It may have been the final week of the Euros but there were still places to go and things to see so I headed west, to the Cotswolds and Border Country, in search of a good meal and a bed for the night. There was just one requirement – were they showing the football?
Wild Thyme & Footie!
One of the highlights of last week was spending a night at Wild Thyme & Honey in the Cotswolds, whose stylish riverside rooms, classily clad in wood and bare brick, make you think of Sweden or maybe Tuscany rather than Oxfordshire – until you look out of your window and spot the village cricket pitch. It's a thoroughly relaxing place to stay, with a bubbling brook forming a soothing soundtrack both to your sleep and your dinner, which you can enjoy by the waters of the Ampney Brook. Sipping a boozy hot chocolate around their courtyard fire pit also takes some beating. I'd like to say these are all the reasons I'll fondly remember WT&H – but actually, sitting in their convivial bar, watching England beat The Netherlands in the last minute probably caps all of that!
Best thing I have eaten this week: Part 1
I try not to go on about food too much because it makes me seem like a glutton, but this month I've got to fess up to a couple of really great dinners. The first was in another rather nice Cotswolds pub with rooms, the wonderful Double Red Duke, where the food is a cut above. You can enjoy their outstanding dishes in a cosy bar, a light and spacious garden room or on their expansive sun terrace. I can recommend the oysters and succulent crab (topping a homemade rye brioche) and, in particular, a delicate cheese soufflé in a lobster bisque. This is a pub, for sure, but it also feels like a bit of a treat, and there are some lovely rooms upstairs if you fancy making a weekend of it.
Book Paradise – but is it in Wales or England?
I headed further west to Hay on Wye, which lies on the border between England and Wales. Most of the town's important bits are on the Welsh side, or at least I think they are: it never seemed clear to me which side of Offa's Dyke I was (oddly, if you wanted to send a letter here you should address it as being in Herefordshire). It's a split identity that doesn't seem to bother the inhabitants of Hay, which relishes its status as Britain's book capital, ever since one Richard Booth set up a secondhand bookshop here in 1961 and encouraged lots of others to follow, thereby reviving the town's fortunes. Booth sadly passed away 5 years ago but not before declaring independence for Hay, crowning himself king and issuing passports. His shop is still here, along with some 30 other bookshops, some of them just randomly placed bookshelves with an honesty box attached. It's a terrific town, and almost impossible to leave without buying a book – who cares whether it's in England or Wales?
Best thing I have eaten this week: Part 2
It's a 5-mile drive from Hay to the Bull's Head Inn, right on the border in the shadow of the Black Mountains, but it feels like longer. The roads here show no mercy to callow city drivers like me and by the time you get here you feel as if you have truly arrived at the end of the world. That's not such a bad thing actually, because they have recently opened four beautiful wooden cabins in the grounds so you have no excuse but to stay – which is by far the best way to enjoy the super nose-to-tail menu they serve in this beautiful old boozer, whose food draws inspiration and, most importantly, ingredients from the fields around. For me, this meant hoggett with beans, beets and spinach, local prosciutto and ricotta and beef shin fritters, washed down with some local ale. Afterwards, seated in my Adirondack chair, looking out over wildflower meadows, with the Black Mountains in one direction and the rolling Herefordshire hills in the other, I couldn't think of a more peaceful place to end the day.
Cool Place of the Month: One Acre Wood
Still in Herefordshire, one of the standout places I have visited this year – let alone this month – is One Acre Wood, a fabulous rural hideaway run by a pair of dreamers from East Anglia who have constructed a pair of 3-bed treehouses up amid the woodland canopy at the centre of their 18-acre estate. They are enchanting, unique spaces with a fairytale feel that will appeal to families with young kids but also couples looking for a loved-up romantic retreat. Each has an open-plan living space with a log burner, a fully-equipped kitchen and a rainfall shower and flushing toilet, not to mention an outside copper bathtub. Not only that: owners Annie and Sean are passionate about what they do and couldn't be better hosts. I only wish this place had existed when my kids were small!
Hot Deal of the Month: Albion Nights
We're planning a book on Britain's coolest cabins next year and one place that will definitely make the cut is Albion Nights in Norfolk, a haven of pure peace and privacy where you can bathe under the stars and cosy up in your sustainable cocoon set in six acres of meadow and woodland, and where your only neighbours will be owner Helen's small flock of sheep. They're offering discounts for selected stays in July but really any time of year is a good time to stay here – and you're close to some beautiful parts of Norfolk and Suffolk.
