Old Manor Hotel – Bradford on Avon, Bath - Weekend Break

Guide yourself through a maze of country lanes and through the idyllic Bradford on Avon - a market town so far removed from London, you'll think you've just passed a film set - and you find yourself at the Old Manor Hotel, a place with tradition by the truckload. As soon as you park up it looks and feels like a place no different to it's 17th century roots (I imagine), a trait that follows you inside, without musty smells and age-old linen. This recently refurbished manor home is the brainchild of 20 year veterans of the hotel trade, Tudor Hopkins and his wife Lucy. Their understanding of keeping the old and mixing it with modern day comfort shows how important it is not to meddle with an establishment like this too much. That's what's so special about the Old Manor House and it's 21 rooms, is that you're never far away from the original Queen Anne style. Even the dog friendly out buildings house rooms that keep the same stone work and classic decor. There's even a games room, stacked with parlour games. The grounds are home to a lot of pantry ingredients. A kitchen garden has been planted so home-grown vegetables make it on the evening menu, local bees provide honey, and last but not least there's a dedicated smoke house for all meats and fish. And if you manage to meet the Gloucester old spotted pigs don't get too attached, their next destination is the kitchen. Each bedroom is unique but makes sure not to deviate from the scene this hotel is set in. Some rooms have four-poster beds, all have curtains with time-honoured prints, while antiques litter the room. Compromise is met with Neal's Yard toiletries and crisp white bed sheets, which is hard to complain about. You'll leave the Manor Hotel, but in no time you'll be back The Milking Parlour Restaurant It's not a surprise but the dining room of the Old Manor Hotel is kept in the same theme as the hotel. An intimate, relaxed setting of wooden tables with high-backed chairs and wildlife sketches on the wall with raging fires and small sofas available to sip your digestifs. If you ever get to the Milking Parlour you have to try the tasting menu. On paper it's not something you'd get too excited about, but it's execution is second to none. Chef Matthew Briddon, formerly of the River Cafe, plates up a seasonal five course menu which you can't help but hoover up in no time. The amuse bouche comes in the form of soup and is swiftly followed by Pickled Beetroot and Goats Cheese salad. The beetroot, plucked from the jar at the right moment to avoid over pickling partners perfectly with the goats cheese. Up next was the home-cured Hay smoked salmon, with a pungent smokey flavour which flakes and falls apart while cutting. The 18 hour home-smoked beef brisket just melted in the mouth, and the Pork with mash potato was just superb. Dessert of Chocolate brownie with Clotted Cream capped off a tasting menu that was low on pretension and let the ingredients and cooking speak for themselves. Food: 4.5/5 Venue: 4/5 Cuisine type: British Tasting menu: £55 pp (excluding wine) Hotel rooms price: Starting from £95 for a standard room Old Manor Hotel Trowle common Nr Bradford on Avon Trowbridge Wiltshire BA14 9BL Tel: 01225 777 393 http://www.oldmanorhotel.com/