This was a gifted meal.
The Yew Tree at Highclere is just down the road from me and I'd heard that the refurbishment had really opened up the previously, slightly dingy inside. I really like how open it looks now with books piled high all over the place. They have just developed the garden out the back and I think it'll be an amazing place for a summer afternoon; they've got a fresh fish counter ready for you to choose what you want and get it straight The Yew Tree Highclere
This was a gifted meal.
The Yew Tree at Highclere is just down the road from me and I'd heard that the refurbishment had really opened up the previously, slightly dingy inside. I really like how open it looks now with books piled high all over the place. They have just developed the garden out the back and I think it'll be an amazing place for a summer afternoon; they've got a fresh fish counter ready for you to choose what you want and get it straight 
This was a gifted meal.
I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who likes tea and cake at any time of the day and I have a particular preference for them served together between the hours of 2pm and 4pm. I love it when you can try an afternoon tea with a difference; I have tried a gentlemen's afternoon tea before complete with mini pork pies and sausage rolls, one that included soup and another with mini ice cream cones. The afternoon tea at Buddha 
This was a gifted meal.
I love a trip to London. If I get the good train it's less than an hour and it's a great excuse to see some friends who live in the big city. I always try to go somewhere I haven't been before rather than returning to somewhere I've already tried. There's always something new going on! My most recent trip up was organised to make the most of a restaurant offer from Bookatable. I didn't actually know until I investigated that 
This was a gifted meal.
I like heading to Oxford for a day out; it’s not too far away and there are plenty of good places to eat and drink. I don’t know it terribly well so always tend to head to the areas I know rather than spending the day seeking out somewhere new. I recently used Quandoo for the first time to find somewhere to eat in Oxford; there were so many places I hadn’t heard of it was a bit of a job to choose where to go! Turl Street 
This was a gifted meal.
I’m not sure how many of you lovely readers of my blog are in or around Newbury but I think I speak for everyone when I say that (finally) it seems as if Newbury’s culinary scene is improving. We had a few nice restaurants in the town centre, (The Square and Petit Square spring to mind but both now closed), the family run Italian (Valle D’Oro) and many country pubs but we went through pretty slim pickings in Newbury 
This was a gifted meal.
I had heard about Joe Perks opening in Oxford back in October last year but it has taken me this long to get my act together and go and see what it's all about. I ventured to Oxford to the Cowley Road side of the city to find Joe Perks (the place as opposed to the person, more about that later) to see if they really did offer the best hot dogs in Britain.
I like the location, the size, the look and the atmosphere 
This was a gifted stay and meal.
Sometimes a weekend away can be so much better than a week away. I find that to get away to somewhere new and blow away those cobwebs just for a few days leaves me feeling like I’ve been away longer than I have. A few weekends ago we headed up to Scarborough to stay at Ox Pasture Hall Hotel. I went to Yorkshire last year but didn’t get to that far so was looking forward to having a weekend in Scarborough; somewhere 
This was a gifted stay and meal.
Even though I have lived in Berkshire for most of my life I have only been to Windsor once when I was much younger so I don’t remember it at all. I like to go to new places and towns and find out what they’re all about and when Mercure hotels got in touch to see if I would like to head off for a weekend in Windsor I was really looking forward to it. We were so lucky with the weather; a lovely sunny autumn weekend 
While I was in Wales recently we took a day trip to Aberystwyth; mainly so we could see the sea. I wasn’t sure whether it would be a big seaside town or a teeny little place perched on the coast. As it turns out it was quite a big town but with hardly any of the chain shops you might find in similar places; plenty of support for independent traders which was nice to see. It was a classic British seaside town with a mix of big houses (now mostly 
I had heard rumours that Hay-on-Wye is a book lover's paradise. In case you weren't aware I love books but could probably be accused of having a few too many. Hay-on-Wye was somewhere I'd always fancied going, just for a nose around mind you, to see what it was all about. We weren't too far away when we were in Wales so went for the day. It's a real classic English town, picturesque and with a huge array of antique emporiums and book shops. And Tomatitos 
