As reader Peter pointed out in a comment on yesterday’s post, a significant number of those beautiful Georgian building clad in Bath stone are almost an illusion. In many cases only the frontage is clad in stone and I recall reading somewhere there had been serious deterioration with a number of them. But it’s a pleasant illusion!
There is a link between Bath and my childhood in New Zealand. As a small boy in NZ I recall obtaining a taste for Sally Lunn. It is a sweet bun often scented with lemon and usually containing raisins. Frequently it contains sieved potato. The bun is topped with a thick layer of coconut icing. In Australia the same bun is known as a “Boston Bun”. The link to Bath?
The original Sally Lunn House can be found in the North Parade Passage not far from the Pump House. It’s one of the oldest houses in Bath dating back to 1680.
And in the front window are examples of Sally Lunn buns.
You’re right; they don’t look much like the NZ buns I have described. Oh well, I will have to wait slightly longer for a Sally Lunn.
The walk from our mooring took us down into the city crossing the River Avon via Pulterney Bridge. The bridge is only one of four in the world that has shops on either side across its full span.
the bridge was built in 1774 to connect the city with the new northern suburbs. A visitor using the bridge might not realise they were actually crossing a bridge unless they were to go down to the river and look back.
The bridge with the famous horseshoe shaped weir in the foreground.
The view from the opposite direction.
In the evening I walked up the hill to the south of the city in an effort to get a panoramic view of the city. Whilst I was successful in finding a hillside with a view the panoramic photo from the phone camera doesn’t do it justice.
Our time in Bath is over and we have decided not to continue on to Bristol but rather retrace our route back to the Thames. Everything we have read and been told about the western end of the canal being the more picturesque is confirmed by our own observations.
1 comment :
Hi Tom
Those buns of your childhood are still alive and well back here in New Zealand. But they are known by different names in various areas. We called them "Coffee Buns" in the Hutt Valley. My daughter relates when she moved up to Palmerston North, not that far away as the crow flies, that the bakery didn't know what she was talking about when she tried to buy one. She had to resort to pointing. Oh, you want a Boston Bun, was the reply. I'm sure they are known as Sally Lunns too, in some areas. Whatever they are called, you can't beat a freshly buttered "Coffee Bun", packed full of raisins, and slathered on top with that yummy coconut icing. Yummy, we want one now!
We enjoyed a visit to the Sally Lunn Cafe on our OE several years ago, Bath is a very interesting city. Visited the American Museum too, where they have a great collection of vintage quilts, for those of us who like such things.
Robin and Jenny
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