SOCIETY CAFE, BATH

Cracking coffee, scrumptious cake and screenings of the Spring Classics in this central Bath institution...

“Very cyclist friendly and can cater to large groups early on a Sunday morning. A must visit if you are cycling through Bath” Stefano Marazzi

“The most cosy cafe in Bath representative of its coffee culture” Yiannis Gregoriou

“A very nice place. Caters for all types of coffee lover, and the food was great, too. The staff are very friendly” Frederick Parks

In CyclingPlus’ former life, circa 2014, the city of Bath was home and Society Cafe was a regular haunt for our writers, whether it was for a pre- or post-ride espresso or somewhere to take our laptops for a change of scenery from the office. We’ve since moved up the River Avon to Bristol - and Society has joined us, opening another cafe on the Harbourside (as well as further cafes in Oxford and a second Bath location).

Bikes are the best way to get around the city, but beware its hills as, unless you choose to go along the flat 15-mile railway path to Bristol, you’re faced with an unenviable choice of steep hills with which to leave. The most wretched is Lansdown Road, up to the golf course; the best, and most sporting, is Bathford Hill, known locally as Kingsdown (it also heads past a golf course of the same name), detailed right.

Once you’ve put your name on its extensive Strava leaderboard, the spacious, two-story Society Cafe, on Kingsmead Square, will aid your recovery. It’s a regular rendezvous point for Bath cycling clubs, with a 7.30am opening on Saturdays and bike parking outside. Nods to cycling inside include a vintage bike on the wall and live screening on request on its downstairs projector of major bike races like the Tour de France and Spring Classics. The close bond between cycling and coffee is also documented with a column in its in-house magazine, Society, society-cafe.com

SIGNATURE DISH

Besides coffee and cake, there’s a small selection of sandwiches. SHOWSTOPPER

The caramel shortbread is so decadent it’ll make you consider riding the long way home.

I’M A COFFEE SNOB, HOW’S THEIR FLAT WHITE? It falls far from flat. The house beans come from Cornwall’s Origin Coffee.

KEY STRAVA SEGMENT

Bathford Hill, 1.7 miles, av grade 5.2 per cent, elevation gain 471ft, ranked riders: 5550

KOM Miles Burton 5.17, 22/08/2019 QOM Lau Dolittle 7.25 05/03/2016