Post by holger on Aug 24, 2008 16:10:53 GMT -5
;D
Left Glasgow on August 2 to drive to Plymouth. We had decided to stop en route at Chester as it was many years since we had been there and it is a lovely placw to walk. Since we were only going to spend one night we wanted to be somewhere where we could safely park the car and be able to leave some items in it, out of sight.
Based on reviews we selected The Green Bough Hotel just outside the city. It is on a road with many small hotels and B & Bs and doesn't look very different freom the outside. But once you walk in, it is marvelous. Extremely well decorated and very comfortable. I fell in love with the wallpaper in the lounge and the carpet. We had a charming room in the annex. We also ate dinner there and the food was excellent and at a two for one rate. I had a Crab starter, Cannon of Welsh lamb for main course and Lancashire Baked Egg Custard Tart for dessert. Very English and well prepared. Breakfast the next day was included and provided many choices. Loaded car and left it on off street hotel parking and went in to walk the rows and revisit some familiar places. Lots of tourists and many shops that were unique to Chester appeared to be gone, replaced with branches of Jaeger, etc. But the charm of the buildings is still there and if you haven't been to Chester, I would really recommend it. Spent about two hours and then went back , picked up car and off to Plymouth.
Essentially, we were going to be back in an area where we had spent time during 1972 and 1974 while doing research and traveling for days at a time from our London apartments. We also were going to spend a bit over a week with good friends who had moved from Edinburgh 8 years ago to Plymouth,
Must say staying in a house with full facilities, great hosts, washer and dryer and being able to have breakfast on our timetable was very restful.
Plymouth was badly bombed during WW II and many of the older buildings were destroyed. But it is a university town and has great theatre and some really fine restaurants. We were treated to a performance of Simon McBurney's ( Complicite) A Disappearing Number, a truly intriguing theatrical experience. We also ate at some really fine restaurants. Tanners, located in the Prysten House, the oldest still standing domestic building in Plymouth. Award winning food that was very good. We celebrated friend's birtday and had some excellent wine. I started with crab salad and then had Sauteed cep gnocchi served with an assortment of summer vegetables and smoked truffle emulsion. Too full for dessert!
Even more memorable meal at Chloe's a small bistro owned by a local woman and her French husband who is the chef. Didier Franchet trained in La Rochelle at Chez Serge. I started with a duet of Queen scallops and then had Duck Confit. Ended with Floating Island. Food was excellent and service and atmosphere charming.
Revisted some of the places we had stayed in and around Dartmoor and hosted friends at The Horn of Plenty where we had last eaten 36 years ago. We had a magnificant lunch there while looking out over the moors. It is a very upscale country house hoel and restaurant. Three relaxing hours for lunch. Salmon starter and lamb main course with a ginger pudding for dessert and then coffee and petit fours in lounge.
Also took side trips to Tavistock twice as it is really unspoiled, full of small local shops for crafts and clothes, little independent places for lunch or tea and a nice market with both food and silver and old booksm etc. It is more of what I recalled from the 70s.
We also visted three of the national trust properties, all unique and well worth seeing: Buckland Abbey, home of Francis Drake, Cotehele house, garden, mill and quay, and Saltram House.
One suggestion for visiters from the U.S is to join the Royal Oak Foundation located in NYC. membership gives free admission to National Trust sites in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland which realyy pays off if visiting several sites. There are exhibits and lecturesin NYC as well.
There are also exclusive trips including one next June sailing on the Sea Cloud after 3 days in Normandy to Caen, Guernsey, St. Malo, St Michael's Mount, Dartmouth and Cowes and disembarking in Portsmouth!!!
Will do final week in London later.
Left Glasgow on August 2 to drive to Plymouth. We had decided to stop en route at Chester as it was many years since we had been there and it is a lovely placw to walk. Since we were only going to spend one night we wanted to be somewhere where we could safely park the car and be able to leave some items in it, out of sight.
Based on reviews we selected The Green Bough Hotel just outside the city. It is on a road with many small hotels and B & Bs and doesn't look very different freom the outside. But once you walk in, it is marvelous. Extremely well decorated and very comfortable. I fell in love with the wallpaper in the lounge and the carpet. We had a charming room in the annex. We also ate dinner there and the food was excellent and at a two for one rate. I had a Crab starter, Cannon of Welsh lamb for main course and Lancashire Baked Egg Custard Tart for dessert. Very English and well prepared. Breakfast the next day was included and provided many choices. Loaded car and left it on off street hotel parking and went in to walk the rows and revisit some familiar places. Lots of tourists and many shops that were unique to Chester appeared to be gone, replaced with branches of Jaeger, etc. But the charm of the buildings is still there and if you haven't been to Chester, I would really recommend it. Spent about two hours and then went back , picked up car and off to Plymouth.
Essentially, we were going to be back in an area where we had spent time during 1972 and 1974 while doing research and traveling for days at a time from our London apartments. We also were going to spend a bit over a week with good friends who had moved from Edinburgh 8 years ago to Plymouth,
Must say staying in a house with full facilities, great hosts, washer and dryer and being able to have breakfast on our timetable was very restful.
Plymouth was badly bombed during WW II and many of the older buildings were destroyed. But it is a university town and has great theatre and some really fine restaurants. We were treated to a performance of Simon McBurney's ( Complicite) A Disappearing Number, a truly intriguing theatrical experience. We also ate at some really fine restaurants. Tanners, located in the Prysten House, the oldest still standing domestic building in Plymouth. Award winning food that was very good. We celebrated friend's birtday and had some excellent wine. I started with crab salad and then had Sauteed cep gnocchi served with an assortment of summer vegetables and smoked truffle emulsion. Too full for dessert!
Even more memorable meal at Chloe's a small bistro owned by a local woman and her French husband who is the chef. Didier Franchet trained in La Rochelle at Chez Serge. I started with a duet of Queen scallops and then had Duck Confit. Ended with Floating Island. Food was excellent and service and atmosphere charming.
Revisted some of the places we had stayed in and around Dartmoor and hosted friends at The Horn of Plenty where we had last eaten 36 years ago. We had a magnificant lunch there while looking out over the moors. It is a very upscale country house hoel and restaurant. Three relaxing hours for lunch. Salmon starter and lamb main course with a ginger pudding for dessert and then coffee and petit fours in lounge.
Also took side trips to Tavistock twice as it is really unspoiled, full of small local shops for crafts and clothes, little independent places for lunch or tea and a nice market with both food and silver and old booksm etc. It is more of what I recalled from the 70s.
We also visted three of the national trust properties, all unique and well worth seeing: Buckland Abbey, home of Francis Drake, Cotehele house, garden, mill and quay, and Saltram House.
One suggestion for visiters from the U.S is to join the Royal Oak Foundation located in NYC. membership gives free admission to National Trust sites in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland which realyy pays off if visiting several sites. There are exhibits and lecturesin NYC as well.
There are also exclusive trips including one next June sailing on the Sea Cloud after 3 days in Normandy to Caen, Guernsey, St. Malo, St Michael's Mount, Dartmouth and Cowes and disembarking in Portsmouth!!!
Will do final week in London later.
Let the riot begin! LOL - 
hahahha