March 26, 2003 - page 3

Bath, about 115 miles west of London, is gorgeous. The modern city was designed as an integrated whole about 250 years ago, with all the buildings cut from the same stone (called “Bath Stone,” oddly enough). To maintain its charm, hotels and other commercial outfits must abide by rigid regulations on signs displayed outside – nothing too flashy. You won’t see much neon when strolling along the streets. All for the better, too.

The city is famous, of course, for the Roman baths founded in AD 75. They were first intended to serve ailing Roman soldiers, who knew the area as “Aquae Sulis.” The original baths went forgotten for many centuries, and were only rediscovered in the 1800s. The droves of tourists that are now a fixture began descending on Bath after Queen Anne, intrigued by the springs’ supposed healing powers, made her own visit in 1702. Several other monarchs would also follow suit, although they, unlike the masses, were entitled to use the Sacred Spring, which during Roman times was set aside for the goddess Sulis Minerva.