Breakfast was still a bit chaotic with not everything being where it should be at the same time. At least we had a pot of tea for two, although sadly there were not enough teabags so it was still a rather weak brew. At least we both had a good night’s sleep, Mr C had got the heaters regulated to just the right temperature.

Fine weather was forecast so we headed off to Hampton Court, Castle and Gardens, a place I had not heard of before I picked up a leaflet whilst we were dining at the Cotford Hotel. Unusually for us we arrived at the property before it opened and were the first visitors to arrive.

The gardens are stunning they include; flower gardens, herbaceous borders, kitchen garden, magnolia walk, sunken garden,Dutch garden and a yew maze. Although badged as a castle the building is more accurately a fortified manor house dating back to the 15th century. The housekeeper took us on a guided tour of the house, explaining its potted history and the various owners of the property. When the tour was over it was time for lunch which is served in the orangery. Their cakes looked so delicious that I couldn’t resist a piece of lemon and coconut cake.

After lunch we finished our tour of the gardens and found that we had time on our hands so we perused the map to find somewhere suitable for the time we had available. We chose Little Malvern Court and Gardens which is a 15th century prior’s hall, home of the Berington family by descent since the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s.

When we arrived at Malvern Court we purchased tickets for the timed tour before going for a cup of tea in the courtyard tearoom. I couldn’t resist another piece of cake, this time spiced apple cake. We chose a seat looking over the severn valley, but unfortunately the wind had other ideas and blew up into a frenzy which meant that for safety reasons the doors had to be closed.

When we arrived for our guided tour, we learned that in addition to the other history of the house that it was a recusant house, a safe place for Catholics that did not wish to renounce their faith in favour of the Church of England. The house had a resident priest and a secret chapel in the eaves of the house. On our way up to the chapel we were shown black marks on the wooden beams which are thought to be marks warding off evil spirits. We were also shown an access point in the ceiling that could have been an escape route for the priests and worshipers, although it is not known where the exit led to. The chapel is accessed by staircase which is more ladder than stair. From the chapel we were shown where a landing had been cut away. The landing when intact would have connected the chapel to a spiral staircase on the opposite side of the building.

When we had returned downstairs we were shown the access to the spiral staircase, which still exists. After looking at the wall I was convinced that there would have been a secret panel in the wall concealing the staircase access.

The garden with its series of monastic lakes that would have provided for the monastery were a joy to visit and very photogenic.

For our evening meal we dined in the Chase Inn which provides good honest, home cooked pub fair. After we had dined we returned to Colwall Park for a nightcap.

I didn’t have the best nights sleep due to the room being cold and Mr C turning the heating off because the room was airless and dry leaving me to be too warm if I wrapped myself up in the duvet and too cold if I didn’t.

The service at breakfast was just as chaotic as had been during our previous night’s evening meal. My breakfast was delicious I chose pancakes fruit and honey. Mr C was not quite so pleased with his, he asked for full cooked breakfast minus the beans, it arrived with beans and without black pudding. In addition to that the bacon was streaky rather than back bacon, not something  usually served up for breakfast. We were also served a one person teapot between the two of us which was not a problem we just asked for another pot when it was empty. On pouring the tea from the replacement pot we realised that it was the same pot topped up with water. As there was only one teabag in the pot the resulting liquid looked like dishwater and was undrinkable.

As rain was forecast, we headed off to Worcester and some indoor activities. Our first port of call was the City Museum and Art Gallery which houses the Worcestershire Yeomanry display which was of particular interest to Mr C. I was slightly ahead of Mr C when the curator came to talk to me and asked me what I was interested in at which point Mr C joined us. We were treated to an impromptu individual tour of the displays. The curator showed us things we might not have noticed and shared lots of interesting information with us.

After the tour we headed to Worcester Cathedral. As we arrived, the Cathedral was buzzing with noise. We realized that several local schools were meeting there and engaging in a pilgrimage. We made our way to the Cathedral’s cafe for lunch where I had a ham and apple pickle toastie which was delicious. After lunch we made our way around the Cathedral, dodging the ‘pilgrim’ children until they left for the day. Once they had left the Cathedral became quite tranquil.

On our way back to Colwall we stopped off at the shopping village we had tried to visit the previous day only to find it slightly disappointing for some reason.  The cake in its cafe was delicious though!

For our anniversary meal we had booked into L’amuse-Bouche which is the restaurant for the Cotford Hotel. We were welcomed as we arrived and directed to the lounge where we enjoyed an aperitif  and nibbles whilst deciding on our menu choices. I opted for haddock, crayfish and asparagus on a bed of crushed jersey new potato. To start the meal we were brought an Amuse-Bouche which was a dainty morsel of Evesham Asparagus soup. The service, food and attention to detail was exceptional. So much so that we booked a table for our last night of our holiday.

After the meal we returned to Colwall for a nightcap in the bar before retiring to bed for the evening.

We set off on our journey a little later than intended and stopped off for a cup of tea in a local farm shop before continuing on our journey. The SatNav took us on a completely different route (via Kidderminster and not through the Herefordshire countryside) than it did on our previous visit to Colwall.

This enabled us to stop for lunch at the tea shop next to Witley Court. We both had the pea and celery soup which was delicious.

After lunch we continued on our way to Colwall hoping to stop at the shopping village we had enjoyed last time we were in the area.  Due to the SatNav choosing a different route we missed it completely so we tried to recall where it was from memory. After 45 minutes of fruitless searching we had almost given up hope when we saw it signposted. We arrived only to find that it is closed on Mondays!

By this time it was checking in time so we retraced our steps to the hotel, checked in and had a cup of tea in the hotel bar area, but sadly not the cake that we had hoped for if we  had been able to visit the shopping village.

The barman came over to us because he recognised us and was wondering if we had stayed at the hotel before. We said we had and he wondered why we had come back. I told him we liked the hotel, we liked the area and that we were there for our Wedding Anniversary. He then arranged a complimentary bottle of Prosecco for us, it would have been rude to refuse. We sat drinking the Prosecco and chatting to other customers before returning to our room to unpack and get dressed for dinner.

The service in the restaurant was a little quirky as it  had been occasionally  during our previous visit.

When we got back to the room I noticed that the book with useful hints, tips, emergency numbers and most importantly the time breakfast was served had vanished from the dressing table! Mr C went down to reception to enquire about breakfast times mentioning that the book had gone. He was informed that the books were being  updated with more up to date and better information.

The room itself was a little chilly due to the weather being more like autumn than June so we had to use the plug in heaters that we found located in the wardrobe.

I have just returned from a few days away. The weather was mostly kind to us

Then Almitra spoke again and said, And what of Marriage, master?

And he answered saying:
You were born together,
and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings
of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the
silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love.

Let it rather be a moving sea between
the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous,
but let each of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone
though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together.
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress
grow not in each other’s shadow.

On Marriage, from The Prophet.
Kahlil Gibran

The weather was gloriously sunny as we drove through the Shropshire and Herefordshire countryside for our overnight stay at Colwall village. When we crossed over the border into Herfordshire I noticed an abundance of Mistletoe in the trees. I can’t remember the last time I saw mistletoe growing in the UK and I have never seen so much before.

We arrived at the Hotel, Colwall Park just after one o’clock which was perfect timing for our lunch time cream tea which was part of the Valentines package which we had booked. After lunch we checked into our room to unpack our bags. When we made the booking we were advised that only one room was left and that it was a suite. When we opened the door to the room we realised that it was the bridal suite, it was very nicely appointed and had his and hers wardrobes. Handmade chocolates had been placed on the bed and the table a bottle of Champagne was sitting in a bucket of ice, glinting in the sunshine. The latter had been ordered by Mr C. We moved to the Champagne to a cool corner of the room and set off for a nearby craft village where we spent a couple of pleasant hours.

By the time we had returned to the hotel the Champagne had chilled to the perfect temperature and we enjoyed sipping it whilst relaxing with a good book. I also enjoyed a soak in the bath before getting ready to go down to dinner. There was a nice atmosphere in the restaurant and we enjoyed the food off the special Valentine’s menu. There was a slight hiccup when it came to dessert, the waiter got confused and brought us the wrong menu not once but twice which made us smile. After we had finished our meal we sat in the hotel bar until it was time to retire for the evening.

14th February 2016