All Roads Lead To Bath – A Day Trip

When circumstances stop me travelling for any length of time,  once I can travel again, I tend to do slightly crazy stuff. In early 2022, once travelling within Europe became easier again after the pandemic, I decided to take a day trip to Disneyland Paris. This year, I was on medical house arrest for two months over the summer with an acute arthritis flare up in my left knee and was in too much pain for a month before this to do anything apart from hoppling to and from work. At its worst I wondered if my travelling days would be over for good. Once I felt that I had turned a corner, I got planning. Some months before, UK members of a lifestyle Facebook group that I belong to started to plan a UK meet up. This is a wonderfully supportive group concentrating on themes like home, garden, food, travel, and fashion. This group has become my safe haven and my little spot of escapism. Although I most certainly liked the idea of meeting up with like-minded people, the location initially put me off. The meet up was scheduled to take place in October in Bath.  As Bath is clear across the country, I did not think it would be a goer. However, at the same time as plans were being made for my return to working in the office, I started to look at this again. I had the day of the meet up off and found out that it was doable as a day trip and by splitting train tickets, it was actually pretty affordable. I figured after weeks of doing little else apart from working, reading, watching Netflix, and sleeping, this may just be what the doctor ordered.

After weeks of planning and chatting online, the day for the trip to Bath had finally arrived. I had an early start. I got up and ready. Then I took the tram to the train station. I got there early enough to pick up a breakfast meal deal consisting of a sausage bap, a flat white and some orange juice. I went to find the right platform. I had plenty of time as I had got to the station nice and early. Normally you can get on these trains as soon as they arrive, but the train crew was running late, and we had to wait until a couple of minutes before the train was due to leave. The train was pretty full. I was glad that I had a reserved seat. I had my breakfast and amused myself with working on my trip report, reading and checking out what was going on online. I had a bit of amusement. While I was browsing Facebook, a t-shirt popped up on my feed that featured a picture of a cat and a caption “Childless Cat Lady”. As I knew that I would be on a transatlantic cruise on the day of the US elections, I figure it would be a nice outfit to mark this occasion. It was not expensive either and I went ahead and ordered this.

 Once we were past Birmingham, the train started to empty out, which made the rest of the journey more pleasant. I was supposed to change trains at Cheltenham. However, there were multiple disruptions around Cheltenham that day as they had very heavy rains the previous day. The train manager advised me to stay on the train until Bristol. I followed her advice. 

We had a group on Facebook Messenger and as people started travelling to Bath, there was a lot of excited chatter going on, which was very nice. The interchange in Bristol worked like a charm. I could not believe what I saw as I had a hole carriage to myself. I did not have much opportunity to enjoy this as I was off at the next stop.

 

I was due to arrive in Bath about an hour ahead of everybody else. I did not want to risk being late coming from clear across the country. There were two people involved in this meet up that live quite close to Bath, and they were planning to come in early to keep my company. We had been bouncing some ideas around what we could do while we were waiting for the others to arrive. At some stage we had been debating checking out the Roman baths. I would have loved to see them, but you have to make bookings online ahead of time. I just did not trust the trains enough to book a timed entry ticket. That turned out to be a wise decision. The trains had behaved themselves, but one of the people who was planning to keep me company had to come a little later. The second person however was still OK to meet up as soon as I arrived. He had messaged me once I got on the train in Bristol and told me that he would meet me at the lounge at the station. When I got there, he was actually waiting for me on the platform.

 I had visited Bath many years ago when Graham had a contract there. At the time, I was not too impressed. However, this was in the middle of summer and the place was terribly crowded. Bath in October is a different proposition. I really rather liked what I saw. Having a local tour guide was a definite bonus. We passed by the Roman Bath but went inside Bath Abbey. I paid the admission for both of us, which was the least I could do. This is such a beautiful church with some really interesting architectural features. I was glad that I had the chance to visit. 

 

We both had knee issues. After a while of wandering around and enjoying our surroundings, we sat down on a bench and watched the world go by. Fortunately, it was a mild day. We found loads to talk about and I really enjoyed this. After a while, we continued our explorations. We checked out a beautiful art glass shop and my guide also took me to see Pulteney Bridge. Pulteney Bridge is one of the most photographed examples of Georgian architecture in Bath and one of only four bridges in the world to have shops across its full span on both sides. It is very impressive. 

 

While we were taking a selfie on Pulteney Bridge, the other person that was meeting us early messaged us. She had arrived and we arranged to meet her. We met outside a department store and then went inside to browse the perfume section. I was very tempted by some of the perfumes. The only trouble is that commercial perfumes tend to have no staying power on me. The only perfumes that last most of the day on me are perfumes from Lush. Fortunately, they do some great perfumes. Ana bought some perfume and then we headed across the road to the restaurant where we had a reservation. We were just debating if we should go in or wait for the others when most of the other people arrived. We then headed inside.

 We had a reservation for the Ivy Brasserie and Garden. I had not made the connection that this was part of a chain that started in London and now has restaurants all over the UK. We have one right here in Manchester. This was not a place I ever would have considered eating at, and this was grave mistake. The one in Bath is a beautiful restaurant and the service was very attentive. We were seated, they took our coats and then we were handed a whole battery of menus. They had two different set menus as well as the a la carte menu.

 We were still one person short, but she arrived shortly afterwards. In the meantime, we perused the menus. We all decided on the autumn set menu that consisted of three courses and either a glass of sparkling wine or a non-alcoholic alternative.  I had Truffle Taglioni, sirloin steak with macaroni cheese and Pistachio Nougat Glacé Flambé. The food was amazing, and the company was even better.

 

I was a little nervous before the meet up as I was the only person present that has no links to the Philippines. I wondered if I would feel a little out of place. I can also be a little shy when I first meet people. My worries were completely unfounded. The meet up had the same spirit as the Facebook group – friendly and supportive. Within minutes it felt like I have known everyone forever. We were talking, laughing, and talking some more. Everybody was inspiring. In many ways this day was exhausting as it was a very long day with a lot of travelling involved. However, I came home feeling enriched with my batteries recharged and my heart full. I also brought home some lovely gifts. One person made William Morris inspired wine charms for everyone. One person gifted us a traditional Filipino cookie sandwich that he had baked and some homemade organic raspberry jam. We also got some lovely soft pashminas with the logo of the group embroidered in microbeads. The person went through the trouble to check if we ever have shared our favourite colour and if we did, this was the colour we got. 

As they say, time flies when you are having fun. I suddenly realised that we had been there 2.5 hours, and we have not even had dessert. I also needed to leave 30 minutes later to make my train back. To give the restaurant credit, as soon as they became aware of my predicament, they brought out the desserts very quickly.

All the food had been amazing, but the desserts were next level. Not only was my dessert delicious, but all the desserts came with a bit of a show. One of the desserts was served in a mist of dry ice and the one I had chosen was served with flaming Kirsch spirit.

 I asked for the bill when they brought out the dessert. Once I was done, I was then just able to say goodbye to the group and head out. While I was waiting for my coat, I took a couple of photos. Then I headed out.

 

I was not entirely sure where I needed to go as we had kind of weaved in and out of various streets. However, there were signposts and maps at intervals that gave me an idea where I needed to go. As I got nearer the station, I recognised places that we had passed in the morning. I took a few quick snaps. I made it to the station with 10 minutes to spare.

 

This time round, I was on a regional train that had some stops and was very busy. The interchange in Bristol was bit tight. I did however make this. I got on the coach that was opposite the stairs and figured I would find the coach I needed. As I had purchased split tickets, I had one seat up to Cheltenham and another for the rest of the way. I found the seat that I had from Cheltenham onwards straightaway. The coaches were not in alphabetical order and the train was packed. I never found my seat. I sat down in the luggage area and read. Once we arrived in Cheltenham, I went and found my seat. I had every intention to continue reading, but my eyes kept falling shut. I ended sleeping most of the way. When we arrived back into Manchester, I took the tram back home. I spent some time catching up with Graham and then I had an early night.