Beautiful Bath

Firstly, maybe you should go and make a coffee….or perhaps a tea. Then when you are sitting comfortably, let me take you on a journey!

On Saturday we started the day with a lovely breakfast courtesy of the Holiday Inn Express, very nice selection of hot and cold food available at the buffet. So after refuelling we set off for Bath, much less complicated!!! It was a short drive to the Park & Ride, and from there we hopped on a bus to the city centre. It’s a busy Park and Ride, and the buses were leaving full! 

On arriving in Bath the first thing I wanted to do was visit the Jane Austen Centre.  I had wanted to do this last year, but having spent a large part of the day at the Roman Baths, there just wasn’t time. The admission is quite steep, so be warned! But it is interesting, and if you are a Jane Austen fan then it’s a must. First there is a talk by one of the staff dressed in period costume, these last about 15 minutes and take place on the hour, twenty to the hour and twenty past the hour. After the talk we were free to wander around the rest of the centre at our own pace. It’s not a huge place, but interesting! At the end there is the opportunity to dress up in costumes if you wish too. Plus as you leave there was a big plate of little biscuits to try, apparently these were made from a recipe from Jane’s time. Be sure to try them if they are there, they were good! The gift shop is full of interesting things, and i bought the most beautiful necklace that pays homage to Austen's Mr Darcy.

After leaving the Jane Austen Centre, we had a coffee then set off to explore the beautiful city. For any of you that have never been, you should try to visit at least once. There is so much history, just look around you at the buildings as you walk past! The architecture is wonderful, there’s something interesting to look at everywhere you go. Besides the Jane Austen centre, there’s The Roman Baths, the Abbey, The Royal Crescent and probably a lot of museums etc that we never discovered.

A place that is well worth a visit is Sally Lunn’s House, there is now a tea room there which you can’t miss because there is always a long queue of tourists outside waiting for a table. It’s a very quaint building, and worth a visit if the queue isn’t too long and you accept the fact that the tea and buns are going to be over priced! However, what a lot of people don’t know is that there is the teeniest museum down stairs in the basement area, where you can learn a little more about Sally Lunn, and also buy her famous buns!  According to the Sally Lunn web site - Legend has long been certain that a young Huguenot refugee – Solange Luyon – came to Bath in 1680 after escaping persecution in France. She found work in the kitchen of the bakery in the street known in those days as Lilliput Alley, and originally sold the baker’s wares from a basket in the lanes around Bath Abbey. But Solange – who, due to her colleagues unfamiliarity with French pronunciation, became known as Sally Lunn – had arrived in England with a unique skill to share. She began baking a rich, generous brioche bun similar to the French festival breads that she would have been so familiar with before she fled France. And a final note about Sally Lunn’s, the lady in the little museum/shop likes to talk….a lot….and backing away towards the stairs doesn’t help! By the time we finally got away we knew her whole life story – bless her!

The shopping is great in Bath, no big shopping Centre, but lots of interesting little side roads, and all the major chain stores you could possibly hope for. It is worth taking the time to also walk down to the river to see the famous Pulteney Bridge and the weir. Pulteney Bridge crosses the River Avon. It was completed by 1774, and connected the city with the newly built Georgian town of Bathwick. Again, there is a lot of history in this area and the architecture of the bridge is beautiful. If you walk across the bridge you’ll find lots of little shops, cafes etc (check out the cakes at the bakery!) This is where we found Thai on the Weir, a wonderful Thai restaurant where we stopped for a very late lunch. Make sure you head towards the rear of the restaurant, where there are tables overlooking the weir. Much nicer view than from the front of the restaurant.  The set lunch was delicious, and we were so glad we discovered the place. It was an adventure ordering drinks, and interesting to find that the Thai have no idea what shandy is! 

After lunch we headed back to the main shopping area, just to soak up the atmosphere of a busy pre-Christmas Saturday afternoon. Sadly though it was soon time to head back to the park and ride and start our journey home. Once again luck was not on our side, it seems to be everywhere we go, there are roadworks or accidents L On Saturday the M42 was closed completely at its junction with the M5, meaning we had no option but to carry on up the M5. I had visions of us being hopelessly lost in the middle of Birmingham on a Saturday night, but as luck would have it the M5 was deserted and the journey home via the M6 was not that bad, or that much longer.  We did stop at a service area for a comfort break and to refuel the car, whilst there I just happened to find the most amazing Anna Smith bag! It was fate, obviously meant to be mine!!

 

It’s been a great week end and one that I am sad is over. Bath is a beautiful city and I am already hoping that we can return soon. It’s one of those places that is easy to fall in love with. But be aware, one day will never be enough to take it all in.