KERRE MCIVOR
WITH BABY BART STRAPPED IN HIS CAR SEAT, KERRE JOINS HER DAUGHTER’S FAMILY ON AN EASTER ADVENTURE TO THE COUNTRY
Whether you think the Brits were right to vote to leave the European Union or not, you would have to say that their years as being part of a cosmopolitan community have not been wasted.
British food and hospitality used to be a joke to the rest of the world. In fact, the brilliant comedian John Cleese based his comedy series Fawlty Towers on a dreadful experience staying at an English hotel during the ‘70s. But now things are quite different.
The British people have taken their experience of cuisines from other cultures, and combined that with the very best produce that this green and pleasant land can provide. As a result, travelling round parts of England doesn’t just appeal to the history buffs – foodies can have an amazing experience as well.
The Easter break was an opportunity for my family and
I to get out of London and head for the hills. My daughter and son-in-law have recently bought a car and are keen to explore as much of Britain as they can while they’re working here. We had no particular destination in mind other than it being no more than two hours from London – it was baby
Bart’s first overnight trip away and, although he loves his car seat and the motion of travel, we didn’t want to push it – and we didn’t want to leave London simply to stay in another city. The Cotswolds were perfect for us.
Despite it being a holiday weekend and many places being booked out, the Castle Inn in Castle Combe had a cancellation and so we were able to book two rooms at short notice. Castle Combe is one of those villages that looks like it’s a film set – in fact, you may have seen it as the backdrop in the classic Doctor Dolittle. The market cross that was erected when Castle Combe was granted the privilege to hold a weekly market in the
14th century still stands in the middle of the town.
It’s remarkable that a town so ancient is still a place where people live and work. I think it must be rather like living in a Disneyland theme park with the houses built right on the streets and tourists wandering by peering through your windows, but I suppose that’s the price for living in such a unique place.
In Castle Combe, the hotel had done such a roaring trade on afternoon teas that they had sold out by the time we thought of ordering one. The little breastfeeding mother was adamant that cake was what she felt like and fortunately, in a wee house right next to the hotel, there were home-baked cakes and biscuits in a cabinet on an unattended table.
A note advised us to pop the money through the mail slot in the door, which we did and the hotel was quite happy to prepare pots of tea to enjoy with the chocolate fudge cake.
Similarly, when we stopped at the Golden
Ball Inn on the way home for a pub lunch, people were only too happy to find us accommodation when we contemplated staying another night – mainly because the pig on the spit being roasted outside in the car park looked delicious.
It was tempting to enjoy another night of great company and superb food, but in the end, mainly due to the baby, we opted to return back to London. Given that we have a grandchild in England, we will be back, so there’s always next time.
‘ There were homebaked cakes and biscuits in a cabinet on an unattended table’
As well as reading her column, listen to Kerre on Newstalk ZB, weekdays, noon to 4pm.