jun, 22nd - the swan in wedmore....

[lamplit sky at The Swan]

day 865:

it was my birthday yesterday. yay. i had a brilliant few days of celebration and went to this lovely London restaurant with a bunch of friends, it was a favourite of this blogger when he lived in London. love birthday festivals.

over the weekend in Somerset, my sister introduced us to another fantastic restaurant, The Swan, in the small village of Wedmore. it's mainly a pub/ restaurant but also has a few beautiful rooms upstairs that somehow remind us both of home (South Africa).

the food is excellent at The Swan (in fact we went twice in one weekend) and the provenance of their ingredients is obviously something that is important to them. on their menu they give a wonderfully detailed description:

'Our organic beef is sourced from the Story group, who raise traditional, slow-growing British breeds (Aberdeen Angus and South Devon). The cattle graze the Chew Valley & Wrington Vale and when slaughtered the meat is then hung for 21 days. They also supply our organic eggs, and Bishop Vale Chicken.

Our pork couldn't be more local, reared by Wedmore butcher Jim Baker a few hundred yards up the road. 

All our fish comes from British waters. It is supplied by Samways, a family business based in Bridport, who commit to a 24-hour 'port to plate' policy. 

Vegetables are seasonal and wherever possible, organic. Our velvety yogurts come from Brown Cow Organics in Pilton, and ice creams and sorbets come from the award winning Mendip Moments, based near Wells. All our bread, burger buns, cakes and biscuits are baked daily on the premises, using Shipton Mill and Doves organic flour. Gluten free bread is available on request.'

both times we went, the place was packed with locals. it's definitely a favourite and a basket of toys made for a very happy Limi.

jun, 19th - where we stayed....

day 862:

we stayed in a sweet cottage over the weekend in Somerset. with oaks beams, creaky stairs, a garden filled with herbs and bumblebee attracting flowers, a river and a flock of (incredibly healthy looking) chickens, it ticked all the boxes of a true, English country experience.

it also comes with a rowing boat and a suggestion of taking it down the river to the local pub and some bikes, for exploring the lanes. unfortunately, the weather stopped us from doing either but the idea of turning up at the pub in your own rowing boat, did make me smile.

we booked the cottage via here.

jun, 17th - father's day...

day 860:

happy father's day to all the dads out there. in Limi's case she calls it 'happy dadda day'.

we spent the weekend in Somerset with my sister and niece.....visiting some favourite new haunts {see day 821 and day 823} and finding brand new gems (more to show you this week).

Sunday morning was all about celebrating father's day with croissants from this bakery, local strawberry jam and mugs of coffee. the beautiful garden of our holiday cottage had a complete English country-garden feel....even after all these years in London, i've never lost the sense of romance around the English countryside after reading so many books about headges, lemonade, mittens and honeysuckle as a child.

may, 15th - conversations with a two year old....

day 828:

the windows at the chapel {see day 821}. such a beautiful backdrop......

Limi picks up her calculator phone the other day......

Me: Limi who are you calling?

Limi: the sun

Me: why are you calling the sun?

Limi: to tell him to stop sleeping.

it's been a very wet April and May in London.

may, 10th - a walk in the countryside....

day 823:

on our weekend in Somerset {see day 821} we went for a wander around Bruton......such a stunning village. the good thing is that Limi decided to take us way off path and we ended up on a pretty walk along the river...stopping to have story time with a group of ducks along the way.

may, 8th - at the chapel....

day 821:

every now and then A. and i chat about moving to the countryside, buying a big rambling house, getting our huge dining room tabletop out of storage and baking bread. a few things that stop us are proximity to our fantastic friends (a big guestroom(s) always features into our dream country house), commuting to London for work and not having fantastic coffees and breakfasts just a quick stroll away. even though we both grew up on and around farms and small towns, we wonder whether we would make friends in the countryside or whether we would we feel like city impostors forever screaming at our wifi for plodding along at a tractor's pace. 

over the weekend, we stayed in the village of Bruton, in Somerset, two hours west of London. we've spent a bit of time in Somerset over the past 10 months since my niece started school down there. it's really beautiful countryside (especially in Spring) with greystone villages, apple trees and generally a happy glow about the place. i guess what also appeals to us both is that it has a real sense of working farms. the gorgeous village of Bruton convinced us that the countryside may be an option after all......

my sister (who is becoming a bit of a Somerset expert these days), recommended that we stay in a place called: at the chapel. it's an imposing building on Bruton High Street but rather than a chapel, it was originally in fact, a 17th century coaching inn. the owners started out with a restaurant and bakery and have now expanded with wine shop, downstairs bar and 5 rooms upstairs (more planned this year).

the rooms were only finished 3 weeks ago. and what a find. from the start (calling up to book a room) to finish (we almost felt like hugging them when we left) we loved our stay. we couldn't have been made to feel more welcome and yet there is nothing twee and homely about this place, it's all slick contemporary finishes, amazing design and quality products. 

our room was magnificent which had a lot to do with the stunning arched windows throughout the building but also the draped linen curtains, large king sized bed, hidden nooks for Limi and the vast marble-clad ensuite. Limi was especially taken with the huge free-standing bath. 

in the morning, a tray of fresh-from-the-oven croissants were delivered to our door with butter and strawberry jam.....combined with the smell of freshly baked bread wafting up from downstairs, it's not a bad way to wake up. after sitting in the window muching on our croissants we headed down to the restaurant to have some coffee and local eggs. as families wandered in and were greeted with hugs and kisses, we felt part of a happy community.

A. says that at the chapel passes 5 of his big tests: fantastic sourdough baked on the premises; great (Australian-style) coffee; light and fluffy, yet crisp croissants; good, decent bacon and a simple but deliciously tasty, prawn and chilli pasta. 

one thing's for sure.....with somewhere like that on your doorstep, it may just be the place to sway the move to the country after all.

at the chapel

28 High St  Bruton BA10 0AE
01749 814 070