As part of my 2016 goals, I mentioned about how I wanted to see more of the UK as opposed to travelling abroad every other month, particularly as my main focus this year is buying my first home. Well 2 weeks ago I did just that and headed off to Bath for 2 days seeing as I had a couple of days off in between shifts.
I’d been meaning to visit Bath again as I lived nearby it as a child but since I’ve grown up, I had completely forgotten what it was like.
Lucky for me, I could have chosen a better week to do it. The sun was blazing the whole time, spring in full swing seas of green green grass for miles which made the 2 hour drive there actually really relaxing!
To make the most of my 2 days there and get the most I could out of it, I did as I most often do on short trips, and joined a walking tour! Mayor of Bath Honorary Guided Tour
The tour covered the history of Bath, a walk around Bath Abbey, Pulteney Bridge and the Royal Victoria Crescent/ Park and the history behind Bath’s beautiful architecture. It was approximately 2 hours long and was at a decent place with lots of opportunities to ask questions at each stopping point.
The evening was spent catching up with an old friend of mine who now lives in the area stuffing our faces with pretty mediocre food at Jimmy’s and having a good catch up. As she had work early the next day and with Bath being preeeety quiet midweek – I spent the evening back at my home for the night at St.Christopher’s Inn and binge watched the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix and got an early night.
I know you’re probably thinking “you did visit the Roman Baths didn’t you?” – and the answer to that is yes, yes I did. I didn’t want to get stuck in the tourist crowds so got there just after it opened in the morning (following a free continental breakfast at the hostel) and took my leisurely time walking around, listening to the guided tour. I was impressed the audio guide was actually included in the ticket price and not extra for once and this gave a HUGE history going into pretty much every detail of how the Roman Baths came about, how they were used and how it’s been preserved to this very date. You could skip certain parts if you wanted to and Bill Bryson (famous travel writer) had also commentated on some areas of the Baths too which I thought was a unique thing to add and gave a different perspective of life in Roman times.
To make the most out of travelling that distance, I was debating whether to visit Lacock Village or Castle Combe on the way home. I settled with Lacock village and spent an hour or so walking around the village. I did attempt to enter the Lacock Abbey and Gardens but was abruptly stopped by a National Trust employee and informed me that it’s £16 entry. After debating for a few minutes, I decided against paying the £16 fee for the sake of a few Instagram worthy photos and a glimpse of where parts of Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice have been filmed. Just seemed a bit much compared to many other National Trust sites I’ve visited. Should have got a year membership really as that’s £62 a year and would only need to visit a couple more places to get my moneys worth!
The village itself however did not disappoint. It was so so quaint with old cottages, wild flowers, a cute little stream and literally no traffic. After taking a pit-stop for lunch – it was time to get heading back in attempting to beat the rush hour traffic home.
All in all, Bath and Lacock were well worth the visit and was really nice to actually use my days off to their full advantage. I think next on my list will be Oxford (never really visited properly and only an hour from home) but that’ll probably be after my trip to Barcelona and Valencia in June. No you can’t stop me travelling abroad too! I just can’t help it! I just gotsta fly!
Till next time!
Gem x
a million gingerisms 