On Travel

I really like to travel, even just short weekend trips around the UK. I always email B&Bs in advance to say that I’m a vegetarian and that M can’t eat dairy or soya and to make sure that that’s not a problem.

Many places are accommodating, asking what they can have on hand instead and so on. But some places behave really oddly, saying they can’t help or telling us to bring our own items. I’m not sure how hard it really is for B&B-owners to go buy a carton of rice milk, but the attitude of not being willing to even try really puts me off. One B&B emailed me, in response to my inquiry, “It’s £85 per night. Bring your own drinks/spreads.” For £85 a night, I think you can buy some oat milk, no?

One place said it would be fine to accommodate the vegetarian diet but when we got there, all they had was an English breakfast for me, minus the bacon and sausage. In other words, they hadn’t even attempted to get vegetarian sausages or a potato croquette or anything. There was just a lack of thought (then again, this place also didn’t seem to see the point in putting toilet paper in the bathroom, so their carelessness was endemic).

Vegetarianism is so common today, as is having food allergies/intolerances, so I don’t have a lot of sympathy for people in the hotel trade who act as though I’m putting them out. I always give them advance notice and, frankly, for the cost of a room at a nice B&B, I think they should try to please the customer.