Travel - The Pig near Bath Hotel

September 23, 2014


We got back last weekend from an amazing week travelling around Cornwall in a vintage VW camper van. I'll do a blogpost on that soon but first I'd love to tell you about our stay at The Pig near Bath where we stopped off for a night on our way home for a bit of luxury after a week of campsites.





We've stayed in a few boutique luxurious hotels in our time but this was definitely up there as one of the best. The hotel is a Georgian manor house set in a deer park in the Somerset countryside with an emphasis on the countryside and home grown produce. We loved the Pig's style, everything was so gorgeous and well thought out.


My parents had kindly bought us a night in a big comfy luxe room as a birthday present for Ben. It was definitely big, comfy and luxurious with a huge four poster bed and roll-top bath in the room. 


Our room had two bathrooms, one shower room and a separate toilet. I could have quite easily moved in!


We arrived just after lunch last Friday and got unpacked in our room. If it had been raining we'd probably have stayed there all afternoon but it was a gorgeous sunny day so we decided to go and explore the Somerset countryside and go for a walk to build up an appetite before dinner.


The staff behind reception gave us a map, they had walks from 45 minutes up to 3 hours. You need not bring your wellies with the large collection of colourful Hunter's in the hallway. We chose a 45 minute walk {or so we thought..} and walked out the gates to go and find the fields.



We started off on track following the instructions on the map but some of the fields had been harvested recently so it got harder and harder to follow the footpaths. 


There were a real lack of signs too and what was meant to be a 45minute walk turned into a 2 and a half hour one! 


We both did Geography at A-level and have never got so lost before! I don't really know what went wrong but we're blaming it on a poor map and lack of signs haha. It was lovely to be out in the sunshine though and at least we well and truly earned our dinner! 


This field made me smile, a farmer had written I <3 U in his field. We eventually found a main road and the hotel very kindly came to rescue us after a phone call. 


After glamourising ourselves after a few hours out in the fields, we headed down to the lounge to order some drinks before dinner. I loved how the bar menus were in pig keeping books, so many quirky ideas.



Neither of us drink alcohol but the mocktails were really good. We had a virgin bloody mary and an apple and mint spritz.


Being called The Pig, there is an emphasis on pork and 'piggy bits' so it would have been rude not to try some of their signature bar snacks. Ben loved the scotch eggs, I wasn't as keen but the sausages and smoked ham and pickles were delicious. 



When booking the hotel we got asked if we wanted to book in to the restaurant too, it gets booked up quickly and there's nowhere within walking distance of the hotel to get dinner. We had always planned to eat there anyway as it claims it's a restaurant with rooms rather than a hotel, food is a big part of The Pig Hotel. 


Dinner was served in the Potting Shed, a Victorian style greenhouse with apple crates filled with terracotta pots of herbs and plants surrounding the tables. We were in heaven, we love gardening and going to antique fairs collecting vintage wooden crates so it was just up our street. 


The food was one of the highlights of our stay, everything is sourced from within a 25 mile radius, most of it picked straight out of the big kitchen garden in the grounds. We skipped a starter after having the piggy bits in the lounge but enjoyed the fresh bread, herb infused olive oil from the kitchen garden and home-smoked salt . Ben had KFR - Kentucky Fried Rabbit with corn, triple cooked chips and coleslaw - a cool idea and super yummy. I had lamb with roasted garden beetroot, leeks and kale. So perfectly cooked, it was really delicious. 


Puddings were heavenly also, creme brulee like rice pudding and a moist, dense chocolate cake made with courgettes with ice cream.


We were stuffed after pigging out on all that delicious food but couldn't turn down popcorn when borrowing a DVD from reception for the rest of the evening in our room.


As if our stay couldn't have been any more indulgent, the weekend papers were delivered to our room the next morning to laze around in bed and read before heading down to breakfast.


Breakfast's at home will never be the same after experiencing breakfast at The Pig, a huge farmhouse table full of treats - croissants, homemade cakes, fresh fruit, poached fruit, 3 different types of granola, yogurt, cereals and nuts were in the middle of the room. 


If that wasn't enough you could also toast fresh bread to have with local honey or marmalade, again everything is from within a 25mile radius {although I'm guessing the marmite will be an exception to this?} and eggs from the hotel's hens ready to boil yourself, complete with an egg timer and egg cups.


Breakfast isn't included in the room rate but at £10 it really is worth paying extra for as you can eat as much as you like. If you wanted any cooked breakfast you could pay £15 to order off the menu and have the above included too.



We leisurely worked our way around the buffet, reading more papers as we went. Is there a better way to spend the weekend?




After our indulgent breakfast and before checking out we went for a wander to see the kitchen gardens on which everything is based around. Having an allotment we were keen to go and get some ideas and see what was growing. The gardeners were really lovely and are happy to give our tips and advice. I mentioned how I liked the chocolate mint plant and within a few minutes the man had gone to pot me some up to take home!




We walked around the grounds saying hello the resident piggys en route and looking in the greenhouses. It's amazing how much is grown on site for the kitchen. 






We couldn't fault our stay and were sad to leave after just one night but there are other Pig hotels in the New Forest and on the beach in Dorset that we can't wait to try out.


For such a luxurious country hotel with amazing food I thought the prices were great value for money with rooms starting at £139. Our big comfy luxe room at a weekend was £219 but compared to somewhere like the nearby Babington House it was good value. You can find more details on their website here. 

We were thinking about going into Bath after checking out, the hotel is about 20 minutes away but it was Bath university's open day so would be pretty crowded and after our fab week in Cornwall just wanted to get home. Bath is such a gorgeous city though so if you're staying at The Pig it's well worth a visit. 

R <3 xx

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3 comments

  1. We went for a family dinner on a Saturday Night having been informed that the Pig was wonderful.It is!Truth be told it is more than that.The Lamb I had was quite recently so clammy and the Mussels were delicious.We tried a Chilean Malbec that truly was great to be sure and not crazily priced.The surroundings are wonderful and the whole feel is entirely glorious .
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