Today was a relatively easy day with just one stop in Glastonbury to see the cathedral and monastery ruins. We had a choice of this or a walking tour and free afternoon in Bath. We decided Bath was easier to get back to on our own so we went to Glastonbury. I had been years ago on my trip with mom and remembered that the church was right in the middle of the town but did not remember that the town was so new age so maybe that is new. So sadly the free time shopping was not so great but otherwise a lovely day.

In its day Glastonbury monastery and cathedral and been one of the largest in England and the ruins still show the grandeur. We had a guided tour (in costume) that was quite good. He basically pointed out the sites and gave just a bit of history, but left most of that to Alison.

A church had been at this location well before the last cathedral was built. They claim the early 1st century church was established by Joseph of Arimathea. Even claiming that a thorn tree dates from that time period. Though of course unlikely. They have found preCeltic artifacts so they can date the site back to 500 AD. In 1086 the Domesday Book (medieval survey of all the land and who owned what derived from Latin Domus Dei meaning House of God) listed Glastonbury Abbey as the richest in the country.

A fire in the church in 1184 either precipitated or caused the discovery of Arthur’s tomb. They claimed to have been digging a well for the new foundation when they found the grave with two bodies and an inscription that attributed it to Arthur of Avalon. Some (most probably) think that the church which was losing pilgrims without a holy relic that the church created the story to boost the churches coffers after the fire. Regardless there were bones that were re-interred into the center of the church in a ceremony attended by Henry II. With the dissolution of the church and monastery in 1536 the tomb was lost and is no longer at the site.

There is still a lot to see of the ruins and we had a beautiful day to see them. The town not so much. The shopping was all new age and tattoos. We went in a few stores but didn’t find anything. We actually had time for a sit down lunch. We are in an old pub that dates to medieval times. I had a hamburger not the best but the fries were good.

After returning to bath we just had an hour to get ready for our last big finale, dinner at the Roman Baths. We got dressed up again and headed out to dinner.

The Baths were a great setting for our final evening. The main bath is open to sky and we watched the sun set as we sipped Prosecco and took photos. Dinner was once again delicious. There was a trip quiz at the end which our table won but sadly lost the bonus round worth 30 points. We had 28 of the first 30 points but missed out on the number of men who lead the church in Bath. We guessed 16 and the team after did the price is right trick and said 17 to win the day and the tea towels. Of course there were only 6 prizes and we had 7 at our table. Hence the bonus round which had we won there would have been another question. Still all fun and great end to the evening.