Windsor Castle/Bath by Samantha

Hello everyone! We had quite a big day today and we were blessed with beautiful, warm weather. This morning we met our lovely tour guide who stuck with us most of the day. She went above and beyond by giving us lots of information as we were riding from place to place, which made it all the more enjoyable. Our schedule today included the following: Windsor Castle, Jane Austen Museum, Bath, and Stonehenge.
Windsor Castle was, needless to say, outstanding. The Queen spends a lot of her leisure time at this Castle, and we were told that the Queen was actually there today! We were able to tour the State Rooms, the Queen’s Dollhouse, and St. George’s Church. An exciting part of the Windsor Castle trip was the Changing of the Guards, which was very cool.
After we left Windsor, we hopped back onto our bus and headed to the city of Bath. In Bath, we visited the Jane Austen Museum. We listened to a presentation about Jane Austen for several minutes, and then walked through the exhibits. Jane Austen lived in Bath for 5 years and at least made mention of Bath in all 6 of her novels. She actually used the city as a backdrop for 2 of her novels. The exhibits showcased some period clothing and also tried to bring her stories to life.
Our next stop was the Roman Baths. On the way there, our tour guide clued us in on the legend of Bath. The legend has it that a Prince long ago had leprosy and was ordered to leave his Father’s, (the King’s) courts. He later bought pigs and then traveled. These pigs however, had back sores. After coming to a place to rest, the pigs went to bathe in water. When the pigs came out, the Prince had noticed that the back sores on the pigs were gone. Hoping there was something magical about this water, the Prince himself bathed in the spring. The Prince was then cured and was allowed to return to his Father’s courts. Now this is only a legend, but I quite like it!
The idea is that the baths cure diseases. There was actually a Queen who wasn’t able to have children and decided to bathe in the Baths. She later was able to conceive.
One thing we do know for certain is that the Bath is the only hot water spring in the country. It is about 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The Romans would originally use the cold bath for exercise or lounging, then the hot bath for a sauna effect, or massage.
Our next and final stop was Stonehenge. It was a special day to visit this legendary site because it was the Summer Solstice…