One of our favourite things about living in Bath is its close proximity to the countryside. Living in London, you’d need to get two tubes and a train to see anything remotely resembling rural, but here it’s all around you. Look up anywhere in Bath, and there are rolling green hills surrounding the city.
Since we’ve been here a few weeks, we thought it was high time we started exploring them.
But first, a hearty breakfast from one of our favourite cafes, Same Same But Different.
My fave – Eggs Benedict. Cooked to perfection.
And for Alex, the true test of any British cafe – the full English.
Verdict: delicious, could have been more black pudding (although I did steal some, which probably didn’t help).
Time to walk it off!
We decided to do the Skyline walk. First of all, the weather was lovely so we wanted to make the most of it and secondly, you can start right in the heart of Bath.
We picked up a handy map from the Tourist Office and, armed with plenty of water and snacks, set off.
The recommended starting point is up Bathwick Hill. Luckily, you get to parade down the beautiful Great Pulteney Street en route.
Once you leave Bathwick Hill, the walk really begins. It’s a beautiful way to see Bath and explore the surrounding area. But enough of me prattling on, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. Here we go, in no particular order…
We stopped at Sham Castle to indulge in our snacks.
As the name suggests, it’s not a real castle. It was built in 1762, in order to improve the view from local entrepreneur Ralph Allen’s home. Classic rich guy move.
Buoyed on by a combination of crisps, pineapple and chewits, we finished up back where we started, and headed home.
Overall the walk took us about 3 hours. It’s not too challenging, although there are a few steep hills, and the whole thing is really well signed (thanks, National Trust).
More info here, if you want to don your walking boots and strike out from the city centre. I’d highly recommend it!
