Sorry for the silence; I've been racing through Peter James' Roy Grace series of police thrillers set in Brighton, and have struggled to put any of them down long enough to blog. I'm particularly enjoying the series because, thanks to years of living in Brighton, I've visited the majority of the locations in which James sets his scenes. Except Brighton police station, I hasten to add!
Today, Tom and I went on a drive through the countryside, originally planning to stop for lunch at a lovely looking pub we'd spied on previous jaunts. Unfortunately, upon arrival we discovered that it was actually rather run down and the menu was a short list of overpriced items requiring the sole culinary skill of being able to close a panini toaster. Sad face.
We headed onwards to find an alternative lunch location, and ended up at another new discovery- the Cock Inn (teehee) in Wivelsfield Green, where I devoured a cappuccino (with a FREE BISCUIT. Win.), and a vast plateful of all the healthy food groups - double carbohydrates, garlic butter, melted cheese, and mayonnaise. Yum.
Bubble, bubble... straight to my thighs...
We then headed to Sheffield Park and Gardens (our third visit to date) to try and walk off at least some of the cheese. However, driving through the gate, we noticed a sign pointing towards The Kitchen Garden Brewery and decided to make a short detour to investigate.
We ended up stumbling into a Narnia-like dreamworld, barely two minutes' drive from civilisation (and normality!). Except this Narnia had a vineyard instead of an allegorical, feline Jesus, trees hung with birdcages instead of an Ice Queen, and a vast shed of pleasingly dusty bottles of wine instead of Mr Tumnus.
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| Just out of shot- a bottle of ale brewed for George V!! |
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| Perusing the vast selection... |
It was hands down the weirdest place we've visited in months, and it was wonderful. We purchased several bottles of beer, one of cider and one of wine (and I almost bought a vintage tea urn from an old barge too), and will undoubtedly be returning soon - even if only to check we weren't dreaming!
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| My favourite parts were the signs describing how best to savour each bottle |
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| We ended up choosing the one on the right, because the sign said: "Organically grown and naturally produced - you should live forever" |
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| Top left shows an award-winning cider. Obviously, I bought some. It would've been rude not to. |
We spent most of our time in the gardens sat in the sunshine watching a cricket match. Whilst we lazed about, I gave serious consideration to starting some form of regular exercise regime, to replace my usual routine of sitting on my bum reading books and eating cheese. Obviously, the consideration was all theoretical...
This evening has mostly consisted of sampling a new flavour of tea, thanks to a discount voucher from my Mum, to try and placate my aching stomach. I'm refusing to believe the stomach ache is due to excessive cheese consumption, because that's not a real thing. Right?!
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| Look at how pretty the packaging is! |
Have you eaten any good cheese recently? Or found any mysterious wine barns? I'd love to hear!
Katie xxx
What a lovely day! I have the same problem - food piling up on my thighs but too much time sat computing and reading - I keep thinking about exercise, but I know I will never do it!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to visit the kitchen garden brewery - it sounds great! The tea sounds interesting too. I only buy clipper tea as I like my bags unbleached, but I've only ever had their regular black tea.
I think if I could find something I genuinely enjoyed doing I'd be more up for it. But the only exercise I really love is dancing like a lunatic to cheesy pop music from the 80s- and I'm never awake enough at 10pm to go clubbing any more. Why don't clubs open at 7pm, so I can get home at 9.30?!
DeleteThe tea was pretty good- it actually has some flavour to it (unlike some other herbal teas which, as my friend Holly says, taste like used bathwater). xx
Mmmm cheese - my fav is baked camembert & garlic with crusty bread and chutneys! Will check out those books - sound good!
ReplyDeleteFinally something that shows we weren't formed from the same primodial homeware and adventure soup - I wasn't keen on those Peter James books.. I *am* however very keen on the wine labels and kitchen brewery! That sign is brilliant, my next move will be to persuade Clem we need a 'beware of the silly dog' sign for little pigsy xxx
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