Blog ≫ 2023 ≫ Holiday 2023 - Bath day one
We used the sat nav to take us to Bath, to the parking spot we had booked. We were staying at the Premier Inn in the city centre, and there's no chance of parking there. So, we had used JustPark and booked a slot on someone's drive. I was apprehensive about this but it worked just fine. We had a half share of someone's drive, in a very nice part of town, and the householder was there as we arrived. He moved his car so we could park a bit better, and then he walked us to the end of the road to better give us directions of the quickest way into the town centre. It was all downhill, down lovely alleyways past lovely looking buildings. Ordinary houses but all built out of the same kind of stone.
We checked into the hotel, dropped the bags off, and surprisingly straight to the pub. We wanted to check on our maps, charge our phones (my phone had not been charging properly overnight, I broke my magnetic charging lead) and work out where to go next. We picked The Crystal Palace, mostly because it is the name of my friends' football team and I could mention it. But also it looked good, it welcomed us with the children, it had beer, and it had a table with a nearby charging point. I had an ESB, not an ideal first beer of the day but very nice real ale. Clare had a keg version of a Tiny Rebel beer. This pub is a Fullers and had a interior, proper old and traditional. Lord Nelson stayed here at some point.
We next did some shopping, spending our birthday money. I found a great outdoor shop that not only had lots of Patagonia and other brands, but also a sale rail of the same. Lots of nice things, and so while I didn't actually need anything I got some new shorts (haven't taken them off yet), a shirt, and a t-shirt. Clare bought a new denim jacket and a waterproof coat from Rab. I always see this name, don't know much about it, but it seems good quality.
Next we went back to the hotel to drop off our new shopping, and then as I was ready to go right out (I did not do a lot of washing on this trip) I went out to find a pub, with a plan to meet them for dinner. I went to the Coeur de Lion as it had been recommeded. Bath's smallest pub so they say, and I had a pint of Bellringer from Abbey Ales. A friend had told me to look out for it.
Dinner was at The Stables, where Clare and I had been on a previous trip. That time we only had cider, but this time we all had pizza, and very good it was. The place wasn't all that I remembered, but the food was great. The cider seemed a bit of an afterthought there, not the speciality that I remembered from last time.
A long day, I think I fell asleep quite quickly. Maybe it was the cider.
