Just a stone’s throw

We'll start with one last image from Glasgow--from the train station. This is the train we were on:

The entire train is a rainbow of colors inside and out, and it carries supportive messages throughout the cars. Nice to know that in some countries we're still moving forward with a message of support for LGBTQ+ folks.

So there really isn't much to say about our day of travel except that the landscape was beautiful and it was sunny all the way. Here are a couple of images grabbed through the window as we sped along.

Field of rapeseed--used for vegetable oil, animal feed, and biodiesel fuel, as well as some other uses.

Near Yorkshire Dales National Park

We arrived on time in Bath, at about 5:45pm and set off on the route to our Bath Airbnb hosted by Simon and Lydia. The route seemed straightforward enough, so we climbed the few steps we saw, figuring they would lead to a street that would wind up the hill toward Shakespeare Avenue. Nope. There were just more stairs. And more stairs. By the time we realized we were in trouble, we had climbed too many steps to turn around and find a different route. These steps were shallow, but they were numerous, and rough, uneven, mostly dirt, and endless. Just when we thought we must be coming to the end, we saw a sign that said "just 40 more steps!" I'm positive that by that time we had already climbed way more than that. In fact, I'm convinced that there are well over 100 steps on that particular path, although I was certainly too out of breath (out of mind!) to count.

Early in the climb--yes, let's not forget that we were lugging baggage ...

And they go on...

And on...

But we finally reach the top, with a rewarding view:

Too exhausted to smile

But hey! We lived to tell the tale, and Cindy and I both feel we have earned bragging rights as two idiotically clueless women over 70 who managed to climb all those stairs with luggage. So there!

Fortunately, our place wasn't too much further from that peak. Doubly fortunately, we were greeted by one of the truly nicest people we've met so far. Lydia was appropriately sympathetic about our trek as she led us up three flights of stairs to our little attic aerie.

We had no time to collapse, however, as we had booked ourselves on a Bizarre Bath Comedy Walk, which was due to begin in about an hour. So down the hill we trekked--a different route, fortunately, which takes a fraction of the time. (My map app still tried to force us back onto those steps when we headed back up the hill later that evening, but we're on to the sadistic tendencies of that evil app and we will try to never be fooled again.)

The Bizarre Bath Comedy Walk was just what we needed. It was basically a moving stand-up comic routine. Our guide/comic (whose name, like the Houdini he invoked, escapes me) was hilarious and we got a good introduction to the downtown Bath area.

After that, we walked back up to Shakespeare Avenue and settled in for the night--but not without first marveling at the "Moonrise over Pulteney Bridge" and other points.

And thus endeth our first hours in Bath.