coworth park

was visiting a friend in berkhamsted when thought to check the coworth park availability on a whim. last there before june 2012 wedding and distinctly remember hiding my cocopops under a glop of yoghurt so the mister-to-be wouldn't clock my failed wedding diet. thought it fitting to revisit just before baby was due. turns out there was the one room left before NYE and in a stroke of doubly good fortune, managed to score a last minute reso at hand&flower (!!!). S, dear foodie friend, had invited us to join his hard earned reso there a almost exactly two years ago and he'd literally booked a year in advance, in faith that he'd have enough friends to fill the reso when it came round. brave, considering the credit card guarantee one needed to put down. it was our best meal that year and quite easily one of the best in 2016. 

late start meant rolling up just in time for check in, then cream tea in the beautiful restaurant. good thing h&f reso was late-ish, because there was space for cream tea and a fantastic meal heh.

berry souffle at hand&flower. the beer chicken was divine (but i didn't get a photo)

walked the grounds to kill time between checkout and antenatal massage

blissed out post massage :)

day trip to dover

the plan was to stock up on baby things during the boxing day sales. the reality was further escapism. whiskey cabinet on boxing day and the cliffs of dover on 27th dec. made a mental note to hit peter jones in the evening but wanted to escape from london first. love dover, having first been (and taken a cruise from there!) just before starting university, and again summer 2014. was back a few years later in summer, for a makeshift picnic of roadside stall berries and almost late for an important dinner back in the city. might've gone by (or past) en route to margate / ramsgate two summers ago, maybe three by now. there's a farm shop i like en route but forgot to stop there this time. also managed to mis-program the gps and end up at the wrong end of the white cliffs (near the lighthouse instead of the tea room / visitor centre) which wasn't too bad in retrospect cos saved on parking. but wanted food after the walk and ended up at said paying car park to access cafe for soup. and discounted christmas cards, it must be said.

really lovely weather-wise and the cliffs were crowded with like-minded walkers.

cotswolds

after a failed attempt to go to the cotswolds after graduation, i was more determined than ever to visit. more sentimental than anything, really, having been as a child with family and brimming with happy memories of the idyllic time we'd. 

however it was different (older?) this time round and i found myself quickly bored of the beauty. felt spoilt and blase, like why do i not like this place anymore? why do i keep comparing it with the north east / scotland which i'm admittedly partial to... it also felt geriatric (sort of like the lake district!) and while i try not to be ageist about these things, there's a limit to the number of picturesque village i'll happily walk around, and number of tea rooms i will visit before losing my mind...

did stop at a cute little farm shop and stocked up for the week which was fun. bought carrots that looked like the sort bugs bunny ate (with the greens still on!) and other goodies which became dinner over the next few days. made a roast pepper soup for when we got back to london sunday night and it was so easy, fresh and flavourful that i kicked myself for not being more proactive about good produce and bothering to 'cook properly'.

also had the good fortune of a couple of great meals - the five alls being one of them.

and argh can't remember the name but this is the pub associated with barnsley house which also has rooms in case the hotel is too fancy.

i'd a discoball in my room, which was sorta funny cos at 7 months pregnant i'll literally what i can get. dancing days might be over for now but a disco ball that scatters light as i drift to sleep? why ever not :)

and what a view to wake to

the spa area was so simple yet well done, the landscapist made something outta nothing. suppose that's the skill, really, to make it look effortless and create value in the middle of nowhere.

and as a trip down memory lane, stopped for lunch at the swan hotel in bibury on the way back to london. was mildly disappointed as staying at swan hotel with the trout stream flowing in front of it was one of my favourite holiday memories growing up but it has been revamped and lost part of its charm.

st abb's

it's no secret that i've great difficulty leaving the north and jump at every opportunity to head back to the east lothian coastline. maintain it's one of the prettiest stretches of coast and just what i want (need?) after a long week at work. now if only it wasn't so far away! was tempted to escape london this weekend but it's been a packed week and after the cotswolds last weekend, sense got the better of me and i'd a hermetic time instead to get over the self-induced introvert hangover. and fb tells me that the train i would've been on had i needed to return to london this evening has been cancelled / delayed by >10h, with passengers needing to take a replacement train to manchester then change for london euston. cue my immense relief because that could very easily have been me and mega ouch for friends who were meant to travel on the (now) cancelled service.

so there. on to happier things! had an idyllic weekend north and went walking on the coast, which is always therapy. scampered on the scary cliff-y bits against my better judgment because i thought we weren't going off piste and was too lazy to wear walking boots, much good they did me from the car :p then we did go off piste and it was a little oopsy but lived to tell the tale.

stopped for usual chinatown chicken and salted fish fried rice (so bad but so good!) on the way to the station and had an uneventful journey back to london.

waterperry gardens and oxford

woke to blue skies and was grateful for my gorgeous room. father wanted to check out the gardens that we thought were nearby  (but weren't) so we went along after breakfast. obliging brother was cute and stood next to random things on command. aw :) did feel we lowered the average age by a good 20 years but the gardens had everything! i'm prob as picky about gardens / garden centres as i am about country hotels. a few favourite scottish spots are the berwick garden centre as well as the one in dunbar because of the cafe and gift shop. waterperry didn't disappoint and was tempted to soup and scones before a second lunch in oxford.

got lucky with parking (it can be such a faff) and didn't have far to walk to the city centre. christ church was pretty as ever but couldn't find the crepe man in the meadows. then again the last time i visited was a good three years prior.

was punted by a cute 16year old on her first day. respect!

then stopped for a late lunch at the vaults garden before driving back to london. yucky sunday evening traffic and a relatively stressful time trying to finish a 200 qn online exam before dinner. thank goodness my father and brother contributed (shh)

hartwell house

clever mama brought me mooncakes! and she'd frozen them upon purchase so they'd slowly defrost as she traveled 14h to get to me. they were delicious and i savoured them over the week, sending poor baby into hyperglycaemia every time i ate one.

hotel was adequate. bit unnecessarily posh but oh well, we went with our eyes open. much rather shabby chic / laid back charm. coworth park in ascot would be an example of that and i felt HH was overpriced. i get uncomfortable in overtly fancy places because i much carry my own bag and hm don't like being danced attendance on. 

dins was surprisingly good though! had expected it to be mediocre and overhyped / overrated but every dish was well done. had scallop two ways (oops, meant to avoid raw shellfish. shrugs...) and duck followed by mango souffle for pud. not pictured but my father's venison was also very good. not in the least bit gamey and so tender.

bookbinder's

back from the faroe islands friday night, 12h in london then off to the country! this city mouse is increasingly disenchanted by the pollution in london. stopped for a bacon butty before traversing london to paddington (ok not really that far) and hopped on a train to h&thames parkway. 

linked up with folks (they're not fans of london either and had gone straight from heathrow earlier in the day) and we found a cute little pub that served french food. fish soup and crepes? sign me up!

sweet crepes too :)

hinds head and harwood arms

on the way home from cliveden, my mother had the brainwave to ask the question at the hind's head in hope that they'd be able to take a last minute reservation. as they say up north, shy bairns get nought and we were thrilled with the spontaneous lunch. the food was excellent, and better than i remembered it to be when we last went with M and A. the scotch egg was out of this world and well worth the hike on its own. i had an unadorned steak (runny egg yolk, medium rare steak, really not complying with doctor's orders...) which was so good on its own and pea soup before the steak. strawberry tart for dessert and was too busy stuffing my face to take a photo of what my parents ordered.

and because we were on a hedonistic roll, we were further spoilt with more michelin starred gastropub goodness that same night. lucky to live a stone's throw from harwood arms and while i thought it might be too much of a good thing, i was impressed my lean and mean folks managed to put away a second pub meal in 7h.