One of the things which always takes me by surprise
about Britain is how quickly the accents change...
Bath is only 170 miles from London but
with a completely different accent and sometimes I thought I was in another
country. The accents out in the West Country have different consanants and
vowels. They tend to talk like Sam Gamgee out of 'Lord of the Rings'; rolling their 'r's' so Somerset becomes 'zummerzet' and Bath becomes 'Baarrrthh...".
No more was this more apparent then in
the beer garden of the 'Crystal Palace' pub. This was a neighbourhood pub where tourists occasionally wandered
in from a visit to the Abbey. Locals would come in on their lunch hour - order
up a 'Ploughmans Lunch' and a pint of bitter and chat to friends in the garden.
The pub itself dates from 1710 and is built in the yellow stone of Bath.
Originally on the site was a tavern called 'The Three Tuns', this version dates
from 1851 and is named after the 'Great Exhibtion' in Hyde Park. The square
that it stands on - Abbey Green - is exquisitely beautiful. Lined with seventeenth Century buildings the
square glows with yellow stone. To the east a passage leads to 'Sally
Lunn's'- the famous bakers. Steps lead up to Georgian buildings and boutiques
line it's southern side. 'The Crystal Palace' is on the western side and is a
quaint looking pub with hanging baskets of flowers
Inside is very Victorian decor with dark wood and panelling. Wooden
chairs and tables spread around the room overlooked by a Grandfather clock.
There are no jukeboxes or TVs, so the punters can relax and enjoy the
surroundings in peace. Food is available and ordered from the bar. This is
circular and has a good range of beers, stouts and spirits. The barstaff, when
I was there, seemed to by very young--probably students from the University of
Bath--and were very friendly and efficient.
The food isn't bad. They can rustle up 'Steak 'n Kidney' pie, 'Chicken
Wrap's', 'Shepherds' or 'Cottage' pie or a 'Ploughmans Lunch'. I opted for
'Salmon goujon and salad' which was served outside in the 'beer garden'. Here
you can enjoy the sun in an open area with ivy climbing up it's back walls. The
'Salmon goujon' was beautifully arranged with cucumbers and lettuce and served
with light mustard and salad cream. The best thing about this pub was the range
of Ciders (Cider is an alcoholic drink made of fermented apples). I was spoilt
for choice - 'Scrumpy' is farm produced, flat, cloudy and usually very
alcoholic, there was also 'Kingston Black' which was very bitter and sharp and
my old friend 'Yarlington Mill' which is sweet and sharp and is enough to knock
you off your seat.
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