I had spent a few days in Manchester and a weekend in London, but I wanted to get out and see more of England. So I took a bus to Bristol, a charming riverfront city where I rented a bike to explore. I actually took it along a bike trail southeast to Bath, about 16 miles away. Home to the famous Roman Bath, I explored the site and rode around to see what else this charming place had to offer.
It was an overcast, somewhat dreary day, with bits of rain here and there. In other words, very British weather! The ride was pleasant through the green pastures of Jolly Old England.
A trail marker The trail Look....house boats on a river!
Before long, I came to Bath. The town that gave us the word for a pleasant soak in hot water actually has a sprig source that made the Romans build a lavish bath complex here in ancient times. I took a tour and saw the pools and other artifacts that have been recovered from the site.
Elsewhere in Bath, the architecture was beige and elegant, fitting for a refined place filled with British accents. Although it did look very drab against the grey sky. Other cultures are filled with color, but the English appear to be rather stodgy and very old-school.
What's this guy lookin' at?
Beautiful Bath architecture. Could just use a bit more color. I think that these houses might just go on for all eternity...
After Bath, I continued on south along the bike trail for a bit longer. I wanted to pass through the "Two Tunnels" that were part of an old railway line. One of them was a mile long! It was dark but had lights inside and creepy music coming out of speakers spread out in the tunnel. (And since this is Britain, I did ride on the left side of the trail!)
I got giddy with excitement when I came across.....a castle! It was just sitting there, waiting to be explored. But alas, it was on private property. So whoever the Lord and Lady of Midford Castle are, they do enjoy their peace and quiet!
Holy sh** it's a real castle!!
Riding back to Bristol was mostly uneventful, except the part where I got a little wet from the rain, but then the rain stopped. Woo!
I was pleasantly surprised how fun Bristol seemed too be. It was a shame I didn't plan much time here, but I shall return!
I wanted to see a soccer game (I mean, "football match") while I was in England, because it's kind of a big deal here. And then I saw how much a Premier League ticket cost. £125, I think not! But Bristol is home to a Championship League (Tier 2) team, the Bristol City Football Club. And there was a match on tonight! I wanted to go, but naturally I didn't want to pay £40 for a ticket. As I walked to the stadium, I saw that fans of the visiting team were not welcome in the nearby bars. They were not welcome to sit next to the home fans. (They had their own section.) People take sports REALLY seriously around here, and well, the odds of a fight breaking out are pretty high if supporters from opposing teams are allowed to mix. So I guess that's one of the few things that makes us Americans more civilized. Woohoo!
I see a guy who looks like he's trying to offload tickets and he tells me that he has some extra. I was hesitant that they may be fake, but he offers to go inside with me. So I pay him £20 and he takes me in, leading me to the section where all the superfans are chanting and having a good time! It turns out, his son is one of the "ball boys" and he was given a few complimentary tickets to the game. His name is Mike. Mike became my friend for the night.
We were definitely not supposed to be sitting this close to the field!
Here's a video of the home fans:
After the match (which they won!) Mike's wife picked us up, but Mike decided to show me a good time before heading home afterwards. We were dropped off at a pub, then went pub hopping. At one point I spoke loudly and Mike was like, "shhhh we don't want everyone to know that you're a yank!" And so it was.
I've got a new friend in Bristol!
Eventually we ended up back at Mike's house where him and his wife insisted I crash for the night. The 3 of us started chatting, and before long, we piled back into his wife's car to go out for food at midnight because he's hungry. Did I mention that Mike has to work in the morning, and has 3 kids who have to get up for school? In fact, they were getting ready for their day as I was waking up on the sofa in their living room.
Who said being a tourist wasn't adventurous, eh?