Despite it being a leap year, 2020 hasn't been a year where I've felt like leaping much, what with one thing and another. As such, my annual travel round-up post, where I highlight some of my favourite places for leaping that I've visited that year, has had a bit of a revamp. 

We're now inching closer to the end of an exceptionally challenging year. Despite everything, I know I'm very lucky to have remained healthy and in work (busier than ever, in fact, as I work for a science journal) throughout, but it's been such a difficult year for the hospitality industry, as coffee shops and eateries have had to adapt and then adapt some more in the face of constant change. 

After a year of cancelled trips, and most of my pre-booked annual leave falling during lockdowns, I was grateful to be able to take a four-night trip to Bath last week. Bath, like London, is currently in tier 2 COVID-19 restrictions, and is an easy 1h20 train journey from London. Bath had only just come out of lockdown when I arrived, and the city was much quieter than usual for December, especially as the annual Christmas market had gone virtual. 

With a few days off work and no plans last week, it was the perfect opportunity to return to Bath, which I last visited two years ago. I took a train from Paddington on Sunday morning, returning home on Monday evening, which cost £42. Bath accommodation can get quite expensive at weekends — with some properties requiring two-night minimum stays — while Sunday nights are often cheaper, hence the timing of my visit.

Although one day isn't enough time to spend in many of the cities I visit, it's definitely a good start. And if you choose a day-trip destination that has a good or growing specialty coffee scene, you can combine sight-seeing with coffee-shop hopping.

As I mentioned in my recent Bath coffee guide, I've been wanting to return to the city for several years, but the expensive train fares (often over £75, even off-peak) from London — no matter how far in advance I tried to book — have always discouraged me. Finally, though, I secured a £29 day trip ticket and headed off on the Friday before last for a wintry day in the city.

Other than school history and Latin trips, my only other visit to the city of Bath was in summer 2002, on a pre-university weekend trip with my then boyfriend. I was working in a sandwich/coffee shop at the time and had begun to get into good coffee, but no memories of Bath's coffee — good or bad — have stood the test of time. Fifteen years later and Bath has become quite the specialty coffee destination.