The Bath Bucket List
I have lived in Bath, UK, for four of the last five years. Now, though, it is time for me to leave and begin a new adventure.
I have had a fantastic time in Bath. No small part of that has been down to the people I have met here, especially through the University and Students’ Union (BUSU). How much poorer my Bath experience would have been were it not for the friends I made in Bath Rag, for instance.
However, it hasn’t just been bus rides and house parties. I have a lot of fond memories of time spent in restaurants, pubs, parks… the things that make Bath, Bath.
I don’t have long left to enjoy these things before I move abroad. With that in mind, I want to make sure I’ve done everything I should have. So I’m compiling a “bucket list” of activities to get done. I’m leaving in under a month’s time, so I doubt whether I’ll get through all of it. Hopefully, though, this list might serve someone else some day, such as a newcomer to the area looking to make the most of their time here. I’ve also written down the stuff I’ve done already. Some of the items are obvious, although in several cases it took me years to get round to doing them. Others are more obscure, but feature because they’ve had such good recommendations or because they stick out in my memory.
I would welcome suggestions for anything I’ve missed (before it’s too late!), in the comments section below.
My thanks go to @welovebath, @nowbath, @visitbath and @thepigguide for retweeting my calls for recommendations, and to everyone who contributed their own suggestions.
I’ll be updating the list as more recommendations come in, and as I get through doing them.
At the moment, I’ve only written up food and drink. Nightlife and “other” (the big one) will be going up soon.
I’ve also created a Twitter hashtag, #bathbucketlist, which can be used to make suggestions or discuss the items.
Update 20 July 2012:
I moved away from Bath a couple ofmonths ago, so I’ve taken the list off the main page (valuable screen real estate) and pasted it below:
Below is my “bucket list” for my remaining time in Bath. see also this post for more background info. Suggestions welcome!
A lot of it, especially the stuff in the “done” tables, is student-specific, because that’s what I’ve been doing here, but i think a lot of it will have wider appeal.
So far, I’ve just added food and drink. Nightlife and “other” (the big one) will be added soon.
Food
TO EAT:
| Where? | What for? | Recommended by | Notes |
| Sally Lunn’s | Dinner | No-one in particular, it just looks nice | Already done for tea |
| Royal Victoria “Vicky” Park | BBQ | @anasordo | Already done for picnic |
| The Raven | Pie | Steph M. | Also in the pubs list |
| Retro Café | Breakfast | @anasordo | |
| Premier curry | Curry. duh. | @anasordo | Done Rajpoot, which is the same kitchen, I think. |
| Golden Plaice | Fish’n’chips | @anasordo | |
| Real Italian Pizza Co | Antipasti “the best in Bath” | @pen1707 | I was recently in Italy, so I’d have quite high expectations… |
| Hudsons | Steak and a bloody mary | @cupcake_rachel | |
| Sotto Sotto | “for casual” | @thepackhorseinn | |
| The Priory | “for class” | @thepackhorseinn | |
| Menu Gordon Jones | “for inventiveness” | @thepackhorseinn | |
| The Circus | “For consistently good seasonal food and service” | @MissRich |
EATEN:
| Where? | What for? | When? | Notes |
| The Weston | Roast lunch | Rag socials, 2008 | Classic roast. |
| Yak Yeti Yak | Dinner | Bath Impact (student newspaper) end-of-year social, 2009. | Unique, delicious Nepalese food. |
| Sally Lunn’s | Cream Tea | After a very wet Razorcat trike ride (see below), April 2011. | Just lovely, mind the low ceilings! |
| Café du Globe | Lunch, Dinner | April and May 2012. | Authentic Morrocon food, enthusiastic and friendly owner and staff. |
| Walrus and Carpenter | Dinner | February 2009 February 2011 | Found by accident when the queue at jamie’s Italian was ridiculous. Now sadly closed. Great cocktails. |
| Market | Lunch, Dinner | Floorball club social, late 2010 | Great burgers. |
| Eastern Eye | Lunch | Multiple times | £8 3-course lunch. The lentil soup (dal) is the best I’ve ever had. |
| Boojon Tandoori | Dinner | Floorball end-of-season and Christmas socials, 2009 | Standard nice curry. Handles group bookings well. BYOB. |
| Panahar | So many take-aways | Too often to count | Truly excellent service. I’ve had a smile and a wave through the glass door just for walking past! A life-saver in my undergrad days in Oldfield Park. |
| Marmaris | So many take-aways | Can’t remember them all! | A staple of late-night outings in the city centre. |
| Herbie’s | Take-away chips | More occasions than I care to count | The first food I had after moving into Oldfield Park in 2008! |
| Cheong Sing | So many take-aways | Almost weekly during exam season! | The almost unfinishably big portions make this great value for money, especially for students. |
| Velo Lounge | Lunch, cocktails. | Sunday nights for the quiz! | Between the cider and cash prizes, I reckon I broke even in this place! |
| Green Park Express Cafe | Lunch | During Bath Taps Into Science 2012 | Very yummy burgers. |
| Green Park Brasserie | Lunch, Dinner | Pre-cinema Wednesdays; Graduation day. | Good live music, too. |
| The Real China | All You Can Eat | Multiple occasion | Not the best Chinese in Bath, but the point of AYCE is the quantities! |
| Jimmy Spices | All You Can Eat | Trowbridge floorball Christmas social, amongst others. | If only for the “one of everything” challenge. |
Obviously, Bath also has its fair share of McDonald’s, Subway, Nando’s etc. And I’ve eaten loads in the Wetherspoon’s, but they don’t really qualify for the bucket list because they can be found pretty well anywhere.
Drinks
TO DRINK:
| Where? | Recommendation |
| Hop Pole | I’ve walked past it a few times, it just looks nice. |
| The Raven | Café scientifique is held here monthly.@anasordo |
| Marlborough Tavern | @ip42 “superb service/atmosphere (especially in the garden)” |
| The Griffin | Can’t find the reference for this one any more  |
| The Star | Can’t find the reference for this one any more |
| The Boat House | @anasordo |
DRUNK:
| Where? | When / What for? | Notes |
| The Westgate | So many times, including Rag socials and Skeptics In The Pub talks. | Formerly the Rat and Parrot. Used to do good, cheap cocktails. Now has a nice selection of ciders. |
| Green Park Tavern | ||
| The Hunstman | After Rag presentation evenings. All of them. | I learnt a couple of songs the first time I went… |
| The Boater | Floorball club initiation; Roman Romp | Awesome beer garden |
| Lamb and Lion | Not to be confused with these guys. | |
| Hobgoblin | Not in the least bit scary, ever. The only bar I know of to give a Myspace page as the official website. | |
| Volunteer Rifleman’s Arms | After some friends had run the Bath Half marathon 2010 | Proper pub. |
| The Beau Nash | Rag white t-shirt and Christmas socials, 2011. | Security don’t recognise foreign driving licences… violation of european law grumble grumble. |
| The Ram | They let you take in take-away, even laying on plates and cutlery. | |
| The Bell | Heated, covered patio, live music. | |
| The Inn at Freshford | Especially after a Rag collection. | |
| The Globe | Country pub tour! 2007 | |
| The Prince of Wales | Country pub tour! 2007 | |
| St James Wine Vaults | Dominoes! |
Again, there are a few chain bars in town, such as All Bar One, O’Neill’s, Vodka Revolutions and, of course, Wetherspoon’s, all of which I’ve spent plenty of time in, but aren’t terribly Bath-specific. Also, I know that a lot of the other pubs I’ve mentioned are owned by chains, but they mostly still manage an air of uniqueness, whereas these other ones don’t even try any more.
Update 20 July 2012 (2): Below are the vague notes I had made in preparation for expanding the list further, but that i didn’t get round to formatting properly.
@alex_brovvn @welovebath definitely add the new boutique gin bar: Canary! Lovely atmosphere, great drinks and friendly staff.
Retweeted by g2bath and bathgoodfood (the same pople i think)
For vegivores, and anyone else for that matter, the food in demuths is brilliant, if a little pricey #bathbucketlist (@arthur gordon wright)
The Salamander for ale (including trying all the ales on draught they have),
Jamuna for a Xiacutti (one of the few indian places I’ve been that serves it),
Billy’s Burger out in Larkhall (best burger in Bath),
outdoor pint at the George Inn,
Fish and Chips at Seafoods…
Schwartz bros http://twitter.com/#!/Alex_Sorisi
The pack horse inn http://twitter.com/#!/Alex_Sorisi
#AIO in #GeorgeStreet excellent food and amazing service.
Other
Guidhall markets
Literature festival (Ben Goldacre 2009)
Comedy at the Rondo (Mitch Benn 2008)
Panto in Box (2012)
Rugby: Bath v Biarritz (early in final year)
Trike ride: countryside (mid final year, it was wet)
Litte Theatre Cinema: Vicky Christina Barcelona
Theatre Royal: Avenue Q (with busms)
Abbey: graduation
Fireworks
Roman Baths / Pump Room brat concerts (twice), bath uni su activities awards (once)
Bizarre Bath comedy walk
Holburne Museum (daleks)
Thermae Spa including being snowed on!)
Official Mayor of Bath walking tour
Guildhall – RAG presentation evening (twice), chairman of bath and north east somerset council volunteer awards (twice), bath uni su activities awards (once), mayor’s party
Mayor’s parlour: busu volunteer recognition
View from Alexandra Park
Assembly Rooms: fashion show (twice)
Hansel & Gretel shop (now sadly closed, before I got round to having Strudel there!)
Jane Austen Centre
Farleigh Hungerford Castle
Skyline walk
Cross Bath
Kilver Court Gardens
Victoria Art Gallery
Herschel Museum
Fashion Museum
Punting the Avon
Swim a lap of the Laura Place fountain
Cookery at the Bertinet Kitchen
Museum of Bath at Work
Glass-blowing
Clubs
Monday at Second Bridge (floorball inititiation)
Tuesday (Cheese night!) at Moles
Wednesday at Po Na Na
Comedy night at Komedia
Blue Rooms
XL
Weir Lounge (formerly known as T’s? QTs?)
Funky Guppy, Flirt!, Theory and Fuzzy Ducks at The Tub (formerly known as Elements)
Roman Romp
Opium
Opa (after fashion show)
