The Don McCullin exhibition at the Holburne Museum had been on my list for a while, and although it is on until May, I reckoned I’d better not leave it much longer, not least because I have a busy April in view.. Sadly the day I alighted on, yesterday, did not offer the best of weather, but it was a most enjoyable day out nevertheless.

Leaving my car at the Odd Down Park and Ride, I only had to wait a couple of minutes for the shuttle bus to depart for its terminus, at Southgate, near Bath Spa railway and bus stations. From there, avoiding the shopping area, the most direct route took me only about 15-minutes to walk to the museum. That said, I was pleased enough to get there. The weather was chillier than I had anticipated, and I regretted the lack of another layer of clothing and a hat.

Finding myself downstairs near the New Schroder Gallery, I deferred coffee and was surrounded by a roomful of Renaissance treasures, of which these are just two photos.

Even the those shown in my header picture are just a small part of the collection.

At coffee, I shared a table with a lovely couple from Marlborough. They were in Bath to pick up a dinner suit which he had had altered in order to wear it in a choral concert this weekend. This led to a great exchange of choral singing experiences.

Next was the exhibition of works by the renowned hard-hitting photographer, Don McCullin. [e.g.”In 1982, the British government refused to grant McCullin a press pass to cover the Falklands War, claiming the boat was full.^{[13][14][15][16][17]} At the time, he believed it was because the Thatcher government felt his images might be too disturbing politically.”]

All the photos were as dark as this, even if the background whites and creams have not come out true. My personal selection:

This next made me think of LS Lowry.

McCullin has chronicled the Somerset Levels, where he lives, over four decades.

The photographer is 90 this year.

A bonus at the Holburne was a Zandra Rhodes exhibition, models grouped by theme. All the colours were more vibrant than this.

Lovely to look at; I wish I had the courage to wear such outrageous clothes – even had I the means!

Lunch, a quiche, in the café was next on the menu, as it were.

Rather than walk back to Southgate the same way for my shuttle bus, I had noticed on the map that there appeared to be a somewhat longer route back, a footpath along the other side of the River Avon (one of many of that name in England). I would need to walk back along Great Pulteney Street,

with a tiny detour to take a quick peek at Bath Rugby ground. The temperature had risen by now, so I was no longer distracted by the cold. But the very dull day did not make for crisp photos.

To get onto the path, I was looking out for a gap between the shops, and almost missed this.

It was the advert at the bottom of these stairs for the restaurant (it turned out there were many more steps to the the bottom) that caught my eye, and then I also noticed this.

The Bath River Line. Great Pulteney Street actually forms part of the route.

To my left somewhere along here were exits from the rugby ground.

An information panel said to look out for peregrine falcons at the spire of St John’s church from March to September. No luck, but then it is very early March. I did see a blackbird.

Two minutes later I was back at the bus stop, near The Forum, whose Art Deco interior I posted on four years ago – along with other views of Bath and the museum – where I had to wait just seven minutes for the shuttle bus back to the Park and Ride.