I guess the best thing about a Wednesday birthday is that you have to milk both surrounding weekends to the full…
So we booked a couple of nights in a treehouse at The Fish in the Cotswolds, using, rather delightedly, the Mr & Mrs Smith vouchers I got for last year's birthday. A fitting and brilliant use of some really much appreciated prezzies!
Started with a bit of a walk round the grounds including a field for Scrumpy to burn off some dog energy and for Mr H to do a spot of communing with the cows. The bovine whisperer at his finest..
Very amusing then to be sitting in our outdoor bathtubs on the deck, feeling the slight chill of a November evening, surrounded by bubbles both in the bath and in a glass on the side table. Spot of drizzle doesn't really matter when you're already wet.. I'll spare you the joys of us actually in them..
Ate in the Fish on the Friday and managed to fix a last minute visit from Reeve (H's nephew), Kerry-Anne and Isabella, for Sat lunch, once we realised how close to their gaff we were. Nic pub lunch in Broadway and afternoon tea back at the Fish, not exactly the light lunch we had promised ourselves before our posh dinner but great to see them all.
On Sat eve, we then headed to Dormy House, another hotel within the group, about 5 mins drive away within the 400 acres (yup, its massive!) of the Farncombe Estate. Absolutely top notch tasting menu, with the chefs doing their thing in front of us. They hit exactly the right note of informality done beautifully – and the cocktails for me (everyone else on the wine pairing) were perfect.
Dragged ourselves out for a walk on the Sunday morning – note to self, wearing bloody wellies for a 3 hour slog, when your socks are loose and end up in the toes every 60 seconds, is not the best idea… Ah well, we made it to the tower thing and somehow back to the car… Just – helpful signage guided us in.
A good weekend – think that's it till the big trip now. Phew, I need some sofa time x