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On our first full day in Bath, we took the highly recommended walking tour presented by The Mayor of Bath’s Corps of Honorary Guides. We agree that this is a not-to-be-missed experience in Bath.

Here, our group is walking along the gravel path made famous by Jane Austen in Persuasion, where Captain Wentworth and Anne Elliot reconciled.

“….soon words enough had passed between them to decide their direction towards the comparatively quiet and retired gravel walk, where the power of conversation would make the present hour a blessing indeed…”

Here, we’re looking around the Royal Circus. Our tour guide, John, was a wealth of information and he really brought these sites to life in both the past and the present.

In the middle of the Royal Circus, mid-18th century circle of townhouses designed by John Wood, the Elder

Later, we took a walk in the Parade Gardens and encountered this statue of Prince Bladud and his pig. We knew what this was about because John, our tour guide, told us the founding myth of Bath (he said he was contractually obligated to do so). Prince Bladud developed leprosy and was kicked out of his tribe. He tended pigs, but even that venture failed — they got leprosy, too! One day, the pigs wallowed in some hot mud, enjoying it so much that Prince Bladud couldn’t get them to leave. He finally had to tempt them out with acorns. When he got them cleaned off, he discovered they were cured. He tried the mud himself and was cured as well. Returning to his tribe, in due course, he became King Bladud and he founded Bath on the site of the miracle-working hot mud. To this day, pigs and acorns are both symbols of Bath.

Prince Bladud with his pig, a modern statue in the Parade Gardens

Find more photos of our Bath walking tour and our time in the Parade Gardens on my Flickr Photostream. I’ll link this to post to Saturday Snapshot tomorrow — check out West Metro Mommy Reads for more photos around the web.