Great British food and B&B's

Victorian comfort in York

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 07:47:00 +0000

Just back from a weekend in York with Matt.

We stayed at Ascot House Bed & Breakfast, a 15-minute walk from the city centre, and we'd both thoroughly recommend it.

It's run by a very friendly family for whom nothing's too much trouble, including storing our luggage for the day and calling us a taxi to take us to the station - even though we'd checked out hours earlier.

The room was very comfortable (my only quibble would be that the bed was a bit hard, but that didn't stop very good sleep), thick fluffy towels in the bathroom, and a breakfast that ticked both boxes of quality sausages and no baked beans unless you asked.

York is a beautiful city and there are plenty of great places to eat. We'd recommend Michael's Brasserie and Plunkets.

Pity the weekend was over so soon, really.

Another little gem in Morningside

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 18:43:00 +0000

I've reviewed already several of the B&Bs who belong to the network informally known among themselves as the "Morningside Mafia": Bob and Jill Knox at 4 Morningside Place, Bolette Nason at 1 Tipperlinn Road, and Keith Paterson at Alexanders Rooms.

Just up the road from Keith, at 1 Albert Terrace, is the home of Clarissa Notley, "an American who has adopted Edinburgh and Scotland as her home".

As with any of the Morningside Mafia I'm assured of a warm welcome from Clarissa, and her two beautiful Siamese cats Lottie and Lily. Clarissa is a lovely friendly lady who's always ready for a chat - and as she knows a great deal about the theatre, art and literature, that will always be a very interesting conversation.

Clarissa also provides delicious and innovative breakfasts. Last time I stayed there it was American pancakes with maple syrup, apple and cinnamon. Mmm. And I can still taste the cinnamon buns, too...

I'd recommend any and all of the ladies and gentlemen of the Morningside Mafia to anyone who's looking for a warm, comfortable and friendly B&B to stay in a pleasant residential suburb of Edinburgh. For me, staying with one or other of them 2 nights a week, they always create for me a home away from home.

Thank you all - and thank you to my good friend and former colleague Michael Green, for directing me to the Mafia last year!

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 15:19:00 +0000

In the leafy backstreets of Morningside, Edinburgh lies a network of comfortable and friendly B&Bs run in family homes. One where I stay regularly is run by Mrs Bolette Nason at 1 Tipperlinn Road.

The rooms are comfortable, well-appointed and immaculately clean, and Bolette's welcome is always warm.

Since Bolette discovered my favourite kind of tea for a post-work cuppa (Rooibos) she always offers to make me a cup when I come in from work, accompanied by biscuits and a friendly chat. My evenings when I'm working in Edinburgh can get a bit lonely sometimes so this is greatly appreciated.

The breakfasts are delicious too, and when Matt stayed there with me last week, he thoroughly approved of the good sausages and absence of baked beans.

Definitely one to recommend.

A new gentleman in the Mafia

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:44:00 +0000

I regularly spend two nights a week in Edinburgh now, given I work there but live in Cumbria.

I've been lucky enough to stumble on (or to be more accurate, to have a friend and former colleague stumble on) an informal network of B&Bs run by some wonderful people in their own homes in the Morningside area. Bob and Jill Knox are just one example. And if Jill can't put me up she'll find somewhere else for me to stay. Which is amazing.

The network calls itself "The Morningside Mafia".

And the Mafia now has a new member - Keith Paterson, who runs Alexanders Rooms.

Keith provides all the little luxuries that's great to come back to at the end of a hard working day - large comfortable rooms, fresh fruit, thick fluffy towels in the bathroom. He'll go the extra mile to make sure his guests are comfortable.

Last time I stayed at Alexanders Rooms, I had a rotten cold. Keith turned the heating up, put a supply of Lemsips in my room, and offered me a hot water bottle. And he even gave me some more Lemsips and some fresh fruit to take to work the following day.

That's what I call good service.

Food town? Everywhere's shut on Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 15:35:00 +0000

Part 2 of our wedding anniversary weekend write-up.

We'd seen in tourist brochures that Castle Douglas is a "food town". Great, we thought as we left the B&B this morning, we'll go there on the way back for a spot of lunch, and buy something to take home for supper.

There's just one problem.

It's Sunday. And that means just about all the small local food shops in Castle Douglas are shut.

Bang went our beautiful plans.

We managed to find an open cafe, and Matt said their coffee was wonderful, but the menu looked very Greasy Spoon, which put us off eating there (not to mention the howling child at the next table).

Now I can understand the religious view of not wanting to open shops on a Sunday. I can understand wanting a day off.

But if Castle Douglas - and other towns like it - want to attract the tourist trade, then Sunday opening might be something that it has to embrace, at least in part.

After all, not everyone who goes to South West Scotland will stay a whole week and be able to stock up for Sunday. There will be weekenders like Matt and myself. Castle Douglas is less than an hour off the M6. It's not the back of beyond.

And it's also just off the main A75 to Stranraer and the ferry terminal. There will surely be tourists coming off the ferry at Stranraer and heading along the A75 and looking for somewhere to have lunch, or buy a picnic lunch. And for the latter, our only option would have been Tesco.

If the shopkeepers of Castle Douglas want to promote "buy local food from small local shops" then keeping their shops shut on a Sunday may not be the way to do it...

Delicious food, gorgeous unspoilt coastal beauty...

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 15:19:00 +0000

Just back from a weekend away with Matt to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary. (Where did that time go.)

We picked a B&B in Dumfries & Galloway, Balcary Mews. It's less than 2 hours' drive from where we live, advertised itself as a "tranquil hideaway", and we'd easily be able to get to Wigtown for a spot of one of our favourite weekend pleasures - second-hand-book-shopping.

We weren't quite sure what to expect when we were told check-in was between 4pm and 6pm. Given we both work full-time, we knew we'd not get there by 6pm so we had to contact the landlady, Pamela, to ask for a late check-in. But to give Pamela her due, she said straight away "yes that's fine".

And the B&B proved a real find.

Comfortable, welcoming, friendly, with lovely large thick fluffy towels in the ensuite bathroom, and a scrumptious breakfast. I went for eggs both mornings - boiled yesterday, poached today - and they were full of flavour and golden-yolked, and Pamela didn't commit the cardinal sin of putting vinegar in the water when she poaches eggs. You can always taste it on the egg if someone's done that. Urgh.

Matt had the full Scottish breakfast and praised it highly.

"The bacon's delicious" he said to Pamela. And I've never heard him say that to a B&B landlady before.

"It's local" she said. "Everything's local except me!"

The breakfast had plenty of original touches about it too. Toasted English muffins (mmm and I wish I could resist smothering them in butter), Nutella, local honey, home-made fruit salad...

And the location is just out of this world. 2 miles down a no-through road with superb coastal views. We were very lucky with the weather, gorgeous sunshine, which meant we could see right across the bay and the Solway to the coast of Cumbria. And this morning we had a walk down to Balcary Point, where the unfenced, narrow, unmade coastal path spooked us a bit (especially Matt, whose sense of balance isn't great), but the views, sunshine, clear air, huge clumps of thrift pink in the grass, seabirds nesting on the cliffs...

Next time we're going for a week.

Another gold star for 4 Morningside Place

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:42:00 +0000

I stayed over for part of this last week at 4 Morningside Place, Edinburgh.

Lovely warm welcome as usual from Bob and Jill.

What impressed me most of all was that, even though it's 3 months since I last stayed there, Jill remembered what I like for breakfast (poached egg on toast) and how I like it (no butter on the toast).

Marvellous service.

The egg, from Jill's friend's hens, was delicious too.

Now that's what I call a good B&B.

Sticky toffee pudding rocks!

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:48:00 +0000

My foodie weakness is puddings. Real old-fashioned British puddings.

Nothing too sweet, nor something that'll leave me feeling queasy afterwards, but something tasty and just sweet enough to be satisfying. Rhubarb crumble and custard... apple pie and real vanilla ice-cream (not that icky synthetic stuff that might have come out of a Mr Whippy van)... you get the idea.

And if it's a fruit pudding, like those, I can even kid myself I've had one of my 5-a-day at pudding time. Couldn't be better.

But when I go to a restaurant, I have to exercise a great deal of willpower if there's sticky toffee pudding on the menu and I'm trying to have a don't-eat-too-much sort of day.

Because there's hardly anything to beat a good sticky toffee pud.

What do I mean by a "good" sticky toffee pud? Well, here's what makes it for me:

A sponge that's sweet but not too sweet, and light enough not to lie like a brick on the stomach afterwards.
Plenty of fat juicy dates in the sponge.
Butterscotch sauce poured over, again not too sweet and it's best if made with dark muscovado sugar.
And a generous blob of good-quality vanilla ice cream on top. No pouring cream (yuck) and no trying to be clever by serving it with chocolate or strawberry ice cream. It's got to be either vanilla, or something like toffee fudge or honeycomb ice cream.

Mmm. I'm hungry now. Perhaps I'll postpone the home-grown-blackcurrant crumble I'd planned for this weekend and try making a sticky toffee pud instead...

Perhaps it was the velvet trousers!

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:23:00 +0000

Further to my mid-January post, I did WeightWatchers religiously through January, then tried my velvet trousers on again.

I could do them up... but only just.

This despite eating carefully, walking about 2 hours a day with a heavy rucksack, and feeling fitter and healthier than I've done in years.

Something doesn't add up, says the accountant.

So I tried on just about the tightest-fitting garment I own, the skirt of a bridesmaid's dress... and lo and behold it fitted just fine.

I think the velvet trousers must have shrunk in the wash :-)

New B&B to write up - 4 Morningside Place, Edinburgh

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 18:13:00 +0000

A near-the-office place to stay as recommended by a FreeAgent colleague; 4 Morningside Place, run by Bob and Jill Knox.

I tried it out a couple of weeks back, when the weather was just about at its coldest.

A comfortable and friendly B&B with some little touches that really put the icing on the cake for me.

Firstly, an electric underblanket on the bed, with a setting to warm the bed up and another to keep it warm overnight. Getting into a warm bed, and one that stayed warm, on such a bitterly cold night, was sheer bliss.

Secondly, a bathroom with the most amazing large thick fluffy towels I've ever seen. One of my pet B&B hates is small, thin towels that are sopping wet as soon as you've dried your hair. None of that here.

Thirdly, a breakfast tailored to meet my low-fat needs. Jill offered fresh fruit and willingly poached me an egg served on butter-free toast (and didn't commit the cardinal sin of putting margarine on instead).

I'm staying there again next week :-)

Dust off the old WeightWatchers books!

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:35:00 +0000

Before going down to my parents in Wales for Christmas for a week of yummy home-cooked food courtesy of my mum, and strong home-brewed beer courtesy of my dad (that's if he'll let me have some to make a shandy), I decided just to make sure I could get into my best velvet trouser suit.

Uh-oh.

I couldn't do up the trousers.

Time to dig out and dust off my old WeightWatchers books from when I lost 2 stone there some 9 (crumbs) years ago.

Back to finding that low-fat doesn't have to equal low-taste. Muller Light yoghurts are surprisingly creamy.

And, if I simply can't resist something (such as my mum's sticky toffee pudding), then I have a small portion.

Let's see how much I can lose by the end of January if I follow the WeightWatchers regime and stick to walking across Edinburgh twice a day when I'm working there. With a heavy backpack.

Updates will follow.

Fresh milk in hotels please!

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:54:00 +0000

Last week I was down in London for the Business Startup exhibition at Olympia, with the rest of the FreeAgent team.

We didn't all stay in the same hotel, so on the morning of the second day we were comparing notes about the hotels where we'd stayed - and none of them provided fresh milk with the tea and coffee facilities in the bedrooms. It was always those little cartons of UHT.

Now those may be not too bad in coffee, but I think they taste horrible in tea. Particularly in my favourite Rooibos. (No, hotels never provide Rooibos teabags either. I take them with me - much to the disgust of some of my colleagues who can't see the point of tea without caffeine. Sorry Ed and David, it just tastes good, that's why I drink it :-) )

So I always take, or buy, a bottle of fresh milk when I'm staying in a hotel.

Then I've got the problem of keeping it cool. That's usually overcome by filling the bathroom washbasin with cold water and putting the milk bottle in there. And hoping that, if I'm staying more than one night, room service don't empty the basin and leave the milk to go off.

I honestly can't see why hotels can't provide little fridges just big enough to take a pint of milk, preferably containing a pint of milk, and get rid of the little cartons. Tea and coffee taste so much better when they're made with fresh milk instead of (yucky) UHT.

Come on Premier Inn (where I usually stay when I travel on business, unless I know of a good B&B), start a trend!

A recommendation for Finches

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:01:00 +0000

We've stayed quite often in the past at Finches B&B in Cambridge.

And whenever we go to Cambridge (which is as often as we can - we're graduates of Cambridge university and still have a lot of friends living there), we always try to stay there.

Even though it's a 3-mile walk out of town.

Why?

It's very comfortable and always spotlessly clean.

It's not every B&B where the hostess greets you at the door with a hug (though of course Jane does know us well, as we've stayed there a lot before!). She and her husband Nigel are always friendly and welcoming, and to be met with a pot of tea when you've driven from Cumbria is bliss.

And the breakfasts are delicious. Home-made fresh fruit salad to start, with watermelon and mango in it, and no cheap cocktail cherries. Matt followed that with the full English, and although it did have baked beans, there were only a small pool of them - not covering half the plate to disguise the lack of anything else. I had poached eggs on toast. Mmm. Good quality seeded brown bread, fresh eggs and lashings of real butter. (B&B hosts who put margarine on toast and call it butter should be custard pied.)

We're already planning our next break in Cambridge..

What makes a good B&B breakfast?

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:57:00 +0000

Anyone who knows me at all well, knows that one thing I say a great deal is "My Dad says..."

So I'm going to start with one of his pet quotes... which is that you can tell the quality of a B&B breakfast by two things.

First up - the quality of its sausages. Sausages stuffed with rusk and other fillers, or made with not-very-tasty meat, drag a breakfast down. Locally made, good quality, seasoned sausages are pricier but boy do they taste better.

And the best of all are home-made sausages like you get served by Elizabeth at Ashcroft Farmhouse just outside Edinburgh. (Matt also loves her haggis and black pudding. Unfortunately I don't like black pudding and wouldn't eat haggis for breakfast, it's too strong for that early in the morning, though I like it for an evening meal.)

Dad's second tip for telling how good a B&B breakfast is - good B&B's don't fill the plate up with baked beans. They're a cheap way to fill a guest's belly and not much else! I can agree with that, and not only because I can't stand baked beans :-)

I also like something a bit different but special. Like the home-poached fruits, flavoured with herbs, that Reta at Violet Bank House offers as part of breakfast. Or Pete and Annette's home-made bread and Derbyshire oatcakes at Jaret House.

And one final thing - the milk for the cereal must be cold not lukewarm!! Lukewarm milk is reminiscent of school milk which I can - just - remember!

What makes a B&B breakfast for you?

Welcome!

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:55:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to my new blog!

I've decided to start keeping this blog about two of my great passions - good food (cooking and eating it) and staying in a nice bed and breakfast.

I'll be talking about good places to eat that my wonderful husband Matt and I have discovered, and good B&B's where we've stayed.

Please feel free to comment and share your stories too.

Let's enjoy great British food and comfortable B&B's!