Highclere Castle: Downton Abbey Set

A few months back we booked tickets to Highclere Castle, mainly because this is also the set for the television series Downton Abbey (and I'm obsessed!), but I was surprised at how much other history it is famous for and the Downton fame is very played down and not a big theme of the tour at all.

The main path in from the carpark

It really is an amazing place to walk up to, the building looks very grand at the same time as being quite haunting.

The main entrance - anyone recognise the doorway?

On the tour no cameras or recording devices are allowed, so you'll have to book a visit to have have a nosy at the rooms!

Make sure you see the Egyptian Exhibition - the 5th Earl of Carnarvon (who resided in Highclere) and his colleague Howard Carter were the two who discovered the tomb of The Egyptian Boy Pharaoh, Tutankhamun. The Earl was sick and died around the time of discovery and there are very strange coincidences between his death and Tutankhamun's......

Obligatory afternoon tea with champers!

After the information overload it was time for tea! We did have to book this in advance and the only thing I was a bit disappointed with was they used teabags for the tea and not fresh leaves....fussy I know, but the cakes and sandwiches were lovely.

The courtyard with cafe and gift shop - this isn't used in filming!

The back of the castle

After tea it was time for a stroll around the grounds to work off all the cakes.....

Chester: Lunch at The Botanist

While heading up north for a weekend away we decided to stop off in Chester for a look around and some lunch. Only having been once before I wasn't sure of my way around, but really fancied something a little more special than a pub lunch.......then we stumbled into The Botanist.

Loved the little details.....

The whole place was quirky and quite fun, with a perfect mix of food on the menu. I went for the Deli Board where you can choose a minimum of four things to go on your board with a homemade flat bread included. I enjoyed it so much I didn't get a picture.....

Tea for one

I decided to skip the desserts, which is always a regret, so to try and make up for missing out on the sticky toffee pudding I went for the Turkish Apple Tea and I would definitely recommend it!

The decor

Plenty of choice....

The bike sculpture was suspended over the bar and this was the view from where we sat

Bewdley River and Rail Circular Trail

The other Sunday we decided to do the local river & rail circular walk (see link at the bottom for more info), it's about 8 miles to do the full circle, but after 4 miles you're in Arley and there's a perfect spot on the river with a tea room to stop for a re-fuel - I always have one of their cream teas - watch out for the steam trains pulling in at the station on the hill.

This is such a beautiful walk, just be prepared for boggy bits if it's been raining! 

You will skirt around the edge of Wyre Forest a couple of times - definitely worth a further explore! The walks are good with something suitable for all.

Train spotting!

View from the benches outside the tea room

Watching the steam trains

Take a mini detour and check out the reservoir, the sailing club can sometimes be seen practicing...

Would recommend following the signs for the reservoir, it takes you up a hill and off the track but you can easily re-join when you're ready.

Check out some info in this brochure. 

Something From the Weekend....

A couple of days late due to another long weekend.....can't complain!

Lunch at The Botanist in Chester

A proper cuppa in The Botanist!

Mountain biking in Royden Park, The Wirral

Enjoying the last days of Summer...

Exploring Highclere Castle - the set for Downton Abbey

Pulled Coca Cola Gammon

So last Monday was a bit of a Bank Holiday wash out, but personally I saw this as a good thing, a day for pyjamas, lounging, cooking and baking!

I've been wanting to try this gammon recipe for a while and I've seen lots of versions of it but never actually tried the finished product.......I can tell you it was not a disappointment!

We bought a small-ish joint for the two of us, knowing there would be left overs, but we were surprised at how much left over there actually was! There has been enough to also make a puff pastry quiche and a gammon and leek pie! I'll share these recipes soon because they're so simple they need sharing.

The finished product!

With pulled pork and brioche buns becoming so popular on all the menus at the minute it was only a matter of time before they started stocking them on the supermarket shelves. I've found it's taken a while to get hold of the brioche buns though, they mainly have choc chips in, but managed to find these bad boys in Aldi, they tasted amazing and at just over 60p for four a bargain too!

Aldi special - brioche buns

All you need is:

* a joint of gammon (we had unsmoked)

* 2 litre bottle of coca-cola (enough to cover the meat and the cheap stuff is fine!)

* brioche buns (or the bun of your choice)

So there are two ways of doing this - the way I had planned on cooking it and the way it ended up being cooked - try both and see what works for you!

First 'Planned' Way - put joint in your slow cooker and cover with coca-cola, leave to cook on medium/high for 6 hours. Run a fork over the meat and it will be 'stringy' when it is cooked (also check the middle!)

Second Way - put a big stew pot on the hob at a high heat, fill with bottle of coca-cola and place meat in pot. Bring to the boil and turn down to simmer at a medium heat for about 3 hours, or until meat is cooked

Place joint in a dish and use two forks to pull meat apart, serve as you wish!

We had ours with BBQ sauce, a little bit of mustard and some cheese, yum...

Some healthy veggies for balance!