A Roadtrip to Countryside Luxury

It’s no secret that Rob and I love a roadtrip. Whenever we’ve got a spare weekend, we jump in the car and pick a point on Google Maps, go discover a new town or woodland walk, then drive home with pop punk blaring and the windows down.

So when TravelSupermarket asked if I’d like to go on a ‘road-based adventure’ to somewhere new, I was all in!

Part of the TravelSupermarket project involved hiring a car – now, for full disclosure I’ll say that Rob and I do have our own car. But hiring one was no big deal, especially as we used TravelSupermarket’s car hire comparison site to find a great deal. Plus it meant we saved petrol and mileage on our own car! After collecting our nippy little number, stocking up on driving treats (almond croissants and Haribo are our top tips) and stopping for a quick outfit snap, we were on our way.

The best roadtrips are 3-4 hours – it’s a long enough drive to listen to a few of your fave albums (Blink-182’s new one and everything by Charlie Simpson, FYI) but short enough that you don’t really need a stop… even with a baby pressing on your bladder. Although I did practically run to the room for a wee when we arrived.

With that timeframe in mind, we decided to drive down to Somerset for a stay at The Pig Near Bath – Somerset is a part of the UK I’ve never really visited (apart from a quick trip to Bath last year), it’s a 3hr 50 min drive from Leeds, and the hotel looked absolutely amazing.

… and it really, really was!

We arrived at The Pig just in time for our 2.30pm lunch booking – the hotel has a gorgeous conservatory restaurant with food made from produce grown in the on-site kitchen garden, and has a fresh, green aesthetic to suit the style of the food. A two-course meal was included in our hotel booking, so enjoyed the English Organic Halloumi and the Home Smoked Wester Ross Salmon followed by the Pork Loin and the Chicken Breast. Delicious.

We added a third course (an extra £6 each) and took our desserts out to the terrace to eat while watching the live music coming from Smoked and Uncut – The Pig’s annual summer festival, which we had tickets to as part of our booking! It was so nice to sit eating ice cream in the sun as Turin Breaks played an awesome set.

After our food, Rob headed back to our room and I had a pregnancy massage in the cute little ‘potting shed’ spa (amazing). Then I jumped in that freestanding tub and we just took it easy till dinner back in the restaurant at 9pm – after another amazing couple of courses, we retreated to bed and watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty on TV. Literally, a perfect day. 

The next morning we headed down for breakfast, which was a delightful spread of pastries, fresh fruit and cereal. I added a sausage sandwich and a pot of tea for extra sustenance, then after one last bath (we don’t have one at home so I was determined to make the most of it!) we were checking out and on the road again. 

On our way back home we took a slight detour and headed towards Stratford-upon-Avon to stop and explore. I hadn’t been to Stratford since a school trip to Shakespeare’s birthplace, so thought it’d be a good pitstop on our way back north. To be honest, there’s not a lot to Stratford other than the Shakespeare thing, but Rob and I spent an enjoyable hour walking along the river with the biggest ice creams you’ve ever seen, before jumping in the car and getting back on the road.

Two almond croissants and a Classic Pop Punk playlist later and we were back in Leeds, feeling totally rejuvenated after our roadtrip break. Big thanks to TravelSupermarket for making it possible – we loved our road-based adventure!

TravelSupermarket provided funds for this trip.