Since Andrew hasn’t explored much of the UK, I decided we should take a quick trip away for his birthday to Bath. Only a couple of hours outside of London, it’s pretty easy to get to after work on a Friday night, but it’s completely different and very quintessentially English, here’s what we did!
Friday
We took the train up straight after work and arrived at our super cute AirBnb that was around 2 miles south of Bath city centre. We were warned it was up a hill but it was definitely more of a struggle than expected for both of us to get up there on Andrew’s Brompton! Fortunately, we made it in the end and it was a lovely old stable converted into a cottage.
Saturday
After a quick breakfast at the cottage, we ventured down the hill to see the sights of Bath. I’d already downloaded an audio guide of the city (we did the World Heritage Site Audio Tour here) so we headed to the start, dropping in to Bertinet Bakery for an almond croissant on the way.
The first stop was the abbey churchyard right by the stunning Bath Abbey and the Roman baths. From here we walked by the modern Thermae Bath Spa up the hill to the Circus which is a beautiful circle of houses which have views down across the city. It was then just a quick stroll across to the Royal Crescent, which is probably one of the most famous streets in Bath, a large crescent of houses overlooking a large park.
After a lunch break at the Green Bird Cafe (highly recommend for fresh salads and sandwiches!), we took a slightly meandering route over to Pulteney Bridge, and down Great Pulteney Street, where we took a little detour from the tour to walk up through Sydney Gardens, which were lovely with a canal running through. Finally we finished up on Grand Parade with views along the river.
For dinner, I’d booked a table at Clayton’s Kitchen which is a really lovely place right in the centre of Bath. It was completely full so I’d definitely recommend booking! The highlight of our meal (and probably the whole trip) was the sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel ice cream for dessert.
Sunday
For us, Sunday morning always has to start with brunch, so we cycled down the hill from our cottage towards Same Same But Different. This place is usually a tapas bar, but at brunch they seem to be pretty well known for their eggs so we both opted for them. I can confirm they are excellent!
Fed and caffeinated, we headed back to the Royal Crescent and continued on past to the park just beyond. We spent a while there, just exploring and relaxing, and it’s a really nice place to wander around.
Our last stop before the train ride home was Mokoko which is right by the Abbey (we actually popped in to the Abbey on the way during a choral service which was beautiful). I’d been told we needed to try the cinnamon buns at Mokoko (seriously, check out that link) but unfortunately they ran out by the time we got there so instead we got a chocolate cake and a brownie to share. Both were excellent! Suitably stuffed, we headed back on the train to London, and I’d definitely recommend booking a seat on the train if possible, it was a long way to stand!
