It was a weekend of celebration, of family getting together and of a luxury, hidden hotel and very fine food. It might have only been 5 days away but I am relaxed and happy today on my return to work; there is something about regenerating about the sunshine, your year feels berefit if you don’t get a good dose of vitamin D.
The weekend started with a trip to Blaze Farm high up in the Peak District hills. A morning filled with chickens and geese and donkeys and goats and cows and sheep and farm cats and the tiniest new born kittens you would ever see, as well as some of the best ice cream I have ever tasted. There is something about petting a donkey when you should be stuck in the office that makes you giggle with glee.
As the day went on and the temperature reached 27 degrees, the steaks sizzled on the bbq, the home grown tomatoes in the salad popped sweetly in our mouths. It was a preview of the food to be served on Christmas day, now only 11 weeks away. Our first Australian experience; is there nothing better than an aussie with a grill?
Then came the christening, the family, the friends, the champagne, and oh the food! Mum did us proud. In the church we had sung hymns of harvest and with the sun out side and food fresh from the garden (including giant pumpkins) it felt like the summer was bringing us a rather big bounty.
Sadly, we had to leave the family behind celebrating in the sunshine, to travel half way home for a stay at a hotel for the night. Whilst the stay was for a work review of B’s it turned out to be a special treat for us and the perfect end to the weekend. Now in my opinion there are hotels that are solely reserved for those in the know, there are hotels that should be reserved solely for those who deserve them and then there are hotels that once you have been you want to tell the world about. Whilst I wish I could keep it all to myself, Hipping Hall is firmly in the latter category, located just off the M6 and not far from the pretty town of Kirby Lonsdale, the location is one I am willing to share.
In the 15th century restaurant, in the balconied and beamed Great Hall, we were treated to a tasting menu of 7 courses: spectacular fois, scallops, pork belly, halibut, and venison, topped off with gooseberry fool, and then a quirky dessert of chocolate with goats cheese. All by a New Zealander (Brent Hulena) cooking with a very light touch. Unlike some tasting menu’s I have tried (ahem Tom Kitchin) there was nothing to fault, nothing that I did not delight over, including the waiting staff that provided proper service with unusually a proper smile.
After Swedish whisky recommended by a Scottish girl, with sated hearts we climbed our private staircase in our little cottage suite hideaway (room 7) with its sunken bath and thanked the geek gods that the owner Andrew Wildsmith had forgone his PhD five years ago to make hotel chemistry instead. Hipping Hall has found our perfect mixture, so much, if B ever proposed, I would be working out how to get married there.
Now for the photos…
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- Hipping Hall, Kirkby Lonsdale
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- Our hideaway cottage, Hipping Hall
We had such a happy weekend that the rain on Monday morning could not damped our happy selves as we traveled home northwards trough the mist.
How was your weekend?
Miss S x
P.s I passed my MSc. Yippee!
From the tiny, peaceful, Dunbar’s Close garden (originally created by another town planner Sir Patrick Geddes) to the slightly creepy Innocent Railway tunnel, Edinburgh is a city of secret places, and discovering them is one of my favourite pastimes. For whilst I have lived here for 15 years, I am continuously delighted by this city of surprises and I was surprised again this weekend attending a wedding at Prestonfield House Hotel.
Now, I had visited the hotel once before for a Christmas party, oh about 8 years ago, but it never resonated much with me. We were bussed in, we got drunk, and we left. It was a good night, but I left with the feeling that Prestonfield was just another 5 star hotel, albeit one of the country house variety in the middle of the city. Pretty, but ultimately rather dull.
On my return I was rather impressed; indeed I think the hotel is even prettier than I remembered. The wedding was in the old stables (complete with piper and pink champagne on arrival) rather than the house itself and whilst the stables aren’t as opulent in fact I thought a new carpet was required asap) the view looking out to the house must be one of the prettiest in the city.
Despite my love of old fashioned glamour, posh hotels and good food I hadn’t made the effort to visit Prestonfield’s restaurant – Rhubarb – although I have always wanted to So, unlike most weddings, I had high hopes for the food – feeding 100 people at once is not an easy task – I have had burnt beef, rubbery carrots and shop bought chocolate fudge cake far too many times.
Who wouldn’t be tempted by a menu of ‘air-dried duck ham, confit leg, pan-fried foie gras and crackling, rhubarb and star anise’ or ‘whole poached North Berwick lobster, lobster risotto, surf clams, sea vegetables, carrot and ginger jus’? Now whilst there was actually no fois gras or lobster at the wedding breakfast, the butternut squash soup with coconut pesto was delicious, the roast beef roasted to perfect pink perfection and truffled green beans a decadent treat. Bravo to the chef.
More champagne, a few glasses of an excellent merlot, a hysterical video cover of ‘I want it that way’ by the groom and ushers’, an amazing video message from the gorgeous Danny from The Script (jealous!!) and two sets from the excellent Them Beatles made for a wholly fab night. Unfortunately it all went so fast (as great nights do) and I was home with my shoes in hand far too soon with the tan fading and a hangover in sight. Sunday, I didn’t leave the sofa.
Sometimes, that is just how you want it to be.
How was your weekend? Have you been to Rhubarb? Should I now try it?
Miss S x
(song lyric taken from ‘The man that can’t be moved’ by The Script)
I felt the end of Summer strongly this weekend, not least because of the traditional fireworks display which heralds the end of The Festival and the return of Autumn, the students and jumpers. For this year’s festivities we took our GnTs and blankets and joined the good people of South Edinburgh on Bruntsfield Links. “We could go to Princes Street, but it is so civilised here” I heard one lady say, and I couldn’t have agreed more.
We listened to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra play Tchaikovsky’s Arabian Dance (from The Nutcracker) and Glinka and Borodin via a portable radio whilst 100,000 fireworks made the Castle look like it was on fire. Of course I cannot take photos of fireworks using an iPhone, so you will have to take my word for it that they were spectacular. If not you can check out two of my favourite Edinburgh photographers – Grant R and Trixa Photography – for photos from two very different angles.
Sunday also saw an impromptu lunch at La Fontana in Canonmills, we were going to The Circle Café but got waylaid by an Italian £6.95 two course set lunch. I am a huge fan of traditional Italian and whilst Il Positano is still my favourite Italian in the city, I enjoyed the good service, yummy garlic mushrooms, tasty pork and sauce (perfect creamy black pepper sauce) good chips, good red wine and a good atmosphere (despite the very loud music). It was overall just good value and recommended for lunch if you are in the area.
After a strong coffee we dragged our full carcases to the Botanic Gardens for a long walk. I hadn’t visited the Botanics since a date with B three years ago and in all that time they have built a new visitor centre (John Hope Gateway – photo 1) which fits seamlessly with its environment, if not from the jarring feeling of walking in and seeing an ex walking out. Head down, eyes front.
To me the Botanics has never just been about the plants, but the buildings too, particularly the Tropical Palm House (2) and Inverleith House (3) which I wish was a wedding venue (hint hint – B). After introducing B to my favourite part, the Chinese Garden (4), where the already changing leaves saw me thinking more about autumn and winter to come (5) we caught the tail end the Jungle City exhibition before it crawled off into the city. This bird in particular caught my eye (6) as well as B’s rather good resemblance to one of the animals 7). Ha! Maybe I should buy it for our flat?
Whilst we were in the Botanics B tried to take some fashion photos of me for the first time (8), I think we need rather a lot of practise (and a better camera) before I even consider myself fashionable. Although it didn’t work out photo wise, I rather like my outfit – I’m wearing Hudson Boots, Twenty 8 Twelve skinny jeans and an oversized Zara t-shirt from their recent Autumn collection, it hides the extra few pounds I have developed on the waist since I gave up the smoking and its a rather pretty colour, just like changing leaves…
Oh Sunday, Sunday, so good to me…
So, it’s now onto to September, a month of change, with B moving back in, a wedding, a christening, a trip toYorkshire and Hipping Hall and finding out my degree results, Autumn is already looking like my favourite season this year.
How was your weekend? What are you looking forward to this Autumn?
Miss S x
P.s I’ve always thought the Mamas and The Papa’s song should have been Sunday, not Monday, who sings about Mondays?
It has been a long time since I last visited the home of golf (and American tourists) St Andrews. The fact that the aquarium now has meercats called Wills and Kate attests to the fact that the royal couple have met and married since I last graced the West Sands with a very large kite.
St Andrews is GOLF first, ROYAL COUPLE second and PRETTY HOUSES third. Even if you don’t like golf, watching people T-off from the 1st at The Royal and Ancient is a nerve wracking experience, as is watching them line up their last putt at the 18th.
Being a town planner you’d think i’d love to bulldozer things to make way for the new, but thats not the case, I hanker after traditional, small and quirky. I want a home where the stairs creak and heads bump. St Andrews could be my dream town, it’s stuff filled with photo opportunities, including the gorgeous building housing the St Andrew’s Preservation Trust.
After a yummy lunch of garlic prawns, vegetable pakora, chicken chasnay and buhna, rice and nan (and 2 kingfishers) for £10 each at Maisha (we were also tempted by the menu’s at the Glasshouse and the Doll’s House) we decided that the ruined Castle and Cathedral were far too highbrow for us (despite it being the ruins of the largest in Scotland) and visited the aforementioned aquariuminstead. Even a blurry shot of a Axolotl is more exciting than peering at old stones in the rain.
I always forget quite how hard to get to St Andrews actually is. I guess that is part of the charm, winding your way through village after village of white washed cottages (lets forget Kirkaldy) and bobbing boats and the smell of fish and chips in Anstruther. I think the village of Elie is my favourite village, with its million pound sea front homes and golden sand sweep. I almost prefer it in winter, but nothing says summer like sitting in the sun drinking cider at the Ship Inn. Even if you have to chase the sun home through the clouds.
Now for the photos…
A blissful first day of my Scottish summer holiday. What did you do on yours?
Miss S x