She Said:
A little more about the Limpley Stoke Hotel, "Bath's Country Hotel" -
The main portion of the building was built as a country home in 1760.
In 1800, Henry Fisher, a local farmer, bought it and ran a brewery and malt house below (Limpley Stoke Hotel sits on a hill).
In 1860, the house was renovated and expanded and in 1862 it opened as a "Hydropathical Establishment", or, in 2016 language, it became a Spa, specializing in water therapy.
In 1900, it was named the Limpley Stoke Hydro Hotel.
In 1940, it was appropriated during the war years.
After the war, it once again became a country hotel, as it remains today.
As I mentioned, it sits on a hill, with grand views out over the Limpley Stoke Valley. The view from our room was magnificent.
The K&A loops over and around the River Avon at a couple of points, one being the Dundas Aqueduct. It was quite picturesque on this sunny, blue sky morning. Dundas Wharf, warehouse crane and toll office are all silent now, but were bustling back in the day of K&A's transportation-of-goods prominence. A narrow offshoot canal is called the Collier's Way, used for coal transport to and from the main canal.
Everything shipped easier by water.
(In fact, the main benefactor of the original canal was a pottery manufacturer who got sick of losing more than half of his products to breakage when they were shipped by horse.)
And, speaking of horses, we came upon one of the original horse-crossing bridges, where canal boat operators would cross their horses from one side of the canal to the other, depending on what the upcoming lock required. The cobbles leading up to the bridge (to keep the mud at bay, I imagine) are big - 1'-2' - not like the little 6" cobbles of that era's town streets. And, the horses were big beasts, too - Clydesdales or Clydesdale-like. They really were, well, workhorses.
We helped a young woman open a swing bridge to allow her husband to navigate through with their canal boat. The bridge was a bit heavy for her to budge on her own, so we pitched in. We chatted for a while and then were on our way. Very nice people.
Along this segment of the canal, we saw some good, rough art on the banks and in the adjoining fields. So interesting to see art pop up in a very unexpected place. It certainly lent some whimsy to the countryside, and a human element that can be missing when everything is a field or stream. I liked it.
We ate our lunch in the graveyard of Saint Nicholas Church in Bathampton. Country graveyards are not creepy at all. They are peaceful and scenic and interesting. And, old. And, sometimes sad. In this graveyard, lots of babies - a reminder that most children didn't live past 5 years old in the 1700s.
We walked into Bath and were immediately struck by the "oh boy, we're not in the countryside anymore" - sirens, lots of people, lots of buildings.
We've been to Bath before and have seen all the highlights, so we're content tonight to eat in our excellent, antique-filled, huge room at the Henrietta House, on a quiet street away from the center of town. We stopped at the local Sainsbury on our way in and picked up salads and Guinness, so there's no reason to leave our nest.
Today was our last walking day on the K&A Canal. This has been the easiest 90+ miles we've ever walked in England. Flat. 6 out of 8 days of great weather. Fairly wide, well maintained path the entire way. Happy feet.
Tomorrow, two rest days in Wells. Maybe a bus to Glastonbury Cathedral. Maybe just a day of reading and relaxing.
This is so wonderful.
Total Mileage:
9.88 miles (K&A Canal; into Bath)
Since our arrival in England, Saturday, May 7, we have walked 98.45 miles.
Not too shabby.
He said:
We are sorry it's the last day, we will miss the smooth flow and civility of a canal walk and the many people we greeted along the way. Today, we walked into Bath and completed the Kennet-Avon canal path, walking 75 miles on the path, and more off the path (about 100 miles total). There is a sense of accomplishment in these linear walks that a series of day hikes does not match. As of now, I hope my feet are tough enough for what is to come in the Exmoor hiking agenda, we hear it is tough hiking; lots of up and down and exposure. Tomorrow we are off to the city of Wells, and hour's drive. We will get to meet one of the people who has previously helped us organize and book these trips. He is an expert in Exmoor, so we will learn from him what to expect.
Photos:
In Limpley Stoke
The path, Limpley Stoke
In Bath Hampton
In Bath, Somerset
Our room for the evening
To see more photos from May 16, click here
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