Be warned, there are quite a few photos!
On our way to Bath we stopped at a place called Avebury. We decided to join The National Trust (not just for the tearooms), and this was included and looked interesting. It is made up of lots of stone circles which were excavated and re-erected in the 1930’s.
There are loads of these massive stones everywhere, so we spent quite a bit of time wandering around different fields and taking photos.
Having some fun with them:
And having a rest in them:
That stone had a perfect “seat” in one side, so of course I had to have a go.
There is also a manor house which you could look around. They have made it interactive, and on entry to the house were told we could touch anything except the wallpaper in one room, but if we were to jump on the bed please remove our shoes first.
They had made an effort to make it interesting, with each room being set out for a different time period, and even dressing up clothes and hats, and a little hunt/quiz thing for children. I don’t normally like going in houses that much, but it was more interesting than most.
We had a stop in the tea room, and I bought a few bits in the shop (including some lime curd), had a banana at the car and then drove to Devizes. It is a pretty little market town, so we had a little wander (I found a shop selling that lovely Zest pesto), and then went for a walk along the canal, as there is a famous section of loads of locks as the canal has to go up and down a hill. I was getting quite tired as it was about 4.30pm, but luckily we found a tearoom so shared a teacake with cinnamon butter (did not want to spoil our dinner)- the nice sit down and tea recharged the batteries.
Then we walked back along the canal, had a little wander around the shops, and then decided to go to Pizza Express for dinner (and shock, I had a “new” salad with roasted veggies, lentils and goats cheese, instead of the usual goats cheese pizza).
The next day we headed into Bath (on the train as we stayed a little way out)- first up was Prior Park gardens, a mile uphill behind the station. It started off not too steep, but soon it was hard work! This was another National Trust place, and was worth the hard walk.
It was full of pretty gardens and water, and had amazing views of Bath.
Lots of woodlands:
They even did an Easter Egg hunt for the children.
But the views of Bath could not be beaten.
At least we had walked up to the entrance, so we got to walk downhill through the fields and gardens.
There is also a very impressive bridge (which you can see in the first photo- shows how high up it is).
Now, although I was tempted by the tearooms, Lucy had recommended to me Sally Lunn’s, so we headed straight there as I was in need of a sit down.
When we got there we only had to wait a few minutes for a table, but by the time we left (when we took photos) the queue was out of the door.
I could not resist trying one of the buns, which was like a brioche- I had mine with lemon curd, plus an Earl Grey tea (which I love but have not had for ages- then I kept seeing Phil have them and now I remember why it is the Queen of Teas). Now I am not sure if the photo does it justice, but the bun was huge- that is a dinner plate not a side plate. You can see my cup next to it to give it some scale. Anyway, it was delicious. The tearooms were very touristy, and sort of twee- the staff were all in old fashioned costumes, and we were in the Jane Austen room, but I liked it. Tea and cakes: what’s not to like? Plus it was proper loose leaf tea 🙂
After we left we went downstairs to the cellar, where they have a tiny museum which tells you the history of the bun (based on brioche, but with butter instead of lard- although I am sure now brioche is made with butter)- the lady who worked there told us some interesting facts, including that the pavement height was raised so suddenly all the ground-floor rooms were turned into cellars. You could also buy the buns to take home, but we resisted!
Pretend prize for spotting me in any photos stood around waiting for Andy to take loads of pictures.
After that we had a nice walk around Bath, to the park. We sat by the river for a bit, and I did a spot of shopping (while Andy checked the football news on his phone!) and then had dinner at Giraffe.
The next day we drove to Southampton to watch the football, before heading home for Saturday evening. Even the journey was great as the fields were full of lambs gambolling about. It was a lovely couple of days- Bath is one of my favourite places to visit in the UK. It has a great mix of touristy things (on previous visits we have been to the Roman Baths, or up to the Royal Crescent, and we have yet to visit the spa), pretty buildings, little cafes, shops and restaurants. We were also lucky with the weather- it was cold and windy the first day, but the second day was lovely and sunny, and we had no rain at all.
Where do you like to go for a weekend away?
I love Bath, it’s definitely a great place for a weekend away! I like to go to London for short trips, or I have family in Cornwall, and it is always nice to spend time there as it’s so beautiful and peaceful!
Cornwall is so pretty too – just a long way to go
Gorgeous photos! I love Bath – it’s like the quintessential British city for me! Last time I went we found Sally Lunns but we decided to go elsewhere as it was so busy inside!
Lucy did warn me it would be busy but we got there early enough luckily!
Bath looks lovely – I’m so happy you had a nice break there! The weather up here has been crappy, so it’s just as well you opted for Bath over The Lake District.
That cake…it’s almost Jessica-sized! If there had been a chocolate version I might have had to make the photo of it my desktop background…
xxx
It was a totally enormous teacake (well, a bit like brioche really). Yes I think if we had been to the lake district we would have been snowed in!
Bath is lovely. I like that it’s nice place just to wander around and do a spot of shopping as well as the historical/cultural things there are to do!
I like places like the Lakes for a weekend break but the weather is so unpredictable. Edinburgh is really nice for a few days too.
Good to hear you had a fun time!
OOOh yes I love Edinburgh- have not been there for years. 🙂
Wow, that place looks beautiful! Looks like you got a great day of weather too. We tend to go to York for little trips like that which is probably the nearest touristy type city close to us (although Durham itself has a similar feel). I would definitely love to visit Bath some day!
It is worth a visit for sure. We are off to York in a few weeks time as we got a good deal on the trains. 🙂
I have only been to Bath once & it was to watch the rugby! But i remember how beautiful it was with all the yellow stone buildings. That cake looks very appealing, i can’t believe the size of it!
My husband has family in Cornwall so i love a weekend there (in fact i’m on holiday there right now)!
Yes the stone buildings are so pretty. Cornwall is lovely- but a long way!
I loved Bath when I visited a few weeks ago, but Peter wasn’t that keen – he said it was a “girly place”, so I’m determined to go back with my Mum or a friend and really appreciate it. I’m a member of the National Trust too, but I don’t go nearly as much as I should. I like the tea rooms best (although you need a bank loan to just get tea and a cake).
Ah we just went for the tea so it was OK! 🙂 I think it depends what you do- the Roman Baths are interesting, but I suppose the spa is maybe more for girls 🙂
What a beautiful weekend getaway! So many gorgeous pictures. Looks like the weather was perfect, too.
What gorgeous pictures, Bath looks stunning! I’d like to go and I’d really like to see those stones; you can only tell how big they are from the picture with you in it.
The tea rooms sound great; I tried some lovely lemon curd of my mum’s at the weekend and might have to make some soon, or a lemon cake – or both!
Lemon curd always looks so hard to make- I think I would end up with scrambled eggs instead, but I do love it. Yes I didn’t even know about those stones until we went there, but it was really interesting, and impressive.
We went to Sally Lunn’s for buns too! I had cinnamon and Tom had raspberry…we were both staggered by how big they were 🙂 We went late in the day, about 4:30pm on a Wednesday, so there was hardly anyone there, which was absolutely perfect! Did you go downstairs to see the oven that dates back to 1400?!
How cool that you went to Bath too, it’s such a lovely city! The gorgeous bookstores and Royal Crescent were my favourite. Next time I’d like to check out the vegetarian pub! x
Yes we went downstairs too- I totally forgot to say. The lady down there told us that it used to be street level, but at some point in time they raised up the pavements (so people were not walking with the horses or something) and so loads of cellars were suddenly created. We saw a vegetarian restaurant (Demuths?) which was linked to a cookery school too- maybe next time.,
I LOVE BATH! It is stunning! Especially Prior Park gardens, my boyfriend proposed to me on that exact same bridge that you have pictured. 😀 x
Aw I didn’t realise that 🙂 How lovely 🙂
It is so lovely there though, with the views of Bath and the countryside beyond.
I still need to go to Bath … I may have mentioned that before 😉
Nothing beats a National Trust cream scone & tea, my best to date was at a National Trust in Cornwall ……. mmmmmmmmmmmmm, I remember it like it was yesterday!
I do love a scone with a cup of tea, and I am sure in Cornwall it is all so fresh too. 🙂
I’ve done the Caen Flight in a canal boat – up one day & then down the next. I think it took about 6 hours each time! Very hard work.
I don’t really go away for the weekend. To Brighton to see my grandparents and this weekend so i can run the Brighton Marathon, but other than that i just stay at home do chores & go to the gym.
It looked like an awful lot of work as they were all so close to each other.
Brighton is a lovely place to go away- good luck this weekend 🙂
Glad you had a nice time in Bath and found Sally Lunns 🙂 I don’t remember the queue being quite out the door when we went, but we did have to hang around in the narrow corridor for quite a while. Sounds like you got there at the right time!
We went for dinner at Giraffe (but in Exeter) on Thursday evening – I really like it there! We often seem to go to Las Iguanas in Bath which is similar. Liam’s favourite restaurant but I really like it too 🙂
Well thanks so much for mentioning it to me- we had never been down that road before so never would have found it. 🙂
And I have never heard of Las Iguanas either but just googled it and the menu looks yummy too 🙂 I love giraffe for the sweet potato fries 🙂