3 min readSample your way around the best of the West of England on this four-day itinerary, which takes in cookery schools, breweries, and local producers.
Day One - Bath
Start your trip with a visit to one of Bath’s Cookery Schools. At Vale House Kitchen, they offer cooking experiences as well as a unique opportunity to acquire or hone your fishing, shooting, foraging, and butchery skills. Alternatively, enhance your baking skills at the Bertinet Kitchen, take a pasta-making class at Pasta Laboratory, or take a relaxed Persian cookery class at Simi’s Kitchen.
A gin-making experience with Bath Gin will help wash down your creations before a torchlit tour and dinner at the Roman Baths, or enjoy the twilight package at Thermae Bath Spa, where you can relax in the natural thermal waters and watch the sun go down over the cityscape.
Image - Pasta Laboratory
Day Two - Bath
Start off the day with a unique way to experience the city with Savouring Bath by sampling produce from Bath’s artisan food and drink producers whilst wandering through the elegant eighteenth-century streets and alleyways. Tours are led by local guides who are all passionate and highly knowledgeable about the best independent food and drink outlets. From unusual tea houses to farmers' markets and from breweries to bakeries, experience all corners of the food and drink offering in Bath.
Later, take a brewery tour at The Bath Brew House to learn the brief history of beer, the brewing process of traditional British ale, and enjoy an ale tasting session followed by some delicious pub food. Alternatively, if cheese is more your thing, venture out to the Bath Soft Cheese Co farm on the edge of the city to meet the cows responsible for their famous cheese, do a tasting and then take a stroll back into Bath city whilst enjoying some of the best views of Bath and surrounding countryside.
Next, take the Great Western Railway (GWR) train journey for just 12 minutes to Bristol Temple Meads.
Image - Savouring Bath
Day Three - Bristol
Start with a boat trip around Bristol’s historic Harbourside before a food tour or hands-on experience with Yuup or Food Tours of Bristol, discovering some of the passionate independent businesses and the characters behind them in this award-winning foodie destination – perfect for small groups.
Check out some of the city’s unrivalled Street Art on a self-guided street art walking tour to visit some famous Banksy pieces and make your way over to one of Bristol’s famous brewery tap rooms: Bristol Beer Factory, Wiper and True, Lost and Grounded or Left Handed Giant. Alternatively, head slightly out of Bristol city centre and visit the Railway Inn, home of Thatcher’s cider and complete an orchard tour.
Head back into the city for the evening and enjoy a memorable meal at one of Bristol’s group-friendly restaurants. Dine at Cosy Club Bristol, housed in a stunning neo-Palladian former bank building. Its striking interior even caught the attention of Disney+, appearing as a backdrop in the hit series Rivals, which is set in the South West.
Image - Tour at Wiper & True Taproom
Day Four - Bristol
Blow away the cobwebs with a visit to The Wave, an inland surf lake where everyone can have a go at surfing – no experience or equipment required. Afterwards, head to Aldwick Estate, where you'll discover why English wine is making waves. Enjoy a guided tour of the vineyard, followed by a tasting and lunch paired with their award-winning wines.
Continue into the Mendip Hills National Landscape for an afternoon of outdoor adventure at Mendip Activity Centre, where you can try a range of exciting water sports and activities. Before the day ends, make time to visit Cheddar to explore the dramatic scenery of Cheddar Gorge and pick up some of the world-famous original Cheddar cheese to take home.
Image - Vineyard tour at Aldwick Estate
