I finally managed to tick off visiting Bath from my “30 places before 30” wishlist! I was feeling a bit down because we had to cancel our trip to Edinburgh and York earlier this year (thank you, Covid-19) so when we saw that lockdown restrictions had eased we immediately booked a few days away in Bath! So here’s how we spent 3 days (or a long weekend) in and around Bath.
Day 01 – Lacock and Castle Combe
Our weekend in Bath started by travelling down to the very edge of the Cotswolds, to the villages of both Lacock and Castle Combe (which were about a 30 minute drive from Bath).
Lacock
It was unbearably hot on the first day of our long weekend, and we decided to spend it wandering around the beautiful village of Lacock. We arrived there around lunchtime and headed first to Lacock Abbey where the first two Harry Potter films were filmed! It was pretty empty so we took our time to walk around. We then had a little walk around the village where we got some delicious ice cream, and saw the street where a bit of Pride and Prejudice was filmed! Sorry I didn’t take many pictures because we were melting in the sun…
Castle Combe
We weren’t initially going to go to Castle Combe as I didn’t realise we were so close to it, but I’m so glad we had an hour or so to explore because we bumped into Yaya and Lloyd who are the writers behind Hand Luggage Only! I really like reading their travel posts so I did fangirl a lil’ bit haha. We also spotted that bridge that seems to be on every instagrammer’s feed. It was such a beautiful little village and I would love to go there again.
Day 02 – Bath
The second day of our long weekend was spent walking around the picturesque city of Bath! This is what I dub the “main event” as it was the real reason we traveled to Somerset/the Cotswolds. And I had such a lovely time! I’ve highlighted some bits and bobs below and have also tried to include places where we ate. Let’s go!
Bath Abbey
Bath Abbey was the first place we headed to once we arrived in Bath, and it was a sight to see! It looked so beautiful from the outside although unfortunately part of it was under construction so we couldn’t walk all of the way around. We didn’t go inside and just admired the outside architecture before starting our walk around Bath.
The Circus and Royal Crescent
Pretty Georgian buildings! That is all.
But in all seriousness… These buildings were so beautiful! I was particularly interested in The Circus which is a historic street that forms a perfect circle with three “entrances”. This was supposed to mirror the way Stonehenge was constructed as the architect, John Wood ‘The Elder’ believed that Bath was the centre of Druid activity. Which was pretty interesting! When you stand in the centre where there are trees and clap your hands, it echos!
Sally Lunn’s Historic Eating House and Museum
I noticed quite a lot of people recommending trying out the buns from Sally Lunn’s, and I must say that I was not disappointed! It was incredibly delicious and the ‘bun’ was huuuuge! I ordered the sweet bun with Milk Jam topping, which is their homemade caramel spread made with west country milk and sugar, and my husband ordered it with Cinnamon Butter. I would definitely recommend going there for a bite to eat as it isn’t too far from the Roman Baths, either, and the Sally Lunn building is one of the oldest buildings in Bath – dating back to 1483! (So even if you don’t go in to eat, it’s still nice to walk past!)
Bath Guildhall Market
I’ve heard that the market was a good place to visit but to be honest… It just looked like a normal market to me. I didn’t really spot anything extraordinary so I wouldn’t label it as a top place to visit in Bath.
Sweet Little Things Cafe
We actually happened upon this cafe by pure chance as I spotted it on our walk from the car park towards Bath Abbey, and I was so happy! It’s such a pretty little cafe (and you don’t really see many of these places outside of London) so we stayed here when it started to rain really heavily. It’s quite small but they had a downstairs section too with a cute little swing (that I wasn’t allowed to sit on as they couldn’t sanitise it) and I went for the pink hot chocolate. It was a little bit too watery for my liking, as I love really chocolatey hot chocolate, but the red velvet cake we had was lovely! I will write more of an in-depth review later as part of my Cute Cafe Dates series so keep your eyes peeled for that!
Roman Baths
The Roman Baths was what I looked forward to the most! We had to book online in advance and it’s quite a walk around… So I was glad that I wore my trainers! Due to Covid-19, we were in a queuing system throughout the museum so that we could socially distance ourselves from other people and, to be honest, I much preferred this than what it is like normally as it gave me a chance to take my time and properly read all of the little plaques of information. I can’t believe that Baths are nearly 2000 years old! Back in the day, people of all status would bathe here… Although it’s safe to say that it’s not safe to do so nowadays!
Pulteney Bridge
It was so peaceful just standing near the bridge and watching all of the ducks swimming around down below! We didn’t get a chance to go inside but it’s lined with lovely little shops. It’s a really picturesque bridge, and I’m so glad that I was able to see it before we left Bath.
Day 03 – Confetti Flower Field at Wick
So after a lot of walking around Bath the previous day we decided to go to the Confetti Fields on our last day, and I’m so happy we were able to go! It’s about an hour and a half drive from Bath, and they only open for one week, once a year, so that they can harvest the flowers in order to create confetti (hence the name). Unfortunately it did start to rain and the weather was pretty miserable all day, but oh well! At least we were able to still go and enjoy ourselves. Wait, does that make me a real blogger now?
Where we stayed
My husband found a beautiful Bed and Breakfast called Toghill House Farm, which was just 20 minutes drive outside of Bath. It was smack bang in the middle of the countryside and isn’t too far from the picturesque Castle Combe and Lacock villages. It was lovely and peaceful and we really enjoyed our stay there so will definitely be returning in the future!
And that’s how we spent a long weekend in Bath! I had a truly wonderful time and I was just so happy to be able to spend a few days away from home.
Have you ever been to Bath before? What about Lacock, or Castle Combe, or the Confetti Fields? What did you think?
Love,
Lizzie xx
