I have always wanted to visit one of The Pig hotels and recently had heard lots of fantastic things about them. So with a few days away booked in the Cotswolds {staying at The Wild Rabbit – more on that later} we decided to make it a week away and start with a couple of days at The Pig near Bath.
The Pig near Bath {and the whole Pig chain} is a really luxurious hotel with everything so well thought out, but with a marvellously relaxed feel and homey feel. It is set in the Somerset countryside and you certainly feel away from the hustle and bustle of the city surrounded by fields filled with deer.
When we picked on these September dates way back at the beginning of the year we had no idea how lucky we would be with the weather – it ended up being a heatwave and we even missed out on all the storms in London. Win win!
We had booked a big comfy luxe room and boy was it all of those {big, comfy and luxe} complete with a beautiful rolltop bath in the room {cue me getting out my notebook to write down ideas for our house renovation}. As we were shown to our room there was classical music quietly drifting from the radio on the bedside table. A really lovely touch which certainly added to the air of the place. We actually agreed that, although this was a nice treat, we would definitely have been happy with a lower priced room. However, it probably depends on how much you plan to get out and about. We were so lucky with the weather that we didn’t spend much time in the room except for sleeping and watching movies that you could rent from the front desk {complete with free popcorn – a very cool touch}.
We had a little wander around the grounds and checked out the beautiful kitchen garden. A lot of the vegetables, fruit and herbs used in the restaurant are grown here and there is a strong team of gardeners at work. The ethos of the food at The Pig is that it is to be sourced from a 25 mile radius and on the back of the menu {which changes each day, even from lunch to dinner} you can see where all the foods are from. It really is a fantastic concept. After our walk we quickly got changed and went to enjoy a cocktail before dinner. Absolutely everything in this place is beautifully presented and so well thought about. The cocktails not only looked beautiful but tasted fantastic. I can’t remember what I had {although no doubt the good hubby was having our usual tipple of an amaretto sour} and I don’t have an excuse as to why as I was on the non-alcoholic drinks being 4 months pregnant. But what I do remember is that there was a great cocktail selection, including virgins which I worked my merry way through!
I didn’t make a note of what we ate for dinner but it was all fantastic. We enjoyed every single part from the bread to the starters, mains and pudding with cheese and petit fours! The Pig is sometimes referred to as a restaurant with rooms and it is the restaurant that really makes it. All I can say is that you won’t be let down. As the hotel is in the middle of the countryside there really isn’t anywhere else you can go for dinner, but you won’t want to. Honestly, eat here. You won’t be disappointed.
Now we are both big breakfast fans. We love to start the day with a leisurely breakfast and a read of the papers, filling our bellies for the day ahead. We went down to breakfast which was again served in the incredibly light conservatory and were greeted by an enormous breakfast table full of fruit, yogurt, cereals, three types of granola, homemade banana bread {my personal favourite} and the best sourdough I have ever tasted. Breakfast isn’t actually included in the price of the room but at only £10 a head {£15 if you order one of their cooked breakfasts as well – although you really don’t need it} it is really worth it.
Once we had finished breakfast we went for a potter around the beautiful kitchen gardens just next door. We needed to pretend to be walking off breakfast before we got in the car for a trip to Bath.
I’ve never actually been to Bath and nor had TGH which we thought was odd given our love of the South West generally. This was one of the main reasons we booked to stay at The Pig near Bath. As it was such a lovely day and we both needed to burn off our delicious breakfast {and make room for ice cream later!} we decided on a walk. The National Trust has some excellent suggestions around the area but we really fancied the Bath Skyline walk – it meant we could get some stunning views of Bath and also have a good old wander in the countryside. We are guilty of getting out of London so rarely sometimes and all we want is some greenery, a long path out in front of us and a chance to catch up with each other and life.
After our long walk we headed into the city centre for a quick bite to eat for sustenance before heading to see some of the main sights of Bath. First stop was the Royal Crescent, which is probably what most people think of when they think of Bath. It’s a fantastic example of Georgian architecture and the park in front of it was a great place to roll out our picnic blanket and watch the world go by, which is exactly what we did. When the weather is as beautiful as it was that day there was nothing else for it!
After we had caught some rays outside the Royal Crescent we pottered back into the centre of Bath. The fantastic thing about Bath is that it is all within walking distance. It’s a great city to do in a day although there were definitely more things we could have done if we had more time {like the baths!}
A highly recommend a visit to Bath Abbey as it’s a really beautiful building. It actually reminded us a lot of St. Albans Cathedral where we got married. There’s something very magic about such grand buildings as this. We finished off our trip to Bath with an ice cream {there are so many ice cream shops, it’s like being on holiday} before heading back to the beautiful Pig for dinner.
I would absolutely love to go back to The Pig near Bath and am definitely keen to try out one of their other hotels. Imagine visiting in the late Autumn or Winter when it’s all chilly and you could sit in front of the fire for hours with a drink and some magazines. Pure heaven!
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