A TRIP TO BATH

Guys guys guys. I’m refreshed (and a bit, ahem, porky). I’ve been on a city break and everything feels right with the world. What is it about getting away on a staycation that just sorts you right out?

Okay so first up; Bath is a sexy city. She so coy with all her pretty buildings and history and cute boutique shops.

We spent 96% of the time eating and drinking, hence the ‘porky’ comment. Detox starts now, now, now.  The other 4% of the time we spent swanning around the city in awe of all the beaut buildings. We just soaked up the city, basically.

Also, I had a bit of a clothes nightmare. I packed on a hangover and basically, I didn’t really pack anything. Like seriously, I packed one tee-shirt, a cami top and a long sleeved dress. It rained cats and dogs when we arrived so I had to go and buy a whole new outfit in Primark (fo’ real). And then the next day, I dressed for rain and the sun came out, 24 degrees like, and I had to go BACK to Primark and buy summer shoes because I’d only bought high top converse with me. My feet were baking.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME. SOMEONE TEACH ME TO PACK.

It seems like an age ago now actually. I mean we only got back yesterday but I’ve jumped straight back into GAL BOSS mode today (walking 726 dogs and setting up ‘meet & greets’ & freelance meetings) and now Bath seems like a dream I had a few nights back.

So thought I’d just talk you through the trip and the things we did. And then, if you ever decide to hit up Bath you’ve got some snazzy recommendations from me. You are welcome.

 

Hotel wise, we found what I can only describe as the only minimalist/modern boutique hotel in Bath. On investigation, it seemed that all Bath hotels are traditional, oldie-woldy hotels with red carpets and pine furniture. Which obvs didn’t fly with me. Max did some outstanding digging on the internet though and found this wee little hotel that looked like a little hipster paradise. All white tiles, old roll top baths & quirky light bulbs. I’m not explaining it well but basically it was pretty arty. It was like someone from art school had thought about the interior, y’know?

BUT it was a bit ‘rough round the edges’. If you looked too closely at things you noticed that the walls probably should have been re-plastered before decorating and there was a bit of damp in the Bathroom. We hadn’t paid too much for it though (especially  considering we were smack bang in the city centre) so we couldn’t really complain.

Oh and the best bit? They had three hotel dogs. A spanial, a sausage dog and a lab called Mollie. Mollie sat outside the bar all day like she was waiting for someone. That basically meant the hotel got 5 stars from me.

We stayed in Loft 1. The hotel is called The Thief. Check it out.

When we arrived, we went for afternoon tea at The Abbey Hotel which, to be honest, neither of us rated that highly. It was nice. But I think afternoon tea should be more than nice. And Max was convinced it wasn’t all fresh which is a bit of a no-no.

So one of my fave things about the city is that all the pubs are proper cosy. They are what I’d call ‘proper pubs’ (real wooden floors, working fire places, candles and real ales). And so many of them had board-game corners – a pint and a game of scrabble? What’s not to love. I beat Max at two games of scrabble and he beat me hands down at Droughts and Trivia Pursuit. We could 100% while away the hours tasting ales and playing games  all day. That’s love, right? <3 <3 <3

On Sunday night, I took Max to the Thermae Bath Spa – a naturally heated spa with a rooftop pool overlooking Bath. Big thumbs up from me. Nothing says city break like a swanky spa, and the cherry on top was the association with the naturally heated mineral water from below the ground. On the basic package (because the treatment packages cost an arm and a leg and then some) you get access to three floors; the Minerva Bath (basically a lazy river pool), the mulit-sensory wellness centre and the rooftop pool.

Entry for two came in at £76 and it was worth every penny.

We ended the night at The Stable which served Pizza, Pies & Cider. Um hello heaven. How very Somerset (I said that in my best West County accent).


On Monday morning we went in search of more food because LOL why not eat more, more, more. We enjoyed some brekky at Boston Tea Party – my kinda food joint. Max had the full veggie breakfast and I had organic pumpernickel topped with avocado, poached eggs and chilli flakes. Hubba hubba. Yep, I didn’t know what pumpernickel was either but I can confirm it’s basically rye bread. And yes it was all flippin’ fabulous.

Deffo a recommended brunch spot from me. The coffee was on point too.

We weren’t gonna visit Bath and not visit THE bath eh. So on Monday we went and learnt all about the Roman Bath that still stands and works in the city centre. It was pretty amazing that despite being built hundreds of years ago, the engineering is all so ace that it all still works like clockwork. AND I CAN’T EVEN DRESS MYSELF PROPERLY. Wow.

One thing I would say is that it was super packed as we walked round. Like I got a big aggy with all the tourists because they were way up in my grill and I couldn’t see a thing at times. So I’d choose the time you go very wisely.

A ‘Max & Jade’ tradition in cities is to go on walking tours (yes we’re like a 60 year old couple – hashtag couple goals). We couldn’t find a historic one that ran on a Monday and there were no ghost tours so we opted for literally the only tour that evening – Bizarre Bath. We did a few cocktails from Sub 13 before (which I can highly recommend for amaze drinks) and the whole thing was pretty funny in a dad humour kinda way. Certainly kept us entertained for an hour and a half as we boozily stumbled around the city with some guy telling a bazillion jokes and doing silly magic tricks.



















On our last morning we mooched around Milsom Place and the surrounding trendy area, which is filled with boutique shops. I wanted to spend £150 on a dog print. Glad I didn’t but was rather tempting. We had Brunch at the place that described itself as ‘Voted The Best Breakfast in Bath’ – I mean, quite a statement don’t you think? Hunter & Sons is located inside Milsom Place upstairs. I had the veggie breakfast (deep fried potato, home made beans, tomatoes, mushrooms and a homemade feta and veggie sausage) YAAAAAAS SO GOOD. Just look at the photos. Need I say more?

After that, Max rolled me back to the car and we did the 3 hour journey home. Bath, you were lovely.

All in all, Bath got a really grand 9 out of 10 stars for me. If you’re looking for somewhere relaxing to go with pretty streets and coffee places on every corner, this is a great city break for you.

And whoa, that’s a long post right? Sorry, got carried away.

Happy Thursday gorgeous people. I’ve missed writing. I’ll write more, promise.