Time to enjoy a foodie retirement
Your new-found freedom allows you to explore some of the best food and drink the UK has to offer
One of the greatest joys of being retired is the chance to spend more time doing the things in life that you love, and for a great many of us that involves eating well.
The UK is full of great foodie destinations, and choosing to retire in one of the culinary hotspots means you will have no shortage of award-winning restaurants, cosy country pubs and farmers’ markets to explore.
As well as being situated in some of the most picturesque parts of the UK, Renaissance Villages developments are also all located close to areas with a thriving food and drink scene, meaning you can easily indulge in your love of eating out.
PUB LUNCHES
Being retired offers plenty of opportunity to enjoy a leisurely lunch in a beautiful country pub, and the UK has an abundance of great options. At Bramshott Place, Hampshire, you need only walk half a mile into the village of Liphook to find several smart country pubs that specialise in serving delicious food. A little further afield, in the South Downs national park, Michelin-starred chef Tom Sellers offers his take on a traditional British pub at The Lickford Inn.
If it’s award-winning food you’re after, then the newest Renaissance Village development, Maudslay Park, in Warwickshire, is close to the National Trustowned Fleece Inn in Evesham, which was voted Visit England’s Tourism Pub of the Year for 2016.
FOOD FESTIVALS
Maudslay Park, set in 90 acres of parkland in the village of Great Alne, is also just nine miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, the land of Shakespeare – but also of great food. A mere three miles away from Maudslay Park is Alcester, which hosts two food festivals each year, in the spring and autumn.
In Stratford-upon-Avon itself, those with a sweet tooth will find themselves in their element, with a traditional sweet shop, fudge pantry and chocolatier all in the town – as well as a Forties-style tea shop.
LOCAL PRODUCE
In West Sussex, home to Renaissance Villages development Durrants Village, local produce is celebrated, with restaurants and pubs offering seasonal menus drawing on the abundance of regional ingredients.
A short drive away in Horsham, you will find a weekly local produce market featuring artisan producers, all from within a 40-mile radius. Every autumn the town also plays host to a month-long food and drink festival, while the Sussex Produce Company is an award-winning shop in Steyning that sells goods from more than 70 local farmers and suppliers.
Meanwhile, Bramshott Place in Hampshire is close to the home of Tunworth Cheese – winner of “Supreme Champion” at the British Cheese Awards, and the area is also famous for its watercress, with an annual festival celebrating the peppery leaf.
STREET FOOD
Millbrook Village is one of the UK’s only retirement communities to be situated in a city centre, historic Exeter, allowing ample opportunity to take care of the city’s thriving food scene. Exeter hosts a regular street food market, where you can watch cuisine from all around the world cooked in front of you – from Vietnamese cuisine to authentic American barbecue.
The city’s Queen Street dining quarter also has an array of bustling restaurants, bars and cafes on the waterfront.
FRESH SEAFOOD
Exeter is also a gateway to Devon’s many amazing coastal towns, which means you will have no shortage of fresh seafood to sample. Salcombe and Dartmouth both host their own annual crab festivals, celebrating this abundant regional speciality.
At Durrants Village in West Sussex, you’re just a short drive from the seaside, including bustling Brighton, where gourmet restaurants such as the Salt Room and the Little Fish Market, in nearby Hove, serve up fresh local catches – although you may prefer the more traditional fish and chips on the seafront.