The lunch-time stop was in the country town of Shepton Mallett where we lunched in a little cafe/restaurant which seemed to be quite popular with the locals. Actually several of the locals seemed to be stereotypes of what a person from rural Somerset should look like - particularly some of the men resplendent with bushy side-whiskers. Nevertheless it was a pleasant place to eat before we headed on the relatively short remaining distance to Bath.
Leaving Shepton Mallett we bypassed Midsomer Norton on our way to Bath, mindful of its namesake association with 'The Midsomer Murders' TV series. Being Friday Bath was quite busy when we arrived. We didn't have a city map so just followed the blue parking signs to a large carpark near the city centre. I was able to get a map from a vending machine at the carpark but it was incredibly difficult to follow, being one of the arty pictorial kind of map. By following the general flow of people we were able to make our way to the main shopping area and have a bit of a stroll around. We had booked a room at the Bath Hilton for three nights and knew only that it was on Walcot Street. Although able to find the street on the map, it gave little help in telling us how to get there from where we were parked.
Anyway after walking up through the town with its Friday shopping and tourist crowds we turned back towards the carpark but came out by the Green Park Station markets and had a stroll along the river bank towards the car park. That was a bit of an experience too as, although there were some other people walking, it seemed to be the haunt of some economically challenged people. There were some such loitering around and signs of more long-term occupation. However, we didn't encounter any problems but were glad to get back to the carpark.
Now trying to find our way back to Walcot Street by road was a frustrating experience. I navigated perfectly in the general direction which was a feat given the one-way road system. When we were actually quite close to our destination I missed a turn and ended up on the wrong side of the river. Asking for directions from a local also was the usual experience of them being happy to help but not being very clear about what 'go straight through' means at a 'T' intersection. We found ourselves in a back street which, I found out later, was directly across the river from the hotel. After consulting the useless map once again I saw that we actually only had to continue forward to the next interesection, take two left turns and we would be on the right street.
The Bath Hilton is actually right near the centre of Bath near the Pultenay Bridge. It doesn't have a carpark of its own but uses/shares the carpark underneath with the shopping plaza next door - at £15 per night! Since there was no parking in front of the hotel we drove down into the car park and then left our luggage there while we went to check in. I managed to obtain the services of a bell boy to come down to the car park and help me bring the luggage back up as there isn't any elevator access from the carpark to the hotel. I think the English hotel trade still has a lot of catching up to do with the rest of the world! Our 'room' (a euphemism for a double broom-closet) had barely enough room to edge sideways around the bed and not much more at the foot of the bed. Clearly they don't expect people to occupy the rooms except to sleep. It would probably have been adequate for a single bed. We had to get them to send up a service operative (a young lad with a pair of pliers) to get the water radiator heater going when the temperature started to drop.
On the following day (Saturday) we did a bit more wandering around the town and looking at the sights including the Cathedral.
We also walked across the Pultenay Bridge and before visiting the Guildhall Markets had a look at the weir downstream of the bridge.
The hotel restaurant overlooks the river with views of the upstream side of the Pultenay Bridge and glimpses of the weir underneath.
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