My Jane Austen Adventure

This year, 2025, is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, and celebrations for the Jane Austen Festival have expanded accordingly.

My journey started in the pouring rain, because as Mum claims, "whenever [I ask her] to do something, it ends up bucketing down".

There's not enough data to say if she's wrong or right, but I am glad I'm not trying to wrangle multiple bags on a crowded Metro train, but getting a lift to the airport. Mum dropped me off at the first open spot she saw, near Check-In A. My flight was at Check-In J, at the literal other end of the terminal.

I got a few odd looks, flying Business but dressed in loungewear. I'm old enough that I'm dressing for what's going to be comfortable to be wearing for 20+ hours straight, not for fashion.

The last time I was in the UK, was the Great Heathrow Glitch of 2014, where the system that kept track of luggage coming in and out of the UK's biggest airport glitched, causing several days of baggage chaos. My bags finally caught up to me a week after I returned to Australia. Luckily, Mum and I were about the same size and shape, if not height, so I could borrow her shirts.

This time, my carry-on has everything I'll need for the first three days of my trip, just in case. After that, I'll either have my bags, or buy a secondary suitcase and be done with it.

A bonus of flying Business is free access to the airport lounge, with it's comfortable chairs and free food.

The first leg of the trip, I'm not sure if it's serving dinner, so I took advantage of a nice bowl of beef stew, with sweet potato mash, and some nibbles.

As it turned out, we were fed on the plane, but eating in the lounge was still a good idea, because spices and I have a complicated relationship, and flying Air India means spicy foods. Good food, but spicy. Even the 'mild' options were a few chili ratings higher than I'd usually go for.

I was seated next to a nice man who was headed to India for a Medical Conference for the first leg of the trip, and we had a nice conversation through dinner before passing out for the bulk of the 13+ hour flight from Sydney to Delhi, waking up in time for Breakfast before walking very quickly to cross the airport for my connecting flight in 27 Celcius pre-dawn weather.

I can only be glad we didn't have to do that at high noon...

On the Second leg, I was in a newer aeroplane, and had an entire mini-cabin to myself with the window seat. Utter bliss. We got a very nice second breakfast, followed by another nap, and then lunch just before we landed in Heathrow Airport roughly 10 hours later.

My hotel for the night before heading to Bath was about 20 minutes from the airport, not that the distance stopped my driver from charging 50 pounds to drive less than 3 kilometers. Blatant rip-off, now I know not to do that again.

The hotel seems to be a former rectory, or possibly a convent, with communal dining and socialising areas, and lots of small bedrooms. I've literally seen bigger showers on cruise ships! Getting in and out involved squeezing up against a wall to fit out the sliding glass, and I am not that big of a person! Location-wise, it's in a little village, with a pub, a tobacco shop, a few eateries, and a post-office/smallgoods store within easy walking distance.

I stopped at the post office to grab a travel adaptor, after realising I packed my European Charger instead of my UK charger. Go me.

The Chicken Shop next door to the post office made for a good place to grab an early dinner, before heading in for an early-ish night.

The next morning, after a rather sad breakfast of toast with butter as the only offered spread, and the bare remnants of mostly-empty cereal boxes, I was happy to find that the bus to Heathrow was only a 5 minute walk away, followed by another bus to Reading station, then a train to Bath.

Another short bus ride stopped almost directly outside my B&B, which gave me the change to have a brief nap and change into my Rcgency outfit before meeting up with some fellow fans for dinner at the George Inn, which has been in continuous operation since the 1400s.

Another member of the group was fairly close to my hotel, so we met up to catch the bus in together, then share an Uber home afterward.

Dinner there was lovely, though my heels were not fans of the cobblestones.

The following day, Saturday, was the Grand Promenade, which I missed out on getting tickets for, and the Jane Austen Book Fayre, held in St Michaels Without, near where the Promenade ended.

Being in the UK on a tourist visa, I couldn't actively sell books like a normal bookstall, but I could hand out business cards with QR codes that linked to the Amazon ebook purchase page.

Being only about 4 hours, and not particularly well-advertised, it wasn't the most successful day I've ever had, but I'm fairly sure I got some sales out of it, so that's good.

Due to a lack of available accommodation, I headed back to London that evening, consoling myself with some quality time on the West End.

(Buying last-minute tickets means getting them cheap, but it also risks the things you want to see being sold out. I discovered that on the first day, when the only thing left when I reached Leisters Square was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. After that, I booked my tickets as soon as I woke up in the morning...)

I returned to Bath on the 16th, half-way through the Jane Austen Festival, for an early dinner and a showing of Potted Pride and Prejudice.

Unlike Potted Potter, which plays fast and loose with the source material and dedicated vs casual fans to create a sense of comedy, Potted Pride and Prejudice was played mostly straight, allowing Jane Austen's satirical dialogue, emphasised by body language and facial expressions, to shine through naturally.

Mr Darcy standing in a corner, staring at Elizabeth and not talking to anyone is a great deal funnier in person, and the costume changes to distinguish the 4-person cast were quite impressive.

11/10, would absolutely see again.

I was on a waiting list for several activities on the 17th and 18th, but as there were (sadly for me) no cancellations, and since the weather on the 17th was overcast and rainy, I took it as an opportunity to see Downton Abbey 3 at the theatre walking distance from my hotel, and to visit the Jane Austen Centre. My hat also finally decided to give up the ghost after 7 years of service, with the stitching and straw finally admitting defeat.

Luckily, there was a place selling hats on my way to the Jane Austen centre, and I can repurpose the ribbon ties on my old hat...

On the 18th, I set out to visit the Bath Pavilion, ran into a friend completely by accident, and joined her for tea at The Pump Room in the Roman Baths.

Don’t let the name fool you, Cream Tea is actually a full meal. Since I felt like rolling more than walking, this was followed by a skyline bus tour of Bath, when the bus stopped just as I was walking past.

I got back to my hotel around 3pm, and spent the rest of the afternoon working on some WIPs that have deadlines coming up.

I did not make it to the Royal Cresent, but since that's minutes away from the Jane Austen Centre, I figure I can walk there tomorrow.

I'm staying in the Royal Hotel, which has been in operation since 1846. It's also very conveniently located not far from the Jane Austen Centre and the Roman Baths, and across the road from the train station.

The shower isn't huge, but it doesn't require any awkward manuvering to get in and out, and unlike the bathrooms of my previous 3 hotels, I can use the toilet without banging my knees on the closed door.

The wallpaper is also quite pretty, and while the room is about the size you'd expect of a hotel built in the 1800s, it's layout is surprisingly spacious.

Also, the Royal Hotel has a lift, which I have learned not to underestimate the value of, over the past week.

My final day in Bath will be the 19th, for which I have a visit to the Jane Austen Museum and High Tea booked, before I head back to London to join my 13 day tour of the UK and Ireland.

If I could afford to do this every year, I would. As it is, I'll probably settle for every couple of years, and plan better for next time.