Cheddar, Somerset and the West of England

We left Saturday morning and drove 220 miles to Cheddar to stay at a Bed and Breakfast called Tor Farm. The room was beautiful, the bathroom was big, the breakfasts were delicious, and the location was perfect.


That night we ate at an Indian restaurant in Cheddar where the service is great, but the food is not that good. It was called Shahnaz. If you are picky about quality, avoid it at all costs. The stale poppadoms should have been a warning. I think Jeremy liked his food, but I did not think it was very good.


Sunday was wet and foggy all day! That was our only full day there. We went to Nyland Hill Farm Shop in the morning, which is well worth a visit if you ever get the opportunity. We had lunch at a pub that was directly across from the Cheddar Company. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THE PUB! I don't remember the name of it, only that you climb stone steps directly up from the road to the beer garden. The food was terrible. The place was filthy. And, I think the WC was probably in the top five dirtiest in the country. If the ladies' was that bad I can't imagine the gents'.


We went to the Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company. That was a nice experience because you can go on a tour to watch them make cheese. I never knew so much work went into such a small amount of cheese. No wonder good cheese is expensive!

We drove to Glastonbury and saw the hippies and the tor. Then, as we were coming back to the B & B the sun started to shine. Unfortunately, it was time for us to find a place to eat and get ready for dinner. We went to Wells, the smallest city in Britain. It's a city because it has a cathedral, but there are only 10,000 people. Our reservation was for a place called Rugantinos. It's in the Ancient Gate House, which has a garden view of the Cathedral. The food was not bad at all!

The next day was Monday, our last day, and we knew we couldn't stay long.  We got up early and had breakfast and checked out of our room.  We drove into town and took some photos of the village and the gorge.  Then, I strapped Liam into the backpack carrier and carried him up 274 steps of Jacob's Ladder to the lookout tower.   Jeremy carried Liam up to the top of the tower, down, for about a one mile hike, then back down Jacob's 274 step ladder.  As we were going down there were all these people stopped, sitting out of breath, and I heard a woman say "Look at them!  They carried that big baby all the way up!" Little did she know, I carried him.  I was proud, but my legs felt like jell-o.  I'm really out of shape. 

For lunch we stopped at Derrick's Tea Room.  The people at Derrick's are really friendly.  It also has a nice garden and the hike to the WC is hilarious.  They do great teas and a delicious Victoria Sponge cake.  However, their hot meals are bad.  Living in this country, where people LOVE chips, I would expect them to have really good chips.  Chips in this country usually look like this:

And they taste about as bland as they look.  I got addicted to the chips (yes, fries) at the Bedford Lodge in Newmarket because they are more like seasoned wedges than chips.  So, given the quality of everything else at Derrick's I had hoped that the hot food would be delicious and that my ham, egg and chips would be super tasty.  I asked the waitress "What are your chips like?" She gave me a confused look and said "Well, they're chips." Jeremy thought this was the funniest exchange he'd ever heard.  I was somehow embarrassed.  And, went ahead and ordered the meal, with which I was extremely disappointed.  Jeremy also did not like his overcooked burger.  Stick to sarnies, cream teas, scones and cakes here.

Now that I've rambled on and on about Derrick's . . . We had a fantastic drive home (and I think Jeremy will agree) except for the traffic queue we were stuck in on the M25.  But, I got a chance to take a photo of my favorite British graffiti which says "Give peas a chance." They sure do like their peas here.  Oh, and on our way we passed Stonehenge.  It isn't very big and you can't get very close to it.  The mystery is more interesting than the actual locale.  There are better places to visit besides Stonehenge in Britain. 

Farm Shops

One of the things I'll miss about England is the great Farm Shop. We visit many farm shops. They have produce grown on that farm and some stuff from other local farms. They also have cheese, meats, meals, and other food products made locally. Our local farm shop is La Hogue in Chippenham. While we were in Cheddar, we visited the Nyland Hill Farm Shop, but they don't have a website . . .

If you ever visit Britain, work a farm shop into your schedule and you won't regret it. If you're visiting Bath, Glastonbury, or Stonehenge, you might as well drive just a bit further and check out Nyland Hill Farm Shop. Or, if you're in Cambridge, check out La Hogue in Chippenham.

We love farm shops. Some are better than others. The two we've mentioned here are especially good. All of them are different and special in their own way. La Hogue offers a separate wine shop and a seasonal Christmas Fayre, and Nyland Hill Farm has open days where the kids can see the animals and learn about where their food comes from.



To locate a farm shop near where you live in the UK or near where you'll be staying, you can put the post code in on this interactive map:


http://www.farmshopping.net/map.htm

Mr. Independent Eats

Liam insists on feeding himself. It's the only way that mealtimes are peaceful. Bibs are a futile effort. We even have some that cover his entire torso and arms, but those still don't save the lap. We often completely undress him for meals.

The Family Art Project

Our handsome little boy loves paint. He's also just entered this really independent streak where he wants to do everything himself, but still lacks the ability to carry out these tasks. One of them is opening containers and screwing lids back on.

Throughout our art project, he would occasionally realize that we weren't letting him do these things and he'd get angry. We'd try to divert his attention by singing his favorite song, Row Row Row Your Boat, or by making him say "Boo!" Unfortunately, he doesn't ham it up for the camera and makes Mom and Dad look like asses. Here's our fantastic project.

The Fig Newton

Liam's favorite snacks are fig Newtons.  He says "Mmmmm . . . !"

Liam's Artwork

I'm pretty confident that sending Liam to daycare while I'm at work is the best thing for him.  He makes scones and cakes, paints pictures, learns about the world, and plays with his friends.  He get's to do a lot more than I'd be able to provide for him all those hours during the week.  And, every minute we have at home is quality time.  

Jeremy and I decided to make a book of artwork from Liam's first year at daycare.  They have helped him with all kinds of great projects.  Some are mixed media, some are seasonal, one was painted to raise money for a school in Malawi.  He always enjoys himself.