I've had a weekend off baking to visit family in the south, and whilst the boys watched the rugby, the girls escaped the tension of the auld rivalry to rediscover their shopping muscles with a day trip to Bath.
It's such a beautiful city, but on a crisp, sunny, winters day when the bus loads of tourists have died down it's even better. I love the grand Georgian mansions, the narrow winding lanes and the way that even the big chains feel a little special when they are crammed into wonky little shop fronts. It may have started with the Romans, but Bath continues to evolve and the bits that once were shabby have been transformed into smartly paved and chic shopping zones whilst elsewhere the high street is a lovely mix of big names, independent speciality shops, boutiques and foodie delights. With all of this crowded round the historic abbey and Roman baths, I would say that Bath is definitely ahead of the game when it comes to 'destination shopping' and the much needed revival of the British city centre.
The main reason we were there this time though was for the bread. I went to see Les Miserables this week, where destiny is made by a loaf of bread, and in Bath a certain Frenchman has been busy building his own bakery barricades at the heart of the bread revolution. Richard Bertinet's bakeries are now sprinkled over the city and we visited all three on our little pilgrimage.
The Bertinet Kitchen has a small shop front where you can pick up a loaf and your baking kit, whilst out the back the great man himself was busy teaching a class of lucky people the secrets of beautiful bread. At last I got to try one of their delicious almond croissants and picked up an olive bread and sourdough to sample later on. There's also a bakery in the lanes with a beautiful selection of loaves, cakes and pastries and a queue out the door, whilst down in the new station development people were crammed into the latest cafe to get their caffeine and gluten fix in one hit.
It looks like bread is big business, but I also wanted to hunt down the Thoughtful Bread company who have been busy holding their own against the French invasion from their base at the old Green Park station market. I'd never been to this part of town before, but loved the busy market filled with curiosities, vintage gear and local producers. There was cheese, chilli sauce, meat, macaroons and there amongst it all is the bread. By the time we arrived it was early afternoon and the good people of Bath had been busy buying loaves all morning, but there was still plenty of interesting bread to choose from. I was very tempted by the bright pink beetroot bread, but in the end opted for a white local cheese loaf and a sunflower rye. Both of which were delicious.
By this time we were exhausted and in need of revival and refreshment so met up with some friends for a bite to eat and a glass of something chilled. After rejecting (or being rejected) by our first choice by some particularly rude waiters, we hit the council owned Roman Bath House which was lovely and found that Thoughtful Bread was again on the menu. It's great to see the council continuing to build on the success of the spa, and doing something so well rather than just resting on their Roman laurels. I headed home with a bag full of bread and a happy heart, with renewed confidence both in my ability to start my own bread revolution on the other side of the wall and in the future of our nation of shopkeepers.
The news that England had also trounced Scotland in the calcutta cup was just the icing on my Bath bun.
