Trip Report- UK Gardens in May

Old May 29th, 2017, 05:36 AM
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AGM, thanks for your report. I am off to England in 10 days and will be visiting some of these gardens! Ann, thanks for the helpful info on speed limits!
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Old May 29th, 2017, 12:23 PM
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Meals:

Food is an integral part of our traveling and we probably spend more time and money on it then most. I found most of the restaurants to be reasonably priced for the quality of food and service.

Outside of London

Windsor- Two Brewers- This was suggested by a coworker of my sisters who lives near there. It was an excellent lunch. Liver and bacon over mashed potatoes with an onion and pea sauce & grilled chicken sandwich. I had an elderflower soda and my DH had a glass of wine. £28.50

Oxford- Cherwell Boathouse We loved this place. It is on a river and rents out punts as well as being a restaurant. Lovely location and great food.
First Courses:
Marinated veal fillet with girolles, pickled walnuts and parmesan
Mushroom, garlic and herb fricassee

Main:
Roasted Duck Breast with a duck confit lasagna
Herbed Goat Cheese and Red Onion tart with grilled artichokes, courgettes and cherry tomatoes

Dessert:
Taste of Lemon- mousse, ice cream and posset (never had one- waiter explained how it is made- very interesting)
Apple Tarte Tatin with toffee ice cream

Snifter-Calvados
Bottle- Vacqueyras
£108.50 We were comped aperitifs because they felt we waited too long for someone to take our order.

Stratford-upon-Avon Rooftop Restaurant @ the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
We booked here because we had tickets to that night’s performance of Antony & Cleopatra. If you don’t plan to attend a performance go after it starts or on another night.

RSC Kir and Rusty Nail (my DH taught almost every place we dined how to make a rusty nail)

First Course:
Asparagus with cream cheese with honey and arugula
Thai crab cake with Asian Slaw

Main Course:
Duck Leg Confit
Gammon Steak with mashed potatoes

Dessert:
Roasted pineapple with blood orange sorbet (we substituted it for the coconut ice cream)
Rhubarb crumble tart with vanilla ice cream

Two glasses of red wine
£99.83

Broadway- Sunday lunch while we touring gardens The Swan
The food was excellent but the kitchen was slammed so we waited and waited. The staff must be used to it because they had the avoiding eye contact down to a science!

Lager and Mortimer Orchard Cider (I tried ciders when I saw them and I think I liked this one best)
First Course:
Scallops with Fried Chorizo and Asian Salad (we split this)

Main Course:
Lamb cutlets with minted new potatoes, roasted root vegetable and broccoli
£56.00

Loxley’s- Stratford-upon-Avon We went for a quick bite late in the evening and got drinks as well as:
Tapas Board - Paprika Chicken Skewers, Chorizo Braised in Red Wine, Aged Manchego Cheese, Serrano Ham, Manzanilla Olives, Sun Blushed Tomatoes, Rapeseed Garlic Mayonnaise, Smoked Almonds
The table next to us had a very nice looking cheese course. £52.35

Grasmere Hotel Dining Room- Salisbury was one place I had a hard time with restaurants. The first night it was pouring so we ate in. The dining room staff was stretch thin with a party of 30 in the function room.

First Course:
Game Terrine
Smoked Salmon with horseradish cream (the cream was not included so my DH inquired and we got the cream and about twice the amount of original smoked salmon for our trouble)

Main:
Duck leg confit with roasted potatoes
Pan-fried chicken with smashed potatoes in lemon sauce

Dessert:
Tarte au citron- more like a lemon cheese cake
Dark chocolate cupcake- tasted like a spice cake

I don’t remember what red wine we ordered just that the waitress tried to unscrew a corked bottle. She then has to find someone to draw the cork. £96.45

Côte Brasserie Salisbury- As I said I had a hard time finding restaurants in Salisbury so settled on this chain of French restaurants

Kir Royale

First Course:
Tartine with goat cheese, black olive tapenade and artichokes
Asparagus wrapped in bacon with leek cream sauce and cheese (this was an entrée special we took as a first course- very nice)

Mains:
Rib eye steak with wild mushroom sauce and frites
Duck Breast with cherry sauce and potato gratin

Desserts-
Crème Caramel (one of my favorites!)
Tarte fine au pomme

Three glasses of red wine and a Calvados £109.24

Thackeray’s Tunbridge Wells

Kir Royale & Rusty Nail

Amuse Bouche- Broccoli Espume with Nigella Seeds and Blue Cheese mousse

Breads- Goat cheese with caramelized onion crackling and apricot with black pepper
Butter- lightly salted and smoked pimento

First Courses-
CONFIT SPRING RABBIT BALLOTINE Apple Smoked Loin, Morrels, Wild Garlic Mousse, White Asparagus, Ventreche Bacon

DUCK LIVER PARFAIT Earl Grey Infused Prunes, Smoked Duck Breast, Bergamot, Orange Braised Chicory

Mains:
ROAST SIRLOIN OF BEEF AND BRAISED OX CHEEK Pommes Purée, Veal Sweetbread, Chestnut Mushrooms, Sweetheart Cabbage, Honey Glazed Parsnip, Baby Onions, Braising Liquor

TOTTINGWORTH FARM LAMB Rolled Saddle, Baby ‘Shank’, Poponcini Peppers, Roasted Courgette, Feta and Black Olive

Side: Buttered Groombridge Asparagus, smoked Maldon sea salt

Desserts:
DARK CHOCOLATE MARQUISE Maldon Salted Caramel, Poached Pineapple, Rum
Raspberry Souffle with White Chocolate Crème Anglais, Raspberry Sorbet

The wine list here is very interesting and varied. The sommelier made some suggestions that were very different for us and we enjoyed them immensely:
With first courses: Maxim Grunhauser Abtsberg, Riesling Auslese #145, Mosel von Schhubert 2001
Meursault, Les Clousots Domaine Patrick Javillier 2011

With mains: Chateau Musar Rouge, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon Gaston Hochar 2009 (didn’t even know they made wine in Lebanon!)
Cote Rotie, Coteaux Tupin Jean-Michel Stephan 2007

£206.95 and worth every pence!

Royal Wells Hotel Tunbridge Wells Suggested by our hosts and was a little overwhelmed by a big party
Another place where my DH taught the staff how to make a Rusty Nail

First courses: Leek & Potato Soup
Scallops with chorizo and pea puree

Mains:
Herb roasted chicken breast pappardelle lemon thyme butter with asparagus, courgette and carrots This had been left too long under the heat lamps
Rack of lamb, Mediterranean vegetables and sweet potato puree

I think we had glasses of wine. £64.10
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Old May 29th, 2017, 02:10 PM
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Ann, thanks for the helpful info on speed limits!>>

my pleasure, irishface. I hope that you have a wonderful trip .
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Old May 29th, 2017, 03:20 PM
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Good food and beautiful gardens...all the makings of a great trip.
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Old May 29th, 2017, 04:03 PM
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Lordy (!) am I hungry

I had a booking at Cherwell Boathouse back in December -- sort of for old times sake, my ex and I used to eat there 3 or 4 times a year (and rent punts once or twice a summer) . But had to drop the first two days of my trip - the Oxford leg. Couldn't fit it in when I went back in March

Thackeray’s sounds wonderful.
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Old May 29th, 2017, 11:15 PM
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Chateau Musar Rouge, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon Gaston Hochar 2009

Ah the 2009, after reading your list I had to think back to when I first had this wine. 1995 so that would have been the something like the 88 or 89 (they only release it when it is ready to drink). They store it all in England now after the year they couldn't pick (just too dangerous)

There are around 5 vinyards in the Bekaa, all down around the road to Damascus.
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Old Jun 10th, 2017, 02:18 PM
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WOW, AGM--what wonderful food you had. Lovely TR.
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Old Jun 10th, 2017, 05:48 PM
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Enjoyed your trip report.
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Old Jun 10th, 2017, 06:11 PM
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Shows what wonderful food you can get in England - lovely
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Old Jul 7th, 2017, 06:13 PM
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Bookmarking for the gardens!
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Old Jul 19th, 2019, 07:01 AM
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Abby, I loved this TR. Your trip combined food and gardens, so that naturally appealed to me. A person can pick up a lot of ideas visiting other gardens, though usually they're way beyond our scope or budget.

I "did" English gardens on a spring trip with my mother. We saw 32 gardens in 15 days. Some of them were small private gardens that opened to benefit Visiting Nurses so were open only one or two weekends. Back then they were listed in the Yellow Book. We also joined the National Trust. When we arrived, we made a beeline for Sissinghurst and returned there at the end of our trip.

I started out driving but my mother couldn't take it, so from day 2 on she was at the wheel and did a darn good job. I have my diary of the trip and inherited my mother's diary. I've put off reading hers because I was such a slave-driver during the trip. I'm sure I'll read about it!
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