Review: A Day at Bovey Castle in the Sunshine

Bovey Castle is a stunning place (or resort as they call it) nr North Bovey in the middle of Dartmoor National Park, Devon.  It is a hotel, golf course, spa plus bistro and restaurant.

We visited on a stunningly hot July day and made the most of it.  You can just see the edge of the Boules pit in the foreground of the photo above.  We spent a lot of the day on those two sun loungers that are almost out of the picture.  And yes, I did get sunburnt....! Grrrrr.

There are many public rooms where you can slurp a cuppa or read a magazine but we were really impressed with the bistro lunch.  There is a beautiful terrace where you can sit in the sun or shade and admire the stunning views.   Above you can see the Lemon Sole that I ordered and the homemade fishcakes that my partner devoured.

Thanks to the generosity of my Australian friend, I had a Spa Experience which meant my first time getting a Hot Stone Massage (this was fairly firm on my back and was preceded by a blissful foot scrub) and a Mini Facial which was exquisite.  The beautician was very skilled and made me feel lovely.  My partner used the gym and then we had the indoor pool and sauna to ourselves as we made the most of them.  There was also a steam room but I am  not a fan of them.  My only quibble was that the Ladies changing rooms had a rack of lockers but they were all locked and had no keys.  I would have liked to use one and the changing room was consequently rather cluttered with everyone's clothes and bags.

Day membership (which my partner used) was £25 which includes all activities and towels excl lunch and golf.  There are some good Groupon deals for the golf at the moment (July 15).  Overall I would highly recommend it.  They say that children are very welcome too - it was during the week and we saw none although we did see the Falconer heading out with his dog and birds.

Devon Cafe Review: Ruby, Exeter - Fab venue and burgers

After a quick stroll around the RAMM, Exeter (a fantastic free museum) we had an almighty lunch in Ruby, located on the corner next to Northernhay Gardens and in the old Effings cafe.  Also it is conveniently close to Central station and the rest of central Exeter.

The place is named after the local Ruby breed of cows of Devon and is fabulously decorated as a 'modern diner'.  Red leatherette booths, high chairs for takeaways and an upstairs galleried seating area. 1950s music playing and a checked floor.

The manager couldn't have done more for us.  He was so cheerful and on-the-ball.  He explained that Ruby is not a chain (it sort of looks like one, perhaps as it is so professionally branded) and they have taken the best elements of burger joints that they admire particularly ones from London and the environs.  So locally sourced food where possible (the buns are from Emma's bakery in Exeter, the meat is from Devon) which tastes mighty fine.  An updated 50s diner for year 2013 in a hugely spacious room.

 I love the black and white retro menu.  Apparently the waffles and the shakes are amazing but we had no space for them as we overdid the savoury course:

 We chose the 'Sliders' which is a course for £15 of three mini burgers of choice (we each chose a pork, a beef and a vegetarian one) plus two side orders.  This is for hungry people!

The battered red onion rings were astounding as were the 'proper chips', and my partner loved the potato salad and the purple coleslaw.  There was nothing wrong with the 'poppers' (deep fried green peppers stuffed with cream cheese) but they beat us!  The burgers were all great - vegetarians will not be disappointed with the 'Faloumi' Burger (unless they have very small mouths - the burger is very tall) and I think although it was a close run thing, the Classic beefburger was slightly better than the pulled pork.  They were both lovely.

My partner couldn't eat all the sides (after eating five burgers...) so they provided a take away box for the leftover cold salads.  If I recommended Ruby to anyone (and I would certainly), I would advise the waiter service (it's more comfortable and less of a faff than the DIY version) and try the Classic burger with 'proper chips' and a shared waffle or shake.  Apparently the alcoholic shakes ('Hardshakes') are a big hit too.

We went there again in early December 2013 as regular customers and it was brilliant again.  The excellent 'summer' potato salad is replaced by Sweet Potato Wedges temporarily, but that was the main difference.

We were guests of Ruby, but I was free to write a critical review of my choice 

Review: Tapas at The White Hart, Dartington nr Totnes, Devon

We were staying overnight in one of the newly renovated rooms at Dartington Hall.  The check in was friendly and swift and we were shown to smallish but very pleasant double en-suite, through a lovely low arched 'hobbit' door overlooking the quadrangle.

We had enough time to unpack and have a look through the cupboards and then we had a reservation at 630pm in the bar for English Tapas.  The offer at the moment is £4.50 for a plate of tapas or £9 for three of them.  The bar has been removed from the White Hart - the bar is now in the dining hall and the pub is full of tables and chairs - it does seem cosier and more welcoming.

There was no Spanish meatballs, jamon, Manchego cheese or anchovies in sight.  I was surprised to have tapas as our menu but it was like lots of interesting and full flavoured starters.  Recommended.  Full (changing) menu at the base of this post.

Not wanting to miss out, we chose almost everything.  Particular favourites were the Roast Pork with Apple and the Duck Salad.  Next time we go, I quite fancy having one 'tapa' as a starter with some bread and then four to share (between two) for main course.

Then we watched A Hijacking, a Danish film.  I loved it, my partner fell asleep during it.  And then a short walk across the path to get back to our room where I slept very soundly.  It is very quiet.  My other half reported that the bedding (ie duvet) was feather and made him snuffle.  He declared the breakfast delicious - I skipped this and had a shower instead.

Overall we had a fab time - our only issues if we had any were that the duvet was feather filled (I believe), there were three tiny pieces of crab shell in my crab cakes and one of the knobs fell off in the shower (it was stuck on with Blu tack!)

My friend collected me at 945 (check out is 10am during the week) and we visited the local Dartington shops and had a cup of tea.  A very relaxing 24 hours!

I went to Dartington as a guest and it was free of charge.  I was not required to be biased in my reporting in any way.

Served daily 12pm – 9pm

All British Tapas Dishes £4.50 each or 3 for £12.95

Opening offer, through May & June buy 2 British Tapas Dishes, get the 3rd Free (per person)

Pan seared Lamb Cutlets with a creamed mash swirl and a pea puree

Slow braised Pork Belly with apple three ways and black pudding

Mini Cottage Pie

Ham Hock terrine with piccalilli and garlic croute

Deep fried crispy Whitebait

Seared King Scallops with cauliflower puree and pancetta crisps

Thai style crab balls with a lime mayonnaise

Gravadlax of Salmon with a chive blini and a sweet mustard dressing

Wild mushroom risotto with white truffle oil (v)

Goats cheese terrine with a Waldorf garnish (v)

Salad of watercress, feta, pea shoots and broad beans (v)

Mediterranean vegetable filo pie with roquette and balsamic glaze (v)

Sides £2.95 each

Basket of fries

Basket of sweet potato fries

French beans in garlic butter

Broccoli with toasted almonds

Parsley new potatoes

Side salad

Hotel Chocolat Easter 2013 Review: Beau Bunny Choc Egg

Time for Easter already?  Well it's time to start thinking about it.  Hotel Chocolat kindly sent me a Beau Bunny to sample or give away....I chose to sample it.  They don't seem to sell this from their website in the same format - you can have either the egg or the mini eggs, but their shop may have a more diverse range.  They seem to have turned MR BB into a bit of a 'product' but he is quite cute and the chocolate was OK so I don't really mind.

 I'd like to point out there was nothing wrong with their P and P.  The white scratch on the top of the egg was made by me in my eagerness with some scissors to rip off the ribbon and cellophane.

 So it was a nice transfer of a rabbit plus 6 mini eggs.  We all preferred the 3 caramel filled ones, the other three were 'praline' and we are not that mad on nuts.

The large itself I didn't have a problem with,nice and thick with a good flavour, but my partner said it tasted a bit of coconut which is not necessarily good for a premium chocolate.

Overall 8/10 - enough for three of us to share as a dessert, or for one person at Easter
They are suitable for vegetarians and all of their chocolate is ethically sourced.

Riverford field kitchen- food bloggers' delight!

A fantastic lunch was held on Friday 22 Feb at the Riverford Field Kitchen, near buckfastleigh. We were supposed to go for a trip around the farm first but

a) it was too cold
b) we arrived bit too late so we sat and had a hot drink

Marcus woodsmoke kindly gave me a lift and seemed to be of same opinion.

The food was superb. Great quality and as well cooked as you would dream of. The company was excellent. Lots of food bloggers to natter with
 Choclette 
queen_frugal
country woodsmoke 
and hungryhinny  plus Guy Watson who owns the farm, two PR girls from Riverford who were really nice plus partners of Choclette and frugal queen . A lovely trestle table full of good food and fine foodie conversations.

The menu - using the best produce from the farm - so fresh and local - cooked just minutes before we ate.

The tables laid up before we embarked!

Our beautiful table.

Some good inspiration to browse

The amazing sticky toffee pudding with homemade custard.  Delicious (and no supper for me!)

Hoorags - 'Trendy' Bandanas

Is a bandana ever trendy for a cancer sufferer?  Not sure about that but this Winter Willow one that is $14.95 from Hoo Rags is pretty good.

They sent it to me to review and as a Xmas present and I was delighted.  I wear a variety of bandanas from the Force Cancer Centre in Exeter, UK which are only about £3 each.  They are thinner in material and width than the Hoo Rag but serve the same purpose.  Keep my baldy head from view and keep me warm from this bitter English winter.

 You can also twist them, wear them as a snood, scarf, topknot, beanie...but I prefer to just wear as a simple hat...

Overall, a nice design, keeps me warm (maybe) trendy.  It's a tricky time, all gifts are good!

Review: Archies Loft, Coverack, Cornwall. Pizza with a view

When staying in Coverack, The Lizard we always try to make time to pop into Archies Loft.  It is owned by Roskillys the local ice cream family, and they basically sell freshly made cookies, pizzas when they are ready and ice cream.  There is no indoor seating, but a couple of tables and chairs outside to sit and munch on your homemade goodies.

 The seagulls look well fed (and unusually quiet!)

I love it there.