I am on cloud nine right now. Actually, maybe cloud eight. I feel exhausted! But in a good way. I had a mad but brilliant weekend.
It was one of my close friend’s hen weekend (for Americans, I think you guys call this a bachelorette party?). I drove up to Bath on Friday morning as I had Friday off of work and met up with the hen, her sister and another friend. We were staying in the very posh and lovely Windsor hotel for the night.
I shared a the room on the left with another friend who arrived later and the bottom-right picture is the view from our window
The location of the hotel was perfect. It was only a very short walk and you were right in the centre of Bath with the shops and restaurants.
The road that the hotel was on
After sorting ourselves out we headed out for lunch at Bill’s. I went for my favourite: Caesar salad and a cheeky portion of sweet potato fries.
So yummy. Then we headed for a few lovely hours at the Thermae Bath Spa.
Fabulously relaxing. It was like swimming in a huge bath! And there were these steam rooms that were infused with different scents, like peppermint (like being in a big vat of Vix) and sandalwood. Very nice. And the top layer had another warm pool right out in the open with a lovely view of Bath.
After this we hopped back to the hotel to get showered and dressed ready for dinner. We went to Browns where we met up with another friend.
I had a very refreshing glass of Prosecco and a wild boar burger with fries. This definitely filled a hole! I wanted something carby enough for my planned long run the next day…
We didn’t go to bed too late (for normal people – late enough for me!). And my alarm was set for 5.45am. Oh joy. My intention was to run 10 miles, but see how my foot felt and would stop if it hurt. I had planned a route and took a printed map with me in case I got lost. I was a super ninja in the morning getting up and dressed as quiet as possible as to not wake my friend (she was fine with me going out early – I had checked beforehand!)
My planned route had a HUGE hill to start with so I ignored it and just ran wherever. Unfortunately the beginning was still quite hilly but then I managed to find a good area to run around that was flat for the second portion of the run. I ran 11 miles! And everything felt NORMAL. No niggles. OK it was tough and I know I’ve lost so much fitness (from both injury breaks). But I am over the moon.
View of Bath on my run
It’s given me a little bit of confidence for Paris. I only stopped at 11 because I was running out of time. Though it was probably sensible to not go further if I’m honest.
The hardest part? These stairs back to the room.
Yep all the way to the top. Brutal.
Then it was a quick shower and delicious breakfast of kippers and scrambled egg.
Loved this. I wouldn’t have it every day as it was overwhelmingly fishy but it was a nice change.
Then we zoomed to Bristol, picking up another friend en route and had an afternoon of quad biking and high ropes.
High ropes were stupidly scary. I was all the ‘Big I Am’ when I got there, thinking I’d have no issues but as soon as I got up the top beam I was shaking, terrified and just wanted to get down. Turns out I’m a bit of a wuss. Quad biking though was more my forté. I got the fastest lap round the course!
Later as we got back to the hen’s house we enjoyed cake and champagne while getting ready.
After getting all glammed up we headed out for dinner at Cuban in the centre of Bristol and met up with yet more people. It was funny because I got huge déjà vu when I realised where we were. This is where the race village had been set up for the Bristol half marathon!
I ate so much I’m not gonna lie. There were so many sharing starters at the beginning. And then I had a huge but lovely seafood soup thing.
Phenomenally good.
Then my least favourite part of the night…going clubbing. Ah I think I’m just too old now. Well actually I never really enjoyed clubbing that much when I was at university. I wasn’t drinking heavily, maybe that was problem.
All the tacky hen do stuff of course
Very loud, sticky floors, past my bedtime <—granny status right there. Not my thing. But the hen had a great time and that’s the important part. I tried to get into it for her sake anyway.
Anyway the weekend was brilliant but I am shattered. It didn’t help that the airbed my friend and I were sleeping on half deflated in the middle of the night and we woke up at 5am with our legs in the air going “what the hell??”. It was fairly amusing.
I got home Sunday afternoon and went to bed very early. But I still need another day, you know? All in all, a truly great weekend 🙂
Have you been to Bath or Bristol before?
Have you been on a hen do before?
What’s your ideal hen do? I like lots of activity-style things, like paintballing and go-karting.
All I have to say is I’m so jealous of your whole weekend. It sounds INCREDIBLE!!! I mean wow, there really is no way it could’ve gotten any better. & can we talk about how you had no pain while running. ANNA! That’s probably the most exciting part of this post (no offense to your friends bach. party). But, I just know you’ve been waiting so long for this moment. Eek, so happy for you <3
Running the 11 miles successfully really put me in a good mood. That was my worry that if it went wrong I’d be a right depressed sod.
Your whole weekend sounds so good, even if it was exhausting in the end! So much lovely food and your hotel looks gorgeous. Loving the look of those cupcakes. 🙂
The food was just brilliant. Love it when you have a weekend like that!
Great news about your pain-free run. And I think you’ve retained a very good amount of fitness considering all of the injuries you’ve had to deal with! A 5:30 wake-up call, killer hills and paces like that? I think Paris is looking good for you personally 🙂
I would enjoy everything apart from the clubbing – I love action-related things, particularly high-ropes and paintballing. I’ve never been to a club and I never will – I couldn’t even do it for a friend because I’d have a panic attack and the anxiety would be totally overwhelming…I’d have to decline for fear of spoiling everyone else’s night out 🙁
xxx
Honestly, you’re not missing out on much. Going into a club cold sober is not a particularly great experience. For me it’s just how dirty and sticky the place is. I was so tired being on my feet all day (and night) I just wanted to sit down but there was no where to sit and I was loathe to sit on a step. The amount of drinks spilt and just general dirt is shocking. Don’t even get me started about the toilets….*shudders*
Yay so happy for you that your run went well…..and I know what you mean about the hills in Bath, spotted a few when driving around after the half marathon. This hen do sounds very similar to mine (without the 5.45 am run), as I also went to Bath Thermae Spa and had a meal & night out at a cheesy night club in Bristol.
It was a great hen do and I think I’d have enjoyed it more if I was drinking Saturday evening but I was conscious I’d be driving the next day and not wanting to be really hung-over.
Bath looks so nice. I would love to visit one day. I have seen so much of the world, but very little of the country I live in 🙁
It’s amazing how many beautiful and interesting places there are to visit in Britain. At the moment I’d much rather go to somewhere in the UK than abroad – I feel like I need to do a bit more exploring!
Glad you had such a great time! I love Bath, one of my fave places ever to go! The spa was amazing but we have decided next time to go there without doing a half marathon first!
I went to Bristol a few summers ago with some girl friends- we hired an apartment in the town centre for the weekend, although I managed to get lost in the one way system trying to find it!
Glad you managed your run OK- what a great confidence boost 🙂
Hehe yeah I can imagine how lovely it was to be in that pool after the half but then getting out must have been a nightmare.
There’s still so much of Bath I haven’t seen. I definitely want to do the half marathon now and explore a bit more.
Love that you got up early to fit in your long run whilst away on a hen weekend! So glad it was a good run as well. What is the GAP on your Garmin stats?
I’m not fantastic at heights but I loved the Go Ape adventure I went on for a friend’s hendo a couple of years ago. I was still pretty wussy though and slower than everybody else! Quad biking would be more my thing too. Anything actiony would be great actually. Again, not a fan of clubbing either. Maybe if I’d gotten married ten years ago…?! Hope my Maid of Honour spots this comment as she’s busy planning my weekend for May at the moment!
Well I’m running out of time so I really had to do it!
The GAP is basically ‘levelling’ out the uphill’s and downhill’s so it shows what you were running if you were running on flat. I like to think of it as my self-esteem booster 😀
Ha looks like a great time! I have never been on a crazy hen do but I would happily go on one they seem like such fun! I have never been to bath but its on my list, Bristol I have been to and really liked it : )
Though it sucks to live away from my friends, it’s nice that I get to visit them in lovely places. It’s helped me see a bit more of the UK.
Wow looks like such a fun weekend!!! Good for you for getting your run in too 🙂 Congrats to “the hen” haha!!
I suppose it’s a ‘bachelorette’ in America rather than a hen!
Glad you had such a great weekend, it looks great! I had a big tacky night out in hen do capital Newcastle for my hen do – with limousine and everything! It would definitely not suit me now though, I’d much rather have a spa day!
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a cheesy night out clubbing. I just wasn’t in that zone at the time – I think alcohol helps a lot!! I know for my hen do I went out clubbing and I got fairly trolleyed so it was a good laugh.
Sounds like a fab weekend! I love Bath, the Thermae Spa is amazing.
We stay at a friend’s in Bradford-upon-Avon, and run along the canal into Bath which is a lovely route. Well done on your run!
I’ve never been away for a hen weekend, I’ve just had/been on hen nights so far.
Oooh that sounds lovely about the canal route. I did see a canal and ran a little way along it but that’s all I managed in my random flitting of routes!
Congrats on a pain free run, that is seriously impressive to get up and run 11 miles on a hen weekend. Wow!
It was OK as the night before had been quite tame. But I just had to do it because I’ve missed so much running already. The fear of failure definitely helps me!
Ahh yay for pain-free running! Your hen do sounds much more active than the one I went to, we spent the day on a walking tour (which was great actually), then played drinking games to Pride & Prejudice (the bride was a MASSIVE Jane Eyre fan) and went clubbing which was alright but tbh I didn’t enjoy the clubbing much either. Although I definitely drank, and DEFINITELY paid for it in the morning, felt well rough.
Hahaha drinking games for Pride and Prejudice – that is amazing!! I think if I’d have drunk more then it would have been fine but I had to drive all the way home the next day and didn’t want to feel horrendous.
Sounds like an awesome weekend, and great job on getting the miles in. I love Bath and Bristol, that spa in Bath is amazing, the roof top pool is just incredible.