Hi all I have recently discovered that my ancestors travelled from Poole to Bath, Somerset at some point in 1841 as my merchant seaman ancestor must have been working nearby and one of their children was born in Bath. I have read that the railways did not reach Poole until much later so I wondered if the journey would more than likely have taken place via paddle steamer from Poole to somewhere near Bath and approximately how long the journey would have taken? Any info. would be gratefully received. Kind regards Michelle Connolly

Michelle Unlikely. much quicker by road. Take a look at google. Google Maps POOLE directions to BATH. Zoom out and see the distance by boat - down the English Channel, round Cornwall, up the Bristol Channel to Weston, Portishead or Bristol, thence by road to Bath. Jim http://www.payman.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk --- On Tue, 20/7/10, Michelle Connolly <michlorcon@yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > From: Michelle Connolly <michlorcon@yahoo.co.uk> > Subject: [DOR] Paddle Steamer Journeys from Poole to Somerset > To: DORSET@rootsweb.com > Date: Tuesday, 20 July, 2010, 11:47 > Hi all > > I have recently discovered that my ancestors travelled from > Poole to Bath, > Somerset at some point in 1841 as my merchant seaman > ancestor must have been > working nearby and one of their children was born in > Bath.  I have read that the > railways did not reach Poole until much later so I wondered > if the journey would > more than likely have taken place via paddle steamer from > Poole to somewhere > near Bath and approximately how long the journey would have > taken? > > Any info. would be gratefully received. > > Kind regards > > Michelle Connolly > > > >       > > *************************************** > > When replying to this message, please spare a thought for > your fellow list members, and anyone searching the archives > in the future.  SNIP everything which is not essential > for comprehension or continuity (including the footers which > will be put back anyway!) > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to DORSET-request@rootsweb.com > with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the > subject and the body of the message >

Hi, Any waterborne journey from Poole to Bath would involve several hundred miles rounding the Lizard (Lands End) and I would imagine unless there was a specific reason for a boat to travel between these two destinations it would be avoided. Cornwall was a "wreckers coast" which is more a reflection of meteorological and tidal conditions in the English and Bristol channels than a slur on Cornishmen. A paddle steamer would get you as far as Bristol and I'm not sure how navigable the Avon was from Bristol to Bath. A journey by "road" would probably follow the present A350 to Trowbridge via Blandford and Shaftesbury which would have been hilly from Blandford northwards. The railway in Poole reached Hamworthy in 1847. The lines to Bath were constructed in the 1850s and 1860s (see Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway history for more). It's a 59 mile walk. Malcolm -----Original Message----- From: dorset-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:dorset-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Michelle Connolly Hi all I have recently discovered that my ancestors travelled from Poole to Bath, Somerset at some point in 1841 as my merchant seaman ancestor must have been working nearby and one of their children was born in Bath. I have read that the railways did not reach Poole until much later so I wondered if the journey would more than likely have taken place via paddle steamer from Poole to somewhere near Bath and approximately how long the journey would have taken? Any info. would be gratefully received. Kind regards Michelle Connolly

Hi Michelle, I would think the most likely, would be a journey on horseback, or on a horsedrawn cart or carriage, depending on how wealthy a merchant seaman he was. However, many people made long journeys on foot in those days. Kind regards, Chris ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michelle Connolly" <michlorcon@yahoo.co.uk> To: <DORSET@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 12:47 PM Subject: [DOR] Paddle Steamer Journeys from Poole to Somerset > Hi all > > I have recently discovered that my ancestors travelled from Poole to Bath, > Somerset at some point in 1841 as my merchant seaman ancestor must have > been > working nearby and one of their children was born in Bath. I have read > that the > railways did not reach Poole until much later so I wondered if the journey > would > more than likely have taken place via paddle steamer from Poole to > somewhere > near Bath and approximately how long the journey would have taken? > > Any info. would be gratefully received. > > Kind regards > > Michelle Connolly > > > > > > *************************************** > > When replying to this message, please spare a thought for your fellow list > members, and anyone searching the archives in the future. SNIP everything > which is not essential for comprehension or continuity (including the > footers which will be put back anyway!) > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > DORSET-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >