So, after the lockdown (or at least towards the end of it) we needed some r & r and decided to go to the West Country for a few days. First stop was Bath and we stayed in the Gainsborough which is named after the artist Thomas Gainsborough and is the only hotel with access to the hot springs (although the public baths are just across the road).
It was a good move and certainly relaxing after the stresses and strains of the last few months. Bath is a beautiful city, famous for the Roman baths and it’s architecture which led the city to becoming a World Heritage Site in 1987. It’s a small city and the main sights can easily be seen on foot in a few hours.
One evening, I took Gary to Sally Lunn’s Historic Eating House which is a famous tourist attraction in the city. I had visited last time c. 10 years’ ago and for an afternoon tea but was keen to try the evening menu on second visit.
Sally Lunn was a legendary young Huguenot baker who created the first Bath Bunn and the menu centres on the Sally Lunn bun which is baked to a secret recipe.
I picked a chicken and ham trencher. Traditionally a “trencher” was a type of bread used before the invention of plates and to the dish consisted of a chicken and ham stew placed within a Sally Lunn bun.
Gary had a slow cooked pork trencher and commented afterwards, “It’s just a bread roll!”
I had to agree with Gary’s conclusion on the dish but I have decided to order some buns online from the bakery to try these at home and will report back once I have tried them again!
One lovely surprise from staying at the Gainsborough was that we came back to our room one afternoon and discovered a box from the Fine Cheese Company.
The box contained some cheddar and some Bath soft cheese, both of which were phenomenal with the enclosed all butter wheat crackers. The box also contained some fig chutney though this is not my thing and so I have given this a miss!
