Legend has it that Bath was founded in 863 BC by Prince Bladud, the father of King Leir. Bladud had contracted leprosy but was cured
after he joined his pigs and took a dip in the muddy local hot springs.
In the first century AD the Romans built a spa around the hotspring and called it Aquae Sulis, after the Celtic goddess of healing and curse tablets.
When the Romans left, the spa slowly fell into disrepair until the 12th century when a hospital was built near the springs.
Bath became a popular hangout for the English upper class in the 17th and 18th century. A fine example of Georgian architecture of that period is theRoyal Crescent, which was built with the famous Bath Limestone.
During World War II the city was heavily bombed by the German Luftwaffe.
Today Bath is a thriving university city that attracts lots of tourists that visit the baths, the Abbey, the Pultenay Bridge and the Crescent, or just stroll along the Avon River.
We visited Bath in June 2010.