Getting a Drink in Bath

I was looking through my pictures of Bath to finally get a slideshow set up for my travelblog (check it out!) and came across this picture. I had this article in mind when I took it. It's a statue that was set up by the Temperance Society of Bath during Victorian times, and its caption reads, "Water is Best."

I found this terribly funny because at the time I had been on my feet for hours and hours, was very thirsty, and knew very well that water is harder to come by than alcohol here. There are no public drinking fountains in Bath (or in most of England). Bath is famous for its water, but not the drinkable kind; the vile-tasting, minerally, hot springs kind. For 50p you can get a glass of it at the Pumphouse next to the old Roman Baths.

I didn't realize this when I set out on my first day of adventure in Bath, sans water bottle. I tried to hit all the guided tours and just thought there'd be drinking fountains in the public, touristy places. When I never saw one, I headed back to my hotel. There was a sink in my room, so I figured I'd just have to head back there to get some of the tap water a couple times a day. There were cups in the tray next to the sink, so I filled one up and took a sip - and promptly spat it back out. It was disgusting. Tap water was out.

I remembered that I'd seen some fancified bottled water on my refreshment tray. Two bottles of "mineral water," one "sparkling" and the other "still." I knew I'd tried sparkling mineral water and hated it, but what on earth was the still kind? Why would they posh up the bottle for plain old regular water? I shrugged and opened the bottle, took a swig, and hooray, it tasted like nothing!

They only replaced that bottle once a day, and it was only a couple glasses' worth, so the rest of my water I got from restaurants where I went to have lunch and dinner. That's where I discovered how much more waiters prefer that you order an alcoholic beverage than anything else. Order water in America and some waiters will give you the impression that you're a cheapskate, but in England they think you might be insane. Then they bring it to you in a fancy bottle and charge you pretty much the same as a glass of wine for it, or they'll bring it in a glass, still charge for it, and you have to tackle a waiter to ask for a refill.

In between meals, I went thirsty, which made it harder to walk around seeing the sights. If you ever go to Bath, stock up on water wherever you can find it. Carry water bottles in your purse/backpack! Then you won't be tempted like I was to climb up this statue and put your mouth to the girl's ewer.