You know the expression ‘This town’s not big enough for the both of us’?
I’d heard of it but, to be honest, apart from associating it with cheesy Westerns, I’d never given it much thought.
However, that changed on a recent trip to England when my husband, John, and I visited the historical city of Bath and realised that it doesn’t really cater for the taller population…
For the record, both of us are 6ft – give or take half an inch. Tall, yes, but not freakishly so. We have yet to be approached to join the circus.
And yet, within a day, we discovered that we’d have to actively watch our heads while entering most buildings to avoid getting concussion!
The Airbnb
For the first time in our travel history, we decided to use Airbnb and see what all the fuss was about!
On arriving, we met two of the nicest people ever and they showed us to our room. It was warm, it was cosy, – there was even night-time tea provided in a jar with regular tea! In short, it had everything we were hoping for.
What we hadn’t bargained for were the low ceilings.
Fortunately, the warmth and humour of our hosts, not to mention the lovely breakfasts provided, more than made up for any, er, shortcomings.
The ATM
On our first morning in Bath, John decided to take out money and when we finally found an atm machine, we noticed that it wasn’t quite at the height we were used to.
However, it fit in very nicely with the old-style buildings and, most importantly, it worked!
The oldest house in Bath!
Being something of a bread-head, I was very excited to visit Sally Lunn’s Historic Eating House after seeing it on The Great British Bake Off.
On arriving, I was reminded that it was located in the oldest building in Bath and so shouldn’t have been too surprised when I could barely stand up straight in the doorway!
The buns made it all worthwhile though.
Stonehenge
Ok, technically Stonehenge is about an hour’s drive from Bath but the low roofs on the huts fit in with the theme of the trip, so I decided to throw it in for the craic!
I haven’t cut so many heads out of photographs since I was eight.
Out and about
As an avid reader (and lover of several of her books!) I was keen to visit The Jane Austen Centre. Set in an original Georgian townhouse, it’s home to the lovely Regency Tea Room and a small museum which tells the story of the author’s time in Bath.
Low ceilings abounded but at that stage we were getting the hang of things and were more entertained by them than anything else!
Irony
Growing up in Kerry as a tall teenager, I had heard about the legendary Long Tall Sally – a clothing store that caters specifically for tall women.
Of course, this was before normal department stores started adding ‘longer length’ options to their stock. It sounded too good to be true and when I came to Dublin to study in DCU, I remember being thrilled to hear that Clerys had a section upstairs devoted to their clothes.
Ironically, Bath is the first place I have ever seen an actual Long Tall Sally shop.
In conclusion
All in all, I would highly (no pun intended) recommend Bath to anyone. It’s a beautiful city with incredible sights and attractions – in particular, the Roman baths.
I would just suggest that if you’re over six feet tall, pack some protective head gear.
Have you ever gone on holiday and experienced something similar? If so, let us know by sending your stories and pictures to info@evoke.ie!
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