Sadly, that’s the only thing I could remember from the culmination of our night in Bath, in the upstairs room at the Raven.
But first, a minor diversion. My £40 windowless room at Z Hotel gives you a FREE cheese and wine buffet at 5pm. Mixing metaphors, you’ve never seen such a bunfight. Decent quality too.
Now, you might think that mixing beer and wine is sheer stupidity, and you’d be right. I rushed back to meet the gang at the Raven, without a clue where it was.
I couldn’t see the gang, so I stood at the bar with a pint of Porter you’ll have to identify from the top photo. It was picked by saying to man next to me;
“wassatyouredrinkingmate”
Then I saw Jon’s text saying they were upstairs, which I tried to find. Now I know how Simon felt in St Neots last month.
This is closer to what you expect of a Bath pub, perfectly pleasant and cosy, and with some decent ale sales.
As on my first visit, the beer was cool and rich and interesting (NBSS 3.5). I wish I could remember anything other than being told I had cheese all over me face (it was true).
Time for goodbyes and sleep, though only after a gallon of water, two double espressos and some crispy Thai noodles from Gong Fu which will probably make my Chinese takeaway Top 10 for 2018.
So there you go. Six pubs, five of them worthy of your business, three of them worth a long trip (e.g. from Cambridge, or Chicago, or Frome). And I bet there’ll be there when you get there.
retiredmartin 
The Raven has the dubious distinction of being the pub where Richard fell in love with cask ale. Thanks for reminding me that Bath is a great pub town.
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Do you call him Richard ?
Bath did remind me you need to revisit everywhere. I really was lukewarm about the city before this trip. When were you there when R had his conversion ?
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I actually call him Dick, but that doesn’t seem the way over there. I believe it was about seven years ago. We spent three nights in Bath. His curry conversion occurred in Burton two years later.
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Richard is a weird name. Call him Dick.
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Yeah!!
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Bath was it. Great pubs and ales all within an easy walk. I did miss out on the Bell and have not forgotten.
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When you’re on a Mission From God then occasionally these things will happen I expect, Martin.
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“My £40 windowless room at Z Hotel gives you a FREE cheese and wine buffet at 5pm.”
The place we’ve stayed in Edmonton the last few times we’ve gone to see our lads does daily wine tasting (with appetizers) from 17:30 to 18:30. We’ve never partaken alas as we were a five minute walk away having beer at a brewpub where my youngest is the brewmaster. 🙂
“I knew it wasn’t in the river”
You definitely took the long way round if you went by the river!
“Now I know how Simon felt in St Neots last month.”
(chuckle)
“Time for goodbyes and sleep, though only after a gallon of water, two double espressos”
Hang on; time for sleep AFTER two double espressos?
Cheers!
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I did go, er, slightly wrong.
Yes, I sleep better on heaps of coffee. I did that Canadian chain (Horton) yesterday and overdid it badly (coffee and beer don’t go well when you’re walking).
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Hortons are proof that Canucks are weird, it’s not real coffee, just pure caffeinated tar.
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“it’s not real coffee, just pure caffeinated tar.”
You could very well be right Scott.
But, compared to Starbucks it’s ambrosia. 🙂
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Starbucks filter is great, particularly when it’s £1.30 with free refills.
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I once stayed in a windowless room in Liverpool, the Atlantic B&B, I think it was, close to the station.
They had put up curtains on a rail, mind. Just that when you drew them, there was but a wall behind them – maybe with a picture on it. Time blurs, fortunately.
I won’t endeavour to recall the breakfast routine, but I vaguely remember that it involved a hatch.
The things that we once did, just to make something, on flat-rate expenses…
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A gerbil hatch ?
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Not unless gerbils have large, tattooed forearms Martin, no.
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I suspect the comment was said by people who, though unwilling to admit it, were profoundly envious of you having been in the position to eat enough cheese that you were able to get it all over your face.
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I’m sure you’re right, Mark.
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Was it traditional Cheddar cheese or Kraft cheese nonsense?
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If might have been foreign muck from Gloucestershire.
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Being just 25 miles from Cheddar it surely wouldn’t be that pasteurised Craft nonsence.
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Is that Craft or Kraft, Paul? They both sort of work…
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Er, I’m not sure.
I’m easily confused at my age.
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