Bristol and Bath

Bristol and Bath are tucked below the southern border of the Cotswolds, the former we visited on a day trip from our base in the English countryside in Welford-on-Avon, and stopped in on Bath as we made our way south to Cornwall. Bristol was quite the hipster enclave, finding itself within the leaderboard of the annual rankings of the most livable cities in the UK many times during the last decade. We toured the city on foot, from the Christmas markets around the Bristol Shopping Quarter in the north of the center to Wapping Wharf in the south, where we all enjoyed a stroll through the CARGO market constructed entirely from old shipping containers. We were all incredulous at the number of eateries and breweries scattered about Bristol, especially on the waterfront surrounding the city’s wharves. It would be a very fun spot to visit during the summer months. During our visit, however, we were dealt some typical English autumn weather: a maximum of 9°C/48°F with dense fog. Not the kind of weather one dreams of for a few beers on the waterfront.

We all very much enjoyed the Saint Nicholas Markets in Bristol’s city center, it was the first stop during our visit and after seeing all the food stalls we returned for lunch (and to buy Max a classic wool English tweed country cap). The market has been open since 1743 and was a dizzying maze of eclectic stalls and street food, we spent a solid amount of time exploring everything on offer. I almost walked away with a beautiful Ashwood Leather tote (but Lisa noted to me that I don’t have any plans to rejoin the corporate world so don’t really need it…). The food choices on offer in Saint Nicholas were so diverse: everything from Indian curries to Mexican tacos, Middle Eastern vegetarian to classic English roasts. The kids opted for tacos – something they’d been missing dearly since leaving California – while Lisa and I sampled the fare from two different Middle Eastern vendors. Absolutely delicious food.

Bath was almost the polar opposite of gritty, industrial Bristol: beautiful Georgian buildings made of local, golden-colored Bath Stone lining every street in the center of the city, with the commanding Bath Abbey towering over it all. The central pedestrian-only streets were filled with designer clothing boutiques and high brow eateries, lots of places to do some serious damage to the pocket book. Bath Abbey was very impressive, the behemoth cathedral began its life as a Benedictine monastery in the seventh century and was another example of the elegant Gothic architecture we saw in Seville and Leiria. The entire floor and walls of the abbey were covered in more than 1400 stones installed as memorials to the local population, most of them carved between 1770 and 1860. As we read over them we were all quite astonished to note the age at which many of the departed had died: it was very rare to see anyone more than 70 years old at the time of death. Makes one realize just how much we take for granted the longevity we’re used to these days…

Bath’s Roman Baths are a major draw to the city, designed for public bathing and used until the end of Roman rule in the fifth century. Given all the Roman ruins and temples we’d seen during our travels through the European continent we decided to skip a tour of the baths, with the girls opting to visit something a little more British: the Fashion Museum Bath. The museum was a collection of more than 100K items chronicling fashion from the late sixteenth century to present day, Lilia was full of stories after spending an hour or two perusing the exhibits. The blue smock below (third photo) was a notable piece, designed for little boys back in Victorian England and worn without underwear until they’d learned to…relieve themselves appropriately! While the girls were at the museum Max and I killed some time in Royal Victoria Park and paid a visit to the Fine Cheese Company Bath, which has to be one of the best cheesemongers outside of France. I think Lisa was a little jealous that she’d been at the fashion museum while Max and I were on a culinary journey through the cheeses of England and France!