We recently had the opportunity to take a child-free long weekend, and our destination criteria were simple: a short, direct flight from Dublin, reasonably affordable hotels and access to excellent bookshops; good beer was a bonus. Having previously missed the chance to visit Persephone Books for their anniversary festival earlier in the year, Bath was bubbling up to the top of our list, but we had no real desire to stay there (or, more to the point, pay to stay there) at the height of tourist season.
Hotel specials showed good value in Bristol, and given the short train ride to Bath – plus affordable flights from Dublin – that became our chosen destination. We got some excellent beer advice from Ray and Jess of Boak and Bailey fame – more on that later – and had a long list of Bath bookshops pre-selected, so off we went. Our early-morning flight was only very slightly delayed, so we had most of the day to wander around Bristol. I had last visited in 2001 to see The Divine Comedy (Regeneration tour, if you’re keeping track), but saw little on that trip; indeed, I last ‘saw’ the usual sights of (pre-Banksy) Bristol in the early 1990s…which I hazily recall as seeing the Clifton Suspension Bridge after a day trip to Wookey Hole Caves, but not much else stuck in the mind.
Having done most of the touristy things in Bath on relatively recent trips, we planned to make that part of the trip purely a book-shopping affair – but with a beery side quest we’ll return to shortly. And so, back to that first day in Bristol – we found the bus from the airport quite handy, dropped off our bags and began hitting the shops – much tea was required. We managed a few Bristol bookshops, got the lay of the land and stopped in to Left Handed Giant for lunch; I was thrilled to get my whenever-in-England cask dark mild there. I was also pleased about the prominence of their run club in the brewpub decor – I do miss having an active brewery-powered run club. After a quick stops at Little Martha Brewing and The King’s Head (and a rest), we met up with Jess and Ray in The Swan with Two Necks; it’s always a delight to meet someone from Former Beer Twitter IRL, especially after so many years of following their work. We had a lovely evening, but still got back to the hotel at a reasonable time – this was a child-free trip, after all, so actually getting enough sleep was achievable.
We (OK, I) began Day 2 with a bit of Parkrun tourism, getting a letter ‘E’ with Eastville. Once tidied up, we were off to Bath, and, possibly for the first time since Covid, I had a UK train journey that was reasonably priced and ran on time. True, it was crowded, but given that it was a summer weekend, this was not unexpected. We made one exception to the ‘avoiding touristy things’ remit by getting more tea at The Bath Bun, enjoying the sun on Abbey Green. Then, finally, it was all about books (well, and running shops). We started at Topping & Co, which was beautifully laid-out. Persephone Books was something of a pilgrimage spot (feel free to reference Dorothy Richardson if you like) – it used to be a regular place I would visit in London (very handy for The Lamb on Lamb’s Conduit Street), but had not had a chance prior to this to visit their new home in Bath. It did not disappoint. Mr B’s Emporium was also wonderful.
And then, the side quest!
We were thrilled to have Dr James Wright on the Beer Ladies Podcast this season to talk about his recent book, Historic Building Mythbusting, and in the course of chatting about pubs with spurious claims to antiquity, he mentioned The George Inn in Norton St Philip as one with a much better-documented case. James also pointed out that it was a short journey from Bath, and, indeed, the bus journey was easily achieved. We had a bit of time to explore The George, and also took in its sister pub, the Fleur de Lys, just across the street, before heading back to The George for dinner. I’ve long had a soft spot for Butcombe pubs, and find their cask bitter rather wonderful, so while there may not be anything ‘unusual,’ everything we did have was excellent, and the atmosphere was fantastic. It also turned out to be much easier and faster to get back to Bristol than expected(!), so we had time to stop in at Lost and Grounded, and enjoyed both their pleasant lagers and, given the heat, a radler. Going from a medieval inn to a modern taproom was quite a contrast, but it was a fun way to end the evening.
We then had a full day of ‘doing’ Bristol (after a training run to the Clifton Suspension Bridge – I am not used to running up hills any more) – we went to the impressive M Shed, where Bristol’s ancient and recent history, warts and all, was very well-presented and thoroughly contextualized. Rather than ignoring or glossing over things, there was a real clarity to the exhibits and a willingness to engage with the more difficult aspects of the city’s history, providing a much fuller picture. There was also a small STEAM TRAIN we got to take from M Shed to the SS Great Britain. I am a weirdo who has long had a fascination with Isamabard Kingdom Brunel’s work on the trouble-laden SS Great Eastern – I blame all the ‘haunted Britain’ books I had as a child – and so getting to see the SS Great Britain and the attached museum with a GIANT BRUNEL was, frankly, pretty great. We had some lovely cheese and a mini pub crawl – first, to Small Bar, a delightful and welcoming craft beer pub that I wish we’d had more time to visit, and then to Wiper & True, so we ticked off another brewery taproom.
The Bristol tourism continued the following day, with visits to both the Red Lodge and Georgian House Museums – and well-fuelled by Bird & Blend Tea. We saw a few Banksy pieces on our wanders, naturally, and visited what might have been my favourite pub: The Lime Kiln. On paper, there’s nothing that screams ‘outstanding pub’ – it’s a relatively unremarkable, early-20th century exterior, but inside, it’s cask-ale nerd heaven. The mural on the main wall features the pub cat, there was an excellent range of well-kept local beers and, at least on our visit, some of the most Relevant-to-my-Interests esoteric-edged prog rock playing quietly in the background. I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.
Finally, before heading home, we hit one of the more tourist-friendly pubs in The Llandoger Trow, where, to my surprise, they had Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous on tap – a beautiful beer in a well-preserved setting, and a perfect way to end a short break.
In short (not that this has been short), a successful short break!