We were in town a little after 11 am and headed straight to the Roman Baths, no queue, so a good result. One advantage of getting older is you get in places a bit cheaper, in this case £11.75 each.
The whole thing is very well laid out with a free audio guide. The route zigzags back and forth and up and down so you see things from several angles.
Like the room above, it is viewed from both ends.
You must remember this was not just a hot bath but also a temple covering quite an area.
You enter the baths on the terrace level and walk round the top of the main bath before going inside and working your way downwards. Here there are some very good models of what the complex use to be like, it has been built over many times since Roman days. 
The domed roof part is what houses the main pool with all the rest now covered by buildings and streets, Even today there is a lot more underground than open to the elements like the heated room where the floor was suspended on tiles.
You eventually come out at water level 
There are several rooms running off this level which were various treatment rooms.
The hot water springs come up in the Sacred Spring at a constant 46°C and the water then flows via lead pipes and channels to the other parts of the complex. 
The Romans were very clever at controlling the water levels with sluices and weirs with
the excess water running off to the river.
Today they are trying to use that excess energy to heat the Abbey which is almost next door with warm water. You can read about the project here.
In its day this would have been a very splendid building and below is part of one of the brick roof arches that would have been high above the main bath.
After all that we were ready for some lunch which we had in the square in front of the Baths and Abbey listening to the buskers. It must be some kind of licensed and timed slot system, as while we were there we heard three different acts. We also had the pleasure of watching the human statue getting ready. 
We were unable to see what was in the over trousers he was wearing or how it was fixed to the base that is under the blue rug. There is water running continuously from the bottle in his right hand to the mug in his left hand. The bag to his right contains a reservoir and pump and he has pipes inside his cloths connecting it all together. He just sits there on nothing with his leg crossed for hours.
In the afternoon we went to buy tickets to visit the Abbey tower. The only go on the hour, so we turned up about ten to three just as a lady was returning two tickets for the three o’clock tour. It turned the tour was cancelled as HRH Prince Edward was visiting the Abbey and he was running half an hour late and they were not allowed to do roof and tower visits while he was there, so we booked the four o’clock and it only cost us £6 each.
They only take 16 people at a time with two guides. You go up at the east end of the Abbey to the bell ringing chamber which is just above the Abbey’s vaulted ceiling.
Where every Sunday the bell ringers go to ring the ten bells. This room also houses the machine that plays tunes on the bells.
In the photo is the old mechanical one that works with a pin drum the same as a large musical box. But this has been superseded by an electronic one which is housed in the small blue box to the right of the guides head.
This room also houses the clock which is not very spectacular as all the clockwork mechanism and weights have been replaced by a small electric motor.
We then continued upward to the Bell Chamber.
The inscription on the largest bell reads All you of Bath that hear me sound thank lady Hopkins hundred pounds
After the bells it was the final of those 212 steps to the top of the tower wit its wonderful views of Bath and surrounding district
Then it was down to roof level where we walked to the west end
and so the the stairs to take us to ground level where we looked around the inside before leaving. It wasn’t long ago that we were on top of this lovely ceiling looking down through a spy hole.
They have very thoughtfully installed a mirror on a trolley so that you can look straight up without getting a kinked neck or going dizzy.
The abbey is also looking to improve its Carbon Footprint and save money by installing under floor heating using hot water from the Roman baths before it flows to waste into the river. There is more information on this under FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR BATH ABBEY HEATING PROJECT at http://www.bathabbey.org/abbey-community-news
This brought us to the end of another enjoyable day in Bath
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