A bookish 24 hours in Bath 📖

Topping & Co, Persephone Books and HOME SHORES on tour

Oh, where to begin 🌼 what a month May has been, and it’s not even over yet.

The highlight so far has to be my sojourn to the south west earlier this week, watching (and filming 🎬) Emily Scott cooking recipes from her new book Home Shores at Topping & Co in front of a lovely crowd, and getting to call it work. This is the kind of work I always want to be doing please and thank you.

Here’s what I got up to during a too-short but very special 24 hours in Bath.

Charity shopping and a visit to the mothership…

Like all literary girlies who read the classics for fun in their teenage years, my first stop in the city had to be Persephone Books. Despite having been to Bath several times and briefly collaborated with the wonderful Francesca Beauman on the Persephone Festival last year, I have never actually set foot in the bookshop itself; that is, until this trip.

Dear reader: it is every bit as magical as you hope it to be, if not more so. I chose a few literary treats to bring home with me and practically waltzed back to my hotel in the late afternoon sunshine, smiling from ear to ear.

I also popped into a few charity shops (you know me, I can’t resist a chazza) and found a stripy Zara shirt that I absolutely did not need, but bought anyway. We’ve got to do our bit, haven’t we? My philanthropy truly knows no bounds.

An evening at Topping & Co

This event was probably my favourite on the tour so far. The location, the lovely team and volunteers who make it all happen, the food, the audience, the joy and creativity radiating around the room - it really was such a special evening. Bookshops can be quite tricky places to film as they are often very small and crowded with lots of awkward corners, but this one was truly a joy to be in. As you’ll probably know by now, being surrounded by piles and piles of books is my happy place.

In typical Emily style, she cooked not one, not two, but three beautiful fish dishes for the audience to try, straight from the pages of Home Shores. It’s always such a privilege to see Emily in her element, creating dishes that she knows and loves so well, talking about the inspiration behind each one and giving advice on what to look for when buying fish.

The evening flew by in a joyful blur, and before I knew it, I was hugging Emily goodbye and heading back to my hotel. I stopped off to get a sweet treat at an ice cream bar on the way, rang James who had just flown back from a golf trip in Spain, and then collapsed into bed at 10:30pm.

A solo date day in Bath

My last day in Bath was perfectly sunny but not too hot, ideal weather for wandering the city on foot, weaving in and out of shops and stumbling across restaurants with outdoor bistro tables to sit and people watch.

Happily, I managed to do all my favourite things before I had to pick up my bags and hop on the train home. A spot of shopping, because why not; a delicious lunch outside with a perfect view of the bustling city centre; a walk up to the Royal Crescent, where I bought an over-priced Mr. Whippy ice cream (who remembers when they were actually 99p?) and sat in the shade, watching families and friends and colleagues basking in the afternoon sun.

I caught the train just before 2pm, and by 6:30pm, I was walking through the front door of my little cottage, very happy to be reunited with James and my beloved garden.

And that was my 24 hours in Bath! Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a lovely bank holiday weekend 💛