After our nights in Castle Combe and Cirencester (blogged about here and here, if you’re not all caught up) we wanted to end our Cotswolds adventure with some sort of epic finale. Everyone was back at work and Instagram was awash with green juice and sweaty post-run selfies, yet here we were still desperately clutching on to Christmas with our brie covered claws. It wasn’t time to put the port away just yet. Don’t make us.

Luckily I’d found the ideal place to hole up and pretend real life wasn’t happening, a place where Henry VIII himself had done the very same centuries before: Thornbury Castle.

I wouldn’t have sought out a Tudor castle as a home away from home (though I will going forward, they’re very comfortable) but I’d found myself on Secret Escapes again after booking our Castle Inn stay and they had a special “advent calendar deal” which seemed worthy of investigation. There was a knight in shining armour on the lead picture and the prospect of pretending to be an ACTUAL Tudor royal – complete with inclusive two course dinner – seemed too good an opportunity to pass up, especially as they were throwing in a bunch of flowers for anyone who booked before midnight. (Apparently I will hand over my credit card for anything as long as there’s a dramatic clock countdown saying the deal will expire at midnight, I am a marketer’s dream).

The drive from Cirencester to Thornbury was about an hour and we realised when we got there that it’s not actually in the Cotswolds at all, but it was a lovely drive through the countryside to get there. It’s about half an hour north of Bristol which reminded me for the umpteenth time that I REALLY need to go to Bristol (and Bath!) but we only had time for our castle on this trip. “Our castle”. I liked saying that.

As you’d expect with a castle, the whole thing is just ridiculous from the moment you approach it. “Are we actually going to sleep in here? Is this ACTUALLY our address for the next 24 hours? And are you sure I can’t borrow a horse and try a bit of jousting in the grounds later?”. It felt weird to be allowed into the car park without having to faff about looking for a National Trust card.

The first thing you see as you open the door to the castle is your bodyguard for the duration of your stay…

And from there on in everything just blows your mind a bit as you try to fathom everything those walls have seen over the past 500 years. Anne Boleyn honeymooned here, for goodness sake.

We were taken to our room and whilst I had pretty high expectations, it was even more bonkers than I could have hoped for. The extravagant bay window is the only of its kind in Europe and to look out over the grounds and church felt pretty damn regal. Which is, I guess, appropriate.

I’d arranged for us to have a tour of the castle and grounds with a local historian (this is offered by reception when you book and is really easy to arrange) and I am SO glad we did as this really brought the whole thing to life. The tales of paranoia and envy and backstabbing over the centuries would gladly put any Jeremy Kyle episode to shame.

After our tour we relaxed in the lounge with books, cards, gin and cake (is there a better way to relax?!) and before we knew it it was time to get ready for dinner.

Regardless of the history and the general opulence of STAYING IN A CASTLE, dinner was a true highlight. It was the best meal we had over our three nights away (it was actually the best meal I’ve had in ages full stop) and every course was proper knock-it-out-of-the-park brilliant. We’d been asked our dietary requirements well in advance of our stay which was great as it meant the kitchen had time to prepare bespoke menus and amuse-bouche and we had lots of choice as vegetarian and pescetarian fusspots.

I need to mention the cheese trolley though because that was just something else. If you are going to Thornbury Castle then do not pass up on the cheese. DO NOT. These cheeses were exceptionally good, especially the aged cheddar drizzled with truffle honey. Oy! I’d also recommend you try the Three Bridges Botrytis Semillon if you’re going all in for the cheese. It was the perfect pairing.

We slept really well (errrr, except for when I woke up in the night suddenly really paranoid about Tudor ghosts) and waking up in a four poster bed is something I definitely recommend…

The good food continued through to breakfast, where I enjoyed dining under this super casual baby…

And whilst I forgot to take any pics of the food, it was again delicious.

It was particularly hard to say goodbye to Thornbury Castle, partly because I’d grown accustomed to high ceilings and open fires in every room but mostly because I didn’t want our mini-break to be over. And I didn’t want Christmas to be over! But I do love knowing that these special places are only a couple of hours away in the car. All our hotels were in areas that we want to explore more.

Now, how do I convince ST that we need a four poster bed at home?!

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Details and rates for Thornbury Castle (as well as some properly gorgeous pics of the hotel) are here. As mentioned in the post, we booked our dinner, bed and breakfast package on Secret Escapes for £229, which was advertised as 45% off the usual rack rate. This post isn’t sponsored, discounted or PR-ified in anyway (is PR-ified a word?), I just really do love Secret Escapes as every trip we’ve booked with them has been a triumphant success.

After our sleepy step back in time in Castle Combe, we headed for the bright lights of Cirencester.

Cirencester felt like a capital city compared to Castle Combe (it has a House of Fraser!) but it’s still very Cotswolds: steeped in history with gorgeous buildings and plenty of tea rooms to hide away in.

Now I should start with a full disclosure before we dig into this post: we were guests of The Kings Head hotel. I’d been asked if I’d like to review it last year but hadn’t had time, so when I booked the Castle Inn stay I had the (somewhat brilliant) idea to see if I could combine the two trips. And I could, they had a room available! HURRAH! The Kings Head is only a 40 minute drive from Castle Combe, so it worked perfectly.

As soon as we arrived at the hotel I knew we were going to love it. I was basing this purely on the velvet sofas in reception, but when we were taken up to our room it turned out I was right to assume that this was my spiritual interiors home.

Please do feel free to note the wallpaper, the cushions, the coffee table, the curtains, the textures, the lighting and the general ambience. (But also feel free to forget all this and pretend it was all MY idea if I do ever manage to recreate this look in one of our bedrooms).

We really did adore this room, not just because it came with homemade chocolates and cake slices (although all hotel rooms should, I have now decided) but because it was truly very comfortable.

The bed wasn’t just king size, it was the kind of size where you could easily forget anybody else is in the bed at all. (Call me unromantic, but that is my dream sleep situation). The sofa was so sumptuous that I very nearly took it apart to try to see who made it and then there was the window seat which proved to be the perfect place to lay with a book.

There was also a GIGANTIC terrace which, if it hadn’t been a comically freezing January day, we’d have thoroughly enjoyed.

Then the room also had the little extra that always makes any hotel room feel that bit more swanky: stairs.

Yep, our bathroom was up a flight of stairs. I LOVED THIS SO MUCH.

We headed back out to explore Cirencester a bit more, starting with the Corinium Museum as I was desperate to see the Tony Meeuwissen exhibition that I’d spied being advertised in the window. The museum was really interesting and I’m ashamed to say I would never have known about the rich Roman history of the area if we’d not gone in, so it’s worth a visit. Understanding the significance of various local historical artefacts meant we could better appreciate a lot of the local art we’d seen too – and understand the love of giant hares! (I really want a giant hare).

A casual 2nd century mosaic.

There were loads of places we could have gone to for lunch but the sweet treats on the counter of Jack’s lured us in. I could have had something sensible like a toasted sandwich but I “didn’t want much” as I was having a massage back at the hotel shortly after. So I just ordered a slab of cake the size of a small baby. Ok then!

After exploring the church and nosing around some of the shops, it was time to head back to the hotel for my spa appointment. YES.

It was a great disappointment to realise I wouldn’t be able to smuggle the spa reception chairs home in my suitcase.

The vaulted subterranean spa is a wonderful little hideaway. I didn’t bring my cossie (WHY?!) so I couldn’t make use of the jacuzzi and steam rooms, but I did enjoy chilling out on the fluffy relaxation beds with a stack of magazines. I was lucky enough to be the only one down there and I’m sure I’d have fallen asleep if I hadn’t been heading off for a treatment.

I had the full body massage and it was really lovely, particularly because there was a decent playlist (no whale music here) and my therapist was really good at making sure the pressure was ok and that she wasn’t going over any bruising and so on. (Sounds obvious, but communication does make a big difference).

Before long it was time for my favourite activity – cards in the hotel bar! I need to give a shout-out to Danilo who was working in the bar the evening we were there, he could make a mean vodka martini. When I used to write about bars, I was always told that martinis were one of the best cocktails to judge a bar by and it does make sense. They are very simple drinks, but with so many variations to consider (dry, wet, perfect, dirty, ya de ya da) there’s a lot that can wrong. Danilo’s were exceptional. (He used to work in Bull in a China Shop, so it’s no big surprise that the drinks were so good).

Heading over to the Kings Head’s restaurant for dinner, we were again treated to fabulous service from our waiter Matteo. He really looked after us when we had a problem with one of the starters, rectifying it quickly. Having worked in some great London kitchens himself, it was nice to chat to someone so passionate about the food he was serving. He really made our evening.

Now I know I said in my post yesterday that I was thrilled to have anything-but-risotto as the veggie option, but I did opt for risotto at The Kings Head. It was my favourite type – beetroot, goat cheese and walnut – and it was what we had on our wedding day, so I wasn’t going to pass it up 😀

It was ridiculously lovely and the standout highlight of the four courses.

The wine list was really good too and we were so very excited to see our favourite English wine on the menu…

Do try it if you ever see it on a wine list!

The next day, breakfast was just what the doctor ordered…

And then all that was left before check-out was a tour of the hotel to see the rooms we’d otherwise not have stumbled across. A guided snoop around, essentially.

I was glad we did the tour as I’d have never dreamed the hotel was so big otherwise. THERE ARE SO MANY ROOMS. It’s like a tardis. I found five different dreamy spaces for imaginary parties/weddings and I was a bit gutted there wasn’t a wedding going on that day which I could have gatecrashed.

We also took a look at the other category rooms (I’m always slightly wary of raving about a hotel when it may be that you were just given by far the nicest room for review purposes) and let me tell you straight up…ALL the rooms at every category are gorgeous.

This is an entry-level room, for gawd’s sake…

We were sad to say goodbye to The Kings Head but we weren’t going home just yet…we had a Tudor castle to stay in first! More on that in tomorrow’s post 😉

Thanks very much for having us Kings Head, we had a fab time.

x

B&B rates at The Kings Head start at £140. Our room was a “Feature Room” where B&B rates are from £179. You can find all the hotel info on their website here.

We were incredibly lucky to be guests of The Kings Head Hotel. You can read more about how I work with brands here. This is not a paid-for post.

Ever so often I allow myself to get so bored that I’ll willingly choose to read my emails. New in at Topshop? Go on then, show me the shoes. A great deal from Groupon that can’t be missed? OK, if you insist! I might even read an email from LinkedIn if I’m feeling particularly spiritless. And so it was on a cold Suffolk afternoon in December, surrounded by wrapping paper and distracted by audiobook offers and cheap flights, that I found myself wooed by a Secret Escapes deal.

Admittedly, I had at first fallen in love with a last minute trip to a Greek island, but a night away in the quaint Cotswolds village of Castle Combe seemed a little more practical. The pictures were pretty, it was only a two hour drive away from London and if I booked within the next few hours (the pressure! THE EXCITEMENT!), it would be just £100 with a welcome bottle of fizz and all the breakfast you could hope for. So 39% off, basically. SOLD!

As this little jaunt was prompted entirely by a deal and not any sort of actual “research”, I wasn’t sure what to expect as we drove through the Wiltshire countryside to get there. Passing through the teeny hamlet of Tiddleywink was an obvious highlight, but as we dropped down into the wooded valley of Castle Combe it was immediately clear why this little place has been awarded “Prettiest Village in England” so many times. It’s prettier than pretty. It’s “what tourists think England looks like” pretty. And I fell in love.

We checked into our room at The Castle Inn and I went a little bit giddy about having a four poster bed…

And I also decided we needed these exact tiles in our bathroom at home…

Call me an exhibitionist but I LOVE a big window in a bathroom

Then it was time to head out and explore…

This didn’t take long – there’s only a short row of houses, a tea room, a pub and a church – but it was delightful to stroll about in the chilly January sunshine and to pretend to have done enough hard graft to have earned jacket potatoes the size of our heads at The White Hart.

This 14th Century pub had roaring fires and a great big golden lab to stroke (she was a local’s dog as opposed to an Official Pub Dog, I cannot guarantee she is always present for cuddles) and there was good football chat to be found at the bar, so we were very happy.

We dozed in the afternoon, then headed down to the hotel restaurant for drinks and dinner. Sat once again by an open fire, our meal was very good – I was overly excited to see a noodle dish as one of the vegetarian options and went all in for this, almost wanting to write a note to the chef in my leftover soy thanking them for offering something that’s not risotto. I opted for sticky toffee pudding for dessert (as I always will, if it’s there to be chosen) and I could have happily bathed in its sweet sauce.

After a sound night’s sleep, we awoke to horses outside our window and a seductive siren song from the breakfast room downstairs.

The breakfast was GREAT (capital letters awarded as there was fried bread on the menu) and the pastries were the nicest we had over our three days away. (Ah yes, I didn’t mention that this deal prompted me to book another two hotels. Ahem).

Once we’d checked out, we snooped around the grounds of the fancy Manor House Hotel next door (I’ll be watching out for deals here!) and got back on the road to head to our next hotel in Cirencester.

I don’t know The Cotswolds very well at all, but if there’s a more charming place than Castle Combe then I’d (genuinely) like to know about it. We’ll definitely be coming back, heck we were on Zoopla looking at nearby houses before we left, and whilst I’m sure it can get pretty overrun come summertime it’s an amazing place to see. I felt as though I’d stepped back in time there and it’s easy to understand why it’s used as a film location; with no street lights or TV aerials you could easily pretend you’re in the 15th century as you wander around.

I’ll be blogging about our Cirencester stay tomorrow, so for a more modern take on all things Cotswolds come back to read that one 🙂

You can find more info about Castle Combe on the village website here. Details and rates for The Castle Inn (as well as some properly gorgeous pics of the area) are here. As mentioned before we booked on Secret Escapes which made the B&B rate £100 for an exec room and I highly recommend Secret Escapes for nights away like this. This isn’t sponsored, discounted or PR-ified in anyway (is PR-ified a word?), I just really do love Secret Escapes as every trip we’ve booked with them has been a triumphant success.

If you’ve read my first two blog posts from our anniversary weekend in Cornwall (here and here if not!), then you’ll already know that we had an exceptionally lovely time. What I haven’t blogged about yet though is the beginner’s surf lesson we had with Nick Tiscoe, and as this was my husband’s favourite part of the whole trip I thought it deserved its own post.

Nick’s Surf Club is affiliated with the two hotels we stayed in (very handy if you want to charge your lesson to your room or want reception to organise it all) and the surf shack is perched just in front of Bedruthan, meaning it couldn’t really be easier to get started. Of course you don’t have to be staying at The Scarlet or Bedruthan to have lessons, but if you’re the type of person who wakes up 5 minutes before you’re supposed to be somewhere (ahem) then it’s a great spot.

All the equipment is provided for you so once the wetsuits were fitted and numerous Point Break quotes had been shoehorned in, we headed down to the beach to begin the lesson…

You need to warm up and have the faintest idea what you’re doing before heading into the water of course, so the lesson started on the sand with some stretches, a little jog and Nick explaining everything you’d need to know to ride a wave whilst lying on the board. Standing on the board would come later as if this bit wasn’t mastered, the next part was never going to make much sense.

As this was a one-on-one lesson, Nick was really able to focus on ST and tailor the lesson to him perfectly. Nick asked what other sports he’d done and was able to use snowboarding references to make it as easy as possible for ST to grasp what he had to do. Having sussed it on the sand, it wasn’t long before they were heading into the sea and putting it all into practice.

At this point I adopted the role of Chief Photographer and Jealous Bystander, as I’d been cruelly advised by the hospital to not take part thanks to my gammy lungs. I can tell you this though, it looked SO MUCH FUN.

After plenty of successful wave riding, the boys came in and it was time to move onto part two: STANDING ON THE BOARD.

Now I’m not going to lie, I find it hard enough to get up from the floor if I’ve been sat down for a while so I’m not sure I’d have ever mastered this part, but it was really fun to watch ST relax into it and – with the brilliant direction from Nick – really get to grips with what the transition from laying down to standing up entailed.

Back to the sea they went and the quest to stand on the board commenced!

The waves are powerful in Mawgan Porth and the whole “just stand up on a surf board!” thing is a lot harder than it looks, but ST never seemed frustrated by the repeated face plants into the water. He knew he’d get it eventually and the constant encouragement and feedback from Nick meant that by the end of the lesson, he’d cracked it.

Even as a bystander it was a really fun morning, so I wasn’t surprised that ST said it was the best part of the trip. I suppose the biggest compliment was that as soon as we were back in the hotel, he was trying to book another lesson! There wasn’t time in the end to squeeze another session in, but he’ll definitely be calling Nick when we return to Cornwall.

Lessons run all year round and a two hour one-on-one lesson costs £75, including equipment. Group lessons are available too and you can find all booking info here.

Vlog to come tomorrow morning!

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