. This poster of a woman peeps out onto the courtyard outside the museum and caught my eye the other day.

Grave Stones

These shots were all taken in the churchyard at Dyrham Park. There are many very old graves and the headstones are very interesting and extremely unusual. We have been trying (and failing) to find out more about them!

Not the cheeriest subject for a Friday, but wishing you all a very good weekend all the same. The UK is destined to have more good weather for once! We are off to a family wedding so lets hope that the sun keeps shining!

Welsh Telephone Box

Mindful of how you like an old phone box, we found this beauty whilst in Wales at the weekend. It was standing in these idyllic surroundings! We have more images to post later on from our visit to Monmouthshire, which is just over the border from England into Wales.

This is a view of the church at Skenfrith where we stayed. A most wonderfully peaceful and beautiful part of the world. Awash with ancient castles and churches as well as abbeys. We can't get enough of visiting here, it's only about an hour and a half from our home so we really can get here easily. We were lucky to have a perfect day with not a cloud in the sky. Not the norm in Wales!

New Bath?

These images show the new shopping area and bus station being constructed in Bath. The new shopping district is in keeping with Bath's architecture although the buildings lack the classic Georgian detail. Controversially all the Bath Stone being used to build them was imported from Italy!

The bus station on the other hand is quite a radical departure for Bath...

Dyrham Park

Dyrham Park was built at the end of the 17th century for Sir William Blathwayt. It's our local National Trust property and Emma has been here countless times as well as worked here over two winters pruning in the gardens. This place is beautiful and the house and the garden have been used for many films over the years including Remains of the Day. There is a huge deer park where you can occasionally see the deer grazing. It's a timeless corner of England.

This view is the original front of the house and the lawn was the grand driveway leading up to the house. The Trust are in the process of changing the gardens at the moment with new planting and some new layouts. This week we will show you the church and graveyard which is fascinating (if you like graveyards - which we strangely do!)

Stop The BNP Demonstration

We headed to Queen's Square on Friday evening to lend support to the anti BNP protest which took place in order to try to prevent the BNP from holding a meeting there. The British National Party for those of you who don't know campaign for, amongst other things, an all white Britain. They are a racist organisation and sadly because of the recent scandals involving our members of parliament fraudulently claiming money against expenses, are now seemingly getting a chance of more votes as the people of Britain turn against the mainstream parties. The BNP stand for hate and their roots are based in neo-Nazisim. However as we live in a supposed democracy, the police were out in force to make sure that no violence took place towards the BNP members.

St Martin's Church

More shots of the lovely St Martin's church. I just made a lightning visit to the place but plan to get back there very soon for a longer look round. The place is cared for by the Parish Council and although these photos show it looking quite abandoned, there are services here and the church itself has been repaired. There seems to be serious subsidence issues though which is why the gravestones are all moving down the hill!

English Churchyard

This is St Martin's Church in a tiny village called Northstoke just a few miles from Bath. I have been working right by this place in a garden and took these shots today. This site has been visited by pilgrims for 1,700 years and certainly there was a church here in Roman times. The house opposite the church was a Roman villa and shows the layout still to this day in having a courtyard. All the gravestones are sliding down the hill and the place is incredibly other-worldly, peaceful and ancient.


This ancient yew tree is thought to be between 800 and 1000 years old. Which is pretty staggering. It is possible that it was a seedling when the Normans rebuilt the church in the late 11th century. There is a lot of very interesting history to this place and I will show you more this week. There is a wonderful view across the valley to Bristol as this place is set high up on the hills. It is possible to see the old Roman terraces on the north hills, which are south facing and where they grew vines. (This all just sends a shiver right down my neck!)

Telephone Box

Snatching back the reins briefly to prevent Tom embarrassing me further, I am going to post today! I took this shot recently in Bath as I felt really sad for the poor old telephone box. An icon of British design and a symbol of the good old UK, these boxes are still sometimes used, despite most people owning mobile phones, however, they have been left to decay, which is a great shame. This one stands in a grand position by the Assembly Rooms in Bath, smack bang in the middle of a lot of Georgian grandeur! This image, I hope, sums up the way technology has gone forward in leaps and bounds leaving behind it some casualties.

Silbury Hill

Silbury Hill is the largest neolithic man-made mound in all of Europe. It was constructed at the same time as the Egyptians were building the pyramids. We visited it while on a day out at Avebury to see the stone circles that can be found there. I imagine the views from the top are great but you are not allowed access for obvious reasons.

Happy Birthday To My Darling Wife

It's Emma's birthday today. Although I love her more then anyone in the world I don't always let her know how amazingly gorgeous and special she is. I am the luckiest man in the world and would be nothing without her. Happy birthday baby.

Pulteney Bridge and Weir

Here is another look at the famous Pulteney Bridge. I often gaze at the Weir in the morning, watching the swans and seagulls. We live off to the right of the houses that can be seen in the distance.

Bluebell Sunday

We happened upon these woods by accident on a day out. Usually you can only access them on foot but on these special Bluebell Sundays vehicles are allowed to park so it is easier for the young and old to view this amazing sight. It was a really magical day with the contrasting colours of the Bluebells and Beech trees combined with the beautiful scent of the flowers. That's Emma enjoying the peace and quiet.

Hands Dairy at Abbey Street

Hands Dairy is actually the cake shop previously posted but Bath is chock full of these wonderful old painted signs some of which are really old. As recently as 1981 a Roman tessellated pavement was discovered right by here together with a medieval burial site. We love this city so much for it's rich archaeological history, everywhere you walk you just know that underneath your feet lie layers and layers of Roman history and the romance of this never really goes away despite having lived in this place for nearly fifteen years!

Cloudy Day

It has been cloudy and a bit miserable for May in Bath and bordering on slightly cold too! This shot shows the bottom end of Milsom Street before it becomes New Bond Street. There are usually buskers here, you can just glimpse a woman singing on the left hand side. Have a good weekend!

Dog Sculpture

This chap stands in the doorway of an art gallery in York Street in Bath. Even though I have seen him many times before, I always do a double-take as I forget he is not a real dog! I think he is probably much photographed by tourists who pass this place in their thousands from the tour buses at the end of the street.