I had been planning on taking a day trip to Bath since I first moved to the UK, but somehow after almost two years living here I still had not made the journey, despite it being a relatively easy day trip from London. On a bit whim (and after plenty of peer pressure from friends who had visited) I finally booked the coach to take me to Bath for a short weekend getaway.
Departing from London Victoria Coach Station it will take about 3.5 hours to reach Bath and costs around £20 return, if you nab a window seat you will be treated to some lovely scenery along the way! I’ve always been quite the fan of slow travel so the time doesn’t bother me, but if you want to get there faster the train only takes 90 minutes but will set you back about £55 return, depending on when you travel/book.
Setting off nice and early on a Saturday morning I arrived in Bath at 10am, and immediately went in search of coffee. Thankfully I had been informed Bath had quite the coffee scene and my first stop of the day, Society Cafe, was one of the best. Society have two locations in Bath; Kingsmead Square (4 & 5 Kingsmead Square, Bath, BA1 2AB) and The Corridor (19 High Street, Bath, BA1 5AJ).
Kingsmead Square is lovely, light filled space with plenty of seating – bigger tables for groups and bar type seating in front of the big windows for the solo street watchers. The coffee itself was fantastic, and I can see why it is one of the firm favourites among those that live in Bath, there were also lots of cakes and treats available for eating that looked delicious. The second location on High Street is a smaller space but just as lovely inside, with the same quality coffee, and is right amongst the action of Bath’s centre.
Once I was nice and caffeinated I took a wander around the streets, taking in the beautiful architecture and the history that is obvious everywhere you turn. Bath really blew me away with how stunning the buildings were, each street was just as wonderful as the previous and I could easily see myself living here.
After a while of wandering and exploring the streets at ground level I decided to grab a sandwich for lunch and make my way up Beeches Cliff to Alexandra Park. To reach the top you need to walk up ‘Jacobs Ladder’, it’s a fairly steep walk but only takes about 30 minutes and is absolutely worth it for the stunning 360 views of Bath below.
All that walking left me in need of another coffee, so I made one last stop at Colonna & Smalls (6 Chapel Row) before heading home. A lovely space with plenty of seating, and even an outdoor courtyard for warmer days. The coffee again was fantastic, the staff were pleasant and seemed to know their stuff when it came to coffee – this was definitely a place I would visit frequently if Bath were home.
Bath is one of those places you can visit and just wander without a real plan, the city is small enough to easily get around on foot and you can see all the main sights even if you only have a day. While it is popular with the tourist it didn’t feel overly crowded (even on a weekend), just head away from the main centre and make your way down the beautiful side streets and you won’t even realise the other tourists are there!
Kasia says
What about the Jane Austen places? Have You visited any of them? 🙂