Posts Tagged With: England travel blog

DAY 12 – FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2026

Today marked the beginning of Part 3 of our trip. With a different pace ahead of us, the morning felt much more relaxed. After breakfast at our hotel, we packed our suitcases, loaded them into a taxi, and were on our way.

As we drove along, we said goodbye to the Cotswolds. We absolutely loved spending time in this beautiful part of England, though we were surprised at how quickly the towns passed by when driving. Places that had taken us hours of walking, climbing hills, and crossing fields suddenly seemed only minutes apart by car!

About 90 minutes later we arrived in Bath. After quickly dropping our luggage at the hotel, we headed out to explore. Within a 10-minute walk we found ourselves right in the city center. It took a moment to adjust to the hustle and bustle after a week in the quiet countryside. We probably saw more people standing in the square near Bath Abbey than we had seen on our walk in the Cotswolds over the previous week!

Our first priority was lunch. We ducked into a coffee shop right on Pulteney Bridge so we could enjoy a pasty, a handheld meat pie, while overlooking the River Avon.

Later in the day we learned from our tour guide that “Avon” comes from an ancient Brittonic word simply meaning “river.” That explains why there are several different rivers throughout England all named River Avon. Apparently centuries ago, distinguishing one river from another was not considered especially important.

After lunch we headed to the square in front of Bath Abbey, where we found one of the city’s famous free walking tours. Bath has approximately 100 volunteers known as the Mayor’s Honorary Guides who lead free two-hour tours throughout the week. No tips are accepted. As our guide Martin explained, “We’re just a group of people who love our city.”

The tour was excellent and gave us both a great overview of Bath and plenty of historical context. Because of the area’s geothermal hot springs, Bath has been a destination since the Romans settled here around 60 AD. Much of the city we see today, however, dates to the Georgian and Regency periods of the 1700s, when Bath became a fashionable resort town designed to attract wealthy visitors seeking the therapeutic benefits of the baths.

One amusing detail we learned on our walking tour involved one of the statues to the left of the front entrance of Bath Abbey. According to our guide, the statue’s head was shot off during the civil war centuries ago. When stone carvers later restored it, they supposedly carved the replacement head out of the remaining beard, giving the figure some very unusual proportions. Whether entirely true or slightly embellished over the years, the result definitely looks a bit funny once you notice it, which naturally made it the perfect spot for a photo.

Beautiful Georgian architecture is everywhere in Bath. In addition to Bath Abbey, we visited landmarks including the Royal Crescent and The Circus. Both were revolutionary architectural concepts for their time, using sweeping curved rows of homes to create elegant communal living spaces centered around open green areas. Even today they feel remarkably modern and visually striking.

Unfortunately, about an hour into the tour, the skies opened up and the rain arrived. The tour ended about 25 minutes early, which naturally meant it was the perfect excuse for a tea break.

We headed to Sally Lunn’s, one of the oldest tea rooms in Bath. Sally Lunn is credited with creating the famous Bath Bun, which we quickly discovered is less “bun” and more “giant toasted hamburger roll.” Due to its enormous size, each order comes with only half a bun. Greg ordered the traditional version with clotted cream and strawberry jam, while Karen chose one topped with cinnamon butter. Both were delicious, though we agreed that traditional scones still hold the top spot in our rankings.

By the time we finished tea, the rain had stopped. We had planned to tour Bath Abbey, but learned it had closed early because the city was preparing for Party in the City, a huge annual music festival featuring dozens of performers scattered throughout Bath.

So we pivoted to Plan B: a self-guided Bridgerton tour.

It turns out much of the popular Netflix series was filmed in Bath, and we had a great time walking through locations we immediately recognized from the show. Even though we had already covered many of the same streets during our walking tour, seeing them through the lens of Bridgerton gave us a completely different perspective. Plus, the sunshine had returned, making it a perfect time for photos.

As we wrapped up the tour, we happened to pass the oldest pub in Bath, the Saracen’s Head. Since we were fully committed to absorbing as much Bath history as possible, stopping in felt like the responsible thing to do.

We found a quiet table tucked away from the live music that was starting. Apparently Charles Dickens appreciated this quieter corner as well. He was known to frequent the pub and reportedly worked on portions of The Pickwick Papers while sitting at a table directly across from where we were sitting.

For dinner, Karen’s research led us to a fun cocktail bar and restaurant called The Botanist. From the street, you enter through a narrow hallway that gives little hint of what is inside. Suddenly the space opens into a huge atrium with a massive tree rising through the center. The bar occupies the ground floor while the restaurant wraps around the second-floor balcony overlooking the lively scene below. We enjoyed both our meal and the entertainment of simply watching the crowd and activity around the bar.

Earlier in the day we had received a brochure listing all the Party in the City performances happening throughout Bath. Since we were already out exploring, we decided to check out some of the free music.

We eventually settled into a pub with seating downstairs and the band performing on an upper level. We grabbed drinks and found a table downstairs, which was still more than close enough to fully experience the volume of the music. While the band’s style was not exactly what we expected, we did recognize a few songs and enjoyed soaking in the festive atmosphere before finally calling it a night.

Back at the hotel, we ended the day by rewatching a couple episodes of Bridgerton. It was surprisingly fun recognizing many of the locations we had walked through earlier that day and seeing how Bath had been transformed into Regency London on screen.