Working in the West 2: Tuesday

Now sitting back in my hotel room enjoying tea and a biscuit. Is there no limit to the exotic nature of my work?

Well, I've survived the second day with my (delightful) group and handling their visit to Bath. Er, even if I've had a lot of good-natured ribbing from them about how to pronounce “Bath”. (They're from the North West and pronounce it with a short “a”, where as I use a long “a”!)

Some of the people have some mobility issues and Bath - however you pronounce it – isn't the easiest place. I spent a lot of time last night working out a contorted route to cover as much from the coach as possible and it seemed to work and I covered most things.

Incidentally, I've not been the the Roman Baths complex itself for quite a while and so accompanied the group in there today. Apart from the slightly abrasive lady “welcoming” them (who would obviously have been much happier if we'd not sullied her attraction by actually turning up), it really was superb. The new audio guides are some of the best I've used and of course the place itself really is rather magical. The only down side was being mown down outside by large tour groups on the way in struggling to fit in Salisbury, Stonehenge and The Cotswolds with their visit here.

Afterwards, for the fitter amongst the group I did a little walk. Needing a coffee afterwards, I went back to the same place for another.

“Haven't you been in already?” said the unsmiling staff member there in a tone which suggested that he'd been to the same charm school as Roman Baths Woman. Presumably few people come back there for more.......

Still, locals in the service industry aside, Bath really is a pleasure to visit.

The hotel we're at deserves a mention, too. It's called The Centurion (just off the Fosse Way, you see!) a “Best Western”, independently owned, which tend to be good but this one really has excelled so far. The staff are switched on and all seem to be English, two facts which aren't often combined in the UK's service industry.

Mendips, Wells and Cheddar tomorrow.......