LOCATION: Bath, Somerset, England
WEATHER: Sunny and autumn-like in the AM. Scattered showers in PM
After checking the weather forecast, we decided to get an early start for a long walk along the canal. Due to last night’s rain, there were lots of puddles to skirt around….
The path paralleling the canal is very popular for dog-walkers, joggers, and slow walkers like us. We passed more than 100 canal boats, some in pristine condition and others not so much.
Some are vacation rentals; others are permanent homes.
We passed by the Bath longboat rental company….
We passed a lot of pretty homes along the canal, too…
Our destination was a little town called Bathford, about 5 miles away. We weren’t sure if we could get there all the way by foot. Our first town along the path was Bathampton with a lovely-looking (and well-named) pub – The George. Too early to stop, but the people there were friendly and advised on how to get to Bathford (they thought).
While we were there, we chatted with the National Health Service nurses who had a long boat moored where they were offering free flu and Covid vaccines to boaters and to people on the path. Nice!
From Bathampton, we cut through the village and then followed a foot-path in a meadow. Very buccolic, and the sheep didn’t mind us.
We made it to Bathford, just in time for lunch at The Crown pub. I had read good reviews about it.
And, surprise, surprise, there is an Airstream parked next door! It is a 1989 refurbished one, now used as a B&B.
The chef/owner of the pub is French, and they are known for their good food. We shared an order of steamed mussels, cooked beautifully in a wine herb sauce with frites on the side, and a baguette to sop up the juice. Magnificent!
We had planned to take the bus back to Bath, but the weather was still sunny and we were feeling peppy (now with full tummies), so we headed back. The bartender told us about a shorter footpath. It was a bit rough-going…
We got caught in the rain as we got close to Bath. We ducked under a tunnnel to wait it out. We endend the day with 12,000+steps – 9 miles!
DINNER: The grocery stores here sell a lot of frozen “homemade” meals. I bought us some lamb tangine and rice. To stretch it, I added some butter beans and green onions. Side was lettuce and tomato salad.
Reids on the Road with Joy 