Bath or Barth?  It’s Water Under the Bridge…

For some inexplicable reason, Bath has escaped us until now – apart from a half day visit in the 80s.

Given that it ticks a lot of boxes for us; a couple of hours from the West Midlands, great food scene, loads of history, I’m really not sure why we haven’t been back sooner.

We booked a little boutique hotel, right in the centre of Bath, mainly for convenience and also as I’d seen that it’s quite a hilly city and at my age, I can’t be doing with that.

Harington’s (www.haringtonshotel.co.uk) in Queen Street, is ideal for a splash & dash style break and has a bar, for a quick tipple before heading out and serves a lovely full English breakfast – I had kippers on the second day (Fawlty Towers fans need not worry, there was no corpse.  If you know…….).

I chose it as it has an EV charging point, but if we go again by a different mode of transport, I’d choose the same accommodation.

We do love a bit of people watching, so, after parking up, we headed off to find some al fresco dining in Kingsmead Square.  Unusually for a bank holiday it was red hot, so the crowds were out and finding a suitable eatery wasn’t easy, but as there’s so much choice, we eventually triumphed.

Fed and watered we ventured over to probably the city’s main attraction, the Roman Baths, but the queues were a bit long and at £30 per person, we opted to leave it for another time – a good excuse to return.

On the evening, we sought out a friend’s recommendation (thanks Ellen) – Solina Pasta (www.solinapasta.com), which didn’t disappoint.  They don’t allow bookings, so it’s potluck as to whether you can get in, but we did.  We did a bit of Italian Tapas, by choosing several starters instead of a main course, which we often do.  All were a delight, but the arancini probably shaded it, although it’s like choosing your favourite child…That said, the tiramisu was world class.

The restaurant is on the Grand Parade with the River Avon flowing alongside, which we later discovered was where a major scene from Les Miserables was filmed – the one where Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe) fell in the river – and you all thought it was the River Seine!

We rounded the night off at the Pig & Fiddle pub, where local musicians, took it in turns to entertain us with various songs, all for free.  What’s not to like!?

Day two began with an open top bus tour (www.tootbus.com/en/bath) – remember those hills! – which allowed us to learn more about this historic and long-established city.

Fun facts: 

• The phrase ‘Daylight Robbery’ is said to be derived from a local tax where house owners were taxed based on the number of windows in the property.
• Avon is a commonly used name for a river in Great Britain, due to the Romans not understating that the word meant river around 2,000 years ago.  So, actually, the River Avon really means River River – a bit like Naan Bread (Bread Bread)

We just had time to pop into Bath Abbey, which we learned was destroyed by Henry VIII (he has a lot to answer for) before being rebuilt with the help of his daughter, Queen Elizabeth, before a quick lunch at Ole Tapas (www.oletapas.co.uk) Yes, proper tapas, this time, which consisted of the usual array of meatballs, aioli, chorizo, squid and suchlike.  You know the drill.  The food and service were great.  Unfortunately, it was a quiet lunchtime, so it lacked a bit of atmosphere, but that wasn’t their fault.

Bridgerton fans will probably know that a lot of the scenes were filmed in Bath and guess what?  They have a Bridgerton Walking Tour (BathAdventures.com), which was only £16 each.  Our guide Belle was really good.  So were the headsets we all received at the start, which allowed her to walk and talk, rather than having to keep waiting for everyone to catch up before giving us each bit of info.  Our highlight was probably the iconic Royal Crescent and the lesser-known Circus (a circle of Regency houses).  This excursion is highly recommended – even if I did have to do a bit of walking!

To rest my weary limbs, on the way back, we stopped off for a beer at The Boater, which is a bit of a quirky pub upstairs with a lovely, covered beer garden by the river.  Idyllic!

After a quick power nap, back at the hotel, we got dressed up for a bit of fine dining, as we were celebrating our 36^th wedding anniversary.

Luckily, we had time to pop into a Gin Bar opposite the hotel, that had caught my eye a few times.  They had tables outside, so time for a bit more people watching – honestly, it was like being in Spain.  Just lovely!

Our restaurant was only round the corner – friends know I don’t like to waste valuable drinking time.

Raphael’s (www.raphaelrestaurant.co.uk) is a very cosy modern European restaurant and the food was some of the best I’ve ever had.  We paid just under £200, including wine and service charge, so it’s not the cheapest, but here you get real quality and for a special occasion, you couldn’t ask for more.  For a nibble, we shared a plate of Tempura Cod Cheeks, then for starters we had Scallops with black pudding crumb (not shared).  My main was a rack of lamb and my wife had a well-done rib-eye steak.

We weren’t going to bother with dessert, but we let slip that it was our special day and the waitress treated us to a lovely dish of something resembling Eton Mess, with Happy Anniversary piped in a red fruit sauce.  She then appeared with two glasses of limoncello, which rounded off a perfect meal.  Definitely one to return to.

The night was finished with a stop off at a Rum Bar – also in our hotel’s street (you can see why we really chose it now), for a couple of nightcaps – as if we needed them.

Bath, you didn’t disappoint.  We’ll be back for a second look, with the Roman Baths remaining on the ‘to do list’ amongst other things like a Rugby game, the racecourse and the Theatre Royal.

Perhaps we’ll see you there.