We spent a rather care-free (though I suppose this whole trip is care-free, really…) day in Bath today. It’s a small city, packed in tight with beautiful Georgian-age buildings, and of course, several baths – including a Roman bath dating from around 70 AD. As if we hadn’t gotten in enough walking the past two days, we took two walking tours – a free city-run tour, heavy on Georgian-age history, but very well led by a volunteer named Jack; and a ‘tour’ in the evening put on by a company called Bizarre Bath, which is really more of a walking stage/comedy/magic show, which was a ton of fun and a great way to end the day. Tomorrow we pick up our rental car and see how well I fare driving in Britain…

Today we finished our 2-day hike on the Ridgeway – and sore legs and tired feet aside, this was quite an adventure! The westernmost part of the trail runs through miles of gorgeous farmland, through the Iron-Age Barbury Castle, and across wild Downs strewn with sarsen stones and burial barrows. Our journey ended in Avebury among circles of massive standing-stones (like Stonehenge, but older and bigger), where there were more people than we had seen in both days of our hike put together! From Avebury we caught a bus and a train to majestic Bath, which we’re excited to explore. A dip in the spa sounds like a fantastic idea after the Ridgeway…

An absolutely amazing (though thoroughly exhausting) day! We hiked 16 miles, almost 7.5 hours from Sparsholt Firs to Ogbourne St George along The Ridge Way (or Ridgeway Trail), a pre-historic path through southern England. It passes by beautiful open country and farmland, rolling hills, and a few Iron and Stone Age monuments. We had the trail almost entirely to ourselves except around the monuments and a cyclist here and there… our feet, legs and shoulders are achy and tired, but what an experience! And there’s more tomorrow, stay tuned…

Today we took the train to Steventon (near Oxford) to meet Meg’s family friends Marilyn and Roy in their incredible 17th-century timber house with very low ceilings and actual doorsteps to step over! We enjoyed a bottle of bubbly, a scrumptious dinner, a walk ’round town (down the 15th-century causeway) and a quick pint at the local pub – all in all quite a lovely and relaxing day. Tomorrow: we hike the Ridgeway Trail!

There’s probably something completely offensive about the title of this post(card). Anyway.
Tuesday morning we took the Eurostar train from Paris to London, and other than a rather rude British border agent, the trip was great. We spent the day at the British Library and wandering around London until Josh’s feet more or less gave up (we walked everywhere in Paris and Josh is hopelessly out of shape). We’re staying in Enton Hall, outside of Godalming, Surrey, with some family friends (thanks to Tony & Melissa!), which is a beautiful, converted estate. Wednesday we got a tour of some beautiful little villages in Surrey. Thursday was a whirlwind sightseeing day back in London: The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, 221b Baker Street, British Museum and even a show (Warhorse at the New London Theatre). Smashing!
Next up: hiking the Ridgeway Trail!