Out and About
How great was it to see shops, restaurants and bars opening up in Bath on Monday after such a long and cold winter lockdown?
The atmosphere was so great around town at the weekend, everyone getting ready for the big opening on Monday.
Outside tables were being unstacked, windows washed and cobwebs spirited away.
Menus were rewritten and most shops and restaurants were slapping last-minute paint on shopfronts to welcome back long-awaited customers and friends.
I took a walk around Kingsmead Square on Monday morning to soak in some atmosphere (and have a look in Anthropologie and Space NK on the way, rude not to).
What a great place Kingsmead Square is going to be this summer! I think it will be the place. Dough pizza is moving in with extra seating outside, the Dark Horse cocktail bar will have tables and chairs on the pavement, all the cafes and bars have more outside seating than ever and the best thing is there will be little or no through traffic – the street is now closed to cars after 10am.
It is going to be so great. There’s Society Café, Boston Tea Party, all the great little streetfood outlets like Chai Walla, superb cafes and restaurants and, of course, the fruitsellers in the middle, a lovely family business that has been selling fruit and veg there for decades, they know everyone.
I love Kingsmead Square, there’s always lots of activity, some quite colourful at times.
I can’t wait for those warm, sunny days when I can once again sit outside Society and watch the world go by, stroll into Grace & Ted for some special vintage clothes and grab a falafel wrap from Chai Walla to be eaten under the welcome shade of the beautiful trees on the square.
After that to wander along to Green Park Station and visit some of the lovely, independent market stalls, the great wine off-licence, the pizza oven, the coffee, the cake – life as it should be.
We are so lucky to have all this at our fingertips in Bath – with less traffic on Milsom Street and around the theatre area we can have a real al fresco experience.
All we need now is the weather. I went to lunch on Monday at the Hare & Hounds in Lansdown – I was one of the first to book when Boris announced April 12 as the date we could all go back to the pub.
It was a good choice, the garden is huge and the new menu is much more varied.
There were lots of people and they have extended the decking and patio area so there’s even more space to have a drink and bite to eat while taking in the magnificent views across the valley.
It was cold, though – very, very cold. There aren’t any heaters so by the time my two hours were up my fingers were numb, especially the ones wrapped lovingly and longingly around my glass of sav blanc.
I’m looking forward to eating outdoors in town, though. That will be great with all the extra seating allowed by the council for businesses to extend their outdoor trade.
I love the area around the Theatre Royal, it has become a real hub.
The Garrick’s Head has a decent pint and fish and chips and Vino Vino is good for an early evening cocktail – the umbrellas have infrared heaters underneath, an absolutely genius approach to life.
Oh, roll on summer, I’m so happy for all our small businesses, so happy they are open again. We missed them so much and it will be great to support them once again after the year we all had.
Will we ever take them for granted again?
See you out there, I will be the one under the warm umbrellas sipping my glass of wine and enjoying being out and about in our great city once again.
Find Nancy at: Twitter – @Nancynconnolly and Instagram – @Nancyirishjourno