Great Britain Trip – July 18 & 19 – Shropshire, Cotswolds and Bath
Today we leave Manchester to head south to the southwestern part of England.
Unlike the rest of our trip, where we spend our time visiting small towns, pastoral landscapes, and castles and museums, the past two days were spent in the two cities that arguably represent England’s rise as a major industrial power.
The industrial revolution changed Manchester in the early 1800s from a minor township into the pre-eminent industrial metropolis of the the world. The city began expanding “at an astonishing rate” as part of a process of unplanned urban development brought on by a boom in textile manufacturing.
This also led to England being by far the largest importer of cotton from the United States at a time when the abolishment of slavery was being hotly debated in the Virginia State legislature. However, because cities like Manchester were taking raw cotton and transforming it into cloth and selling it at great profit, the profitability of growing cotton also grew exponentially.
Therefore, by the 1830’s, it became very difficult for slave states like Virginia to wean itself off of the cheap labor that slavery provided. Although counter intuitive, in some ways the Industrial Revolution made slavery even more embedded in the cotton growing regions of the United States.
Back in England, the growth of the Industrial Revolution led Victorian era Manchester into tremendous growth and wealth. Manchester also led the political and economic reform of 19th century Britain as the vanguard of free trade.
However, the mid-1800’s saw a decline in Manchester’s industrial importance, prompting a depression in social and economic conditions. But Manchester’s fortunes changed in the late 20th century as investment, gentrification and rebranding reinvigorated Manchester as a very livable city with multiple cultural offerings. Because of its significance in the industrial Revolution, it nearly became a UNESCO World Heritage City. However, local authorities have persisted on a course of economic evolution rather than prioritising the past. This is best illustrated with construction of the 47 story (558 foot) Beetham Tower (see photo) completed in 1996, which instantly “torpedoed” any possibility of World Heritage City status. Despite this, areas perceived as internationally important in the Industrial Revolution, such as Castlefield and Ancoats, have been redeveloped and are worth a visit.
And I would not have known to visit Castlefield if I had not stopped to talk to a lady who was staying in the cottage next to us in Keswick. A Manchester resident, she stressed how unique and interesting Castlefield is with its many canals and refurbished industrial buildings. Located very close to our hotel in Deansgate, I am glad I took the walk to Castlefield. It was fascinating. Manchester also has a very good museum dedicated to the industrial revolution. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and I was not able to see it.
Davis and I agreed that the old part of Manchester reminds us of older parts of Richmond. This makes sense because the architecture in both cities was created in the early to mid-1800’s.
On our way to Bradford on Avon, which is in the very southern part of the Cotswolds, we stopped in the beautiful small town of Shrewsbury, located in the northern section of Shropshire. The Church in Shrewsbury and the town itself was mentioned as a ”must see” in one podcast that we all listen to. So, that is what we did. And it was beautiful. if it had not been almost 100 degrees on the day we visited, we would have walked around more.
After lunch in Shrewsbury , we drove through the hilly Shropshire area, which the English say is the Tuscany of Great Britain, and stopped at Monmouth in Wales, the birthplace of King Henry V. Afterwards, we headed to our final destination, Bradford on Avon, near Bath.
Our AirB&B, Pope Barn, was beautiful. It also had a great location allowing us to walk into town and several nearby spots, including The George, a local pub/Inn down the lane where we had a great dinner.
Unfortunately, England was going through a heat wave on Monday and Tuesday. So, as in Shrewsbury, we did not spend a lot of time walking around. In fact, as beautiful as our cottage was, it did not have AC, and it’s stone walls and small windows kept the heat in. By the time we went to sleep at 11 pm, it was still 86 degrees in our upstairs bedrooms!
The next morning I took advantage of the cooler temperature (72 degrees) and went for a long run through Bradford on Avon and along the River Avon. It would get to almost 100 degrees again later in the day. Despite the heat, we did get out to the beautiful town of Lacock, where we stumbled upon a little Inn that served breakfast outdoors next to a brook. As we were being entertained by the ducks in the brook, we enjoyed a full English breakfast and scones with clotted cream. Afterwards, we walked the grounds of the beautiful abbey where some of the Harry Potter movies were filmed. We then left the quaint, but beautiful village of Lacock and drove to Bath, where we had a tour scheduled. A highlight of Bath was visiting the famous Roman Baths.
We ended our second day in this part of England having a wonderful dinner in Bradford on Avon at a Mediterranean restaurant recommended to us by our host, Keith. If I come back to this area, I would stay at this B&B and spend more time in the area. There is so much to see and do in this part of England.
