I was on my way back from Wales feeling emotionally drained when I decided to visit the Thermae Bath Spa.  I’ve been enjoying their website http://www.thermaebathspa.com for some time and felt like I needed some TLC.

My first discovery was the Marshfield Bakery http://www.marshfieldbakery.co.uk, where the Honeycomb Tiffin was so good I was almost tempted to do the bakery tour! 

After a slightly confused wander through the quiet lanes of Bath I found the Thermae Bath Spa, which I loved!  I used to visit my friends in Bath all the time when I was a student, but haven’t been there in ten years - now I have a reason to go back!

I felt so much better afterwards that I decided to continue the TLC by finding a really good restaurant for a late lunch, a few wrong turns later and I found a cute little tapas place called Same Same But Different, where the ambience is even better than the food (but only just!)

Unfortunately despite the rejuvenation of the spa, Bath is still a little run down in places, and full of a lot of chain stores.  I had a little wander up to The Circus and The Royal Crescent, but what I most enjoyed this time were the lions I found along the way.

I hadn’t decided whether to stay for one more night or head home, so on the advice of the lovely Christophe in Same Same But Different I did check out a few hotels in the centre of Bath, but they were all full or just uninviting.

The lady in the Accommodation section of Tourist Information recommended I just jump in my car, knock on a few B&B doors and hopefully they’d bite my hand off!

I did think about visiting the Roman Baths but I was a little bit shocked by the price £12.25 - all I could think was that you can get into the Louvre for less than that.  That and the fact that I was really pretty tired meant that I decided to stop into the gift shop and call it a day (after all, I had a long drive ahead of me.)  What I didn’t realise is that in the shop are directions to the King’s Spa - in The Pump Room, where you can buy a glass of spa water for only 50p.  A bit warm, but okay tasting, and definitely easier on the pocket than the tour!

After my time in Wales, where food is not served after 9pm, I decided I’d be sensible and stop for a nice pub dinner (pasta with feta tempura!) at The Crown (opposite to and recommended by the Marshfield Bakery) before getting on the motorway.  Then I read their magazine cutting describing the rooms at their sister pub The Old House At Home as a gorgeous chic retreat, well I had to check it out.  (About 5 miles down the very small road in Burton.)

Yes it was incredibly decadent and yes I absolutely loved it!  Especially the Marshfield Bakery treats in the room!

In the morning I headed over to Castle Combe (apparently the prettiest village in England!) for a little wander, and then tried to find the village of Tiddleywink, but after circling around for half an hour I gave up and rolled off home - feeling a lot more human after my impromptu Bath Spa Break.