A Gem in The Cotswolds

to the countryside

When you’re in the energy of the city you get knocked into the tide and get lost. And as you slowly lose control, you come up for a breath and realize you can grab onto the banks and try to pull yourself up to regain your balance, but you’ve lost stamina-and just like that you’re stuck in that notion of rehabilitation.

Coming back to London after being home brought on this strong longing of going back to the slower moments of life. I am one of those people who can’t sit still and needs to be occupied at all moments and the biggest threat to my cadence of work and life is having a moment to think and miss and getting lost in my own thoughts. I know myself well enough to understand where my energies should be used and so before I even came back to London, I decided to book a train ticket to the Cotswolds to relax, sleep and saunter at Lords of the Manor in The Cotswolds with my friend and creative-inspiration, Charlotte.

the journey

The train journey to The Cotswolds was fast, fluid and energetic-as there was about two-months of life and work to catch up on. Trips to Paris, Estonia, India and America were discussed and with that the nuances of business and algorithms. In between our free-flowing conversations I would catch glimpses of the view outside where green pastures rolled by speckled with sheep that made me giggle, but also reminisce the days I would take the trains up from London to St. Andrews. When the thickest of green shrubbery took the landscape, we arrived to the station and the smallest, sweetest platform. Through the tinted windows of the taxi, the roads would wind and the trees cascaded almost serenading you with a welcome to The Cotswolds.

From one village high street to another cul de sac, we made it to Lords of the Manor. Walking through the entrance and into the lobby and then guided up the stairs where we got glimpses of the gardens full of wild flowers at each passage’s windows-we walked into the Travell suite. We heard the birds from one window and caught little moments of the manor from the other and as we discovered the room the little creaks and drafts from the original windows were just all part of the charm of the 17th century former-mansion.

Chevrons & Éclairs was a guest at Lords of the Manor, but all opinions are my own.

gastronomy at its finest

We decided to go for the three course menu as we wanted a bit of an indulgence. I’m quite used to assuming dishes are pretentious in such grand settings, but to my surprise each plate served presented nothing but comfort and warmth. We started with an asparagus dish that had the perfect crunch and wrapped with a delicate feuille de brick. Followed by pan roasted Cornish turbot-the preserved lemon puree made it perfectly delicate and refreshing for the warmer season. What I did love was the Belted Galloway beef fillet that was our second entree that provided the earthier flavors implemented through jerusalem artichokes and the most pungent of flavored mushrooms.

In between the courses, I looked around to do a bit of people watching and came to realize that people of all ages, variety, backgrounds enjoyed the same meals. The service felt inviting as the waiter teased and we joked and smiles were exchanged with surrounding tables. And then came time for the dessert. I was twiddling my thumbs between all three options, but in the end went for the creme brûlée, a classic, but elevated with serving strawberries in multiple ways that tasted sweet enough to be candies. With touches of basil sprinkled throughout the dish, it was a flavorful experience right as I heard the satisfying crack of the caramelized sugar topping. A gem in The Cotswolds.