Morning Coffee at Bovey Castle, Devon - A Surprising 'Frugal' Tip

My parents took my sister and me to Bovey Castle for morning coffee on my 40th birthday in October.  It was such a great idea.  We had a reservation to go to Riverford Field Kitchen in the evening and knew there'd be a lot of food served , so decided that, rather than go out for lunch, we'd have a 'posh' morning coffee and save ourselves for the evening.

Bovey Castle is a luxury hotel in the heart of the countryside within Dartmoor National Park.  It is really difficult to find!  I was following signs to North Bovey, and it's close to that village but not within it as I had assumed.  I had to ask two dog walkers, a motorcyclist and two horse riders for directions and was half an hour late (no mobile reception and no Satnav).  If you visit, do yourself a favour and follow the directions from the website and don't make assumptions that because you're a local you can navigate those lanes.

The car park was full of high spec luxury cars (and my rubbishy old filthy estate car looked hilariously out of place) so I was too embarrassed to let the Plus Fours-clad valet park my car (wish I had a photo of him!)  But I wasn't here to be over-awed by the luxury, I fully intended to immerse myself in it.

 

My parents had chosen well.  The main high ceilinged drawing room had a minstrel's gallery and they had sunk into the deep sofas with the most spectacular view over the valley.  Look how the brass handle gleams.

There was the option of sitting in the informal bistro area for a morning coffee, but we wanted the plumped up cushions and wood panelling of the drawing rooms:

I chose a supremely rich chocolate tart to go alongside my pot of tea.  Took no photos of the food or drink - it was almost irrelevant to the surroundings.  There were some really appealing things - the round table with 100 magazines fanned out like the dial of a clock made my sis and I (busy mums most of the time) wish for a bit more luxury time to curl up on a hotel sofa and chill.  I also adored the cheeky parrot in the neighbouring room that would call out and whistle if he spotted you walking past.  The tweeting cage of birds at Reception gave the entrance hall a homely feel, despite the grand setting.  Also the waitress was a bit of a cheeky bird herself and was eager to show us around the whole of the ground floor and even let us be nosy and look inside the private dining rooms.

Can you tell I was enjoying myself?

The bar area - for my next visit?

I have ambiguous feelings towards boxed butterflies.  So beautiful and yet so hunted and dead just for the decor.

 Children are welcome.  I doubt my kids will ever come here, to be honest.  (And this is why: a Junior State Room for two adults and two children costs from £419/ night.)  It's quite a 'huntin', shootin' and fishin'' kind of place and there was a tweed jacketed chap showing some smartly dressed kids around the garden - no idea if he was a member of staff or their Dad. Children are invited to go and collect eggs every morning and the list of country pursuits is phenomenal if that's your kind of thing, some of them e.g. the daily falconry display, croquet are free of charge.  (I wonder if I can rock up as a non-resident and do all that stuff too?!)

 Welly rack inside the front porch

Morning coffee and cake for four in these luxurious surroundings set my Dad back about £30.  I was very grateful for the treat, but I also felt that it was a great idea - if you feel like you crave a bit of luxury, but can't afford to go the whole hog and go on holiday or go out for a three course meal, a pot of tea in a posh hotel can make you feel like a very happy and lucky (forty year old) princess.

Contemporary Craft Fair, Bovey Tracey, June 2011

Today I spent the morning at Bovey Tracey Contemporary Craft Fair thanks to a generously donated free ticket from jeweller extraordinaire, Christine Kaltoft.  (Sorry, Christine, I didn't find you there today; I shall look for you on Saturday.)

General view of fair:

Here are some of the craft stands that particularly piqued my interest.  This was my first love-at-first-sight - wonderfully quirky jewellery by Helen Noakes - (great website too, Helen!)  mini plastic figures inside perspex with silver fixings.  Very tempted to get some mini swimmer cufflinks made for N, but probably won't be able to find £100 to do so!

I was struck by the beautiful and subtly different blue glazes created by Taja (based in Moretonhampstead).  What a nice man!  I would really like some of these tea mugs:

Anya Keeley won the 'Best Stall' prize for 2011 - beautiful trinkets and animals made from recycled materials, books, maps.

And I admire the pzazz of Alison from Dr Beans Bags (Isle of Wight) who bring along customised handmade bags just for the denizens of Bovey Tracey!  (Does she do this for every village?  Clever lady!)

I attended a printmaking workshop for two hours and discovered the instant and random joys of monotype printing with Brian Norman:

My 'Sunset over Manhattan' looked better on the perspex block than on the paper afterwards!

At lunchtime, the rain arrived (therefore no photo of my shared al fresco lunch with L and two charming men who held up an umbrella to shelter the poor shivering ladies-who-lunched!) but I feasted on a homemade crab quiche alongside a scrummy chocolate and vanilla cupcake from the Devon Guild Cafe stand.

The overall quality of the wares on offer is top notch.  A totally brilliant place to buy all the presents you need for all your female friends and rellies.  The workshop was great fun (and very cheap) and the food was excellent.  The fair is on this weekend, Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 June 2011.  Get yourself over to Bovey for an inspiring day out!

Click here to see more of my experiences from the fair in 2010.

Posh Devon Cream Tea at Lewtrenchard Manor Hotel

We were treated this week to a 'posh afternoon tea' at Lewtrenchard Manor Hotel.  In the middle of stunning Devon countryside (bordering on Cornwall) that feels like it's miles from anywhere, this is an oak-panelled Jacobean mansion with a roaring log fire that was just right for a cold winter's day.

The ten of us were celebrating my Dad's birthday and we had a huge circular table in a panelled room to ourselves.  The children were determined to run around and around the outside of the table.  So they did.  We were brought out freshly baked (sultana) scones and small bowls of clotted cream and jam.  Rather embarrassingly (they didn't know about our distended Christmas bellies) we had to ask for more cream and they brought us a cereal bowl full.  The finger sandwiches weren't dainty, but the smoked salmon and cucumber ones were tasty.  Too much mustard on the ham version.

We ate all the chocolate cake, most of the lemon cake and only one piece of the seeded carrot cake.  We're that kind of family.  Shall I mention the member of our party who brought out their freezer bags and pocketed the remaining cakes to take home.....?  (wasn't me!)

Top marks for the scones - difficult to get right, superb when they are; sandwiches pretty good and the cakes were good, but could have been smaller and a little more....elegant... to fit in with the surroundings, rather than hefty big rectangles that looked straight out of a tray bake.

A lovely afternoon with family - thanks, Mum!

Lewtrenchard have the interestingly named 'Purple Carrot' experience where up to eight diners sit in a row and watch their meal prepared for them on flat screen monitors in front of them.


Chef's commentary is apparently optional.  Wouldn't be my first choice of a gourmet night out, but I suppose if I was getting bored of my dining companion, or needed something different, eating gourmet food whilst watching a kitchen on CCTV cameras might be a fun way to spend some time...