A few weeks ago, Mrs and Miss B&B decided to take a small city break – namely, to our favourite little city, Bath! Follow in our footsteps and you’ll know what to do in Bath in 2024.
If you’re anything like us, then you’re probably hooked on the Netflix show, Bridgerton! But did you know that many of the key locations were actually filmed in Bath?
Visit the world of Bridgerton in Bath with us…
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So you’ve come down to Somerset for a relaxing holiday, but the British weather decides to take a turn for the worse… and you have to quickly change your plans. Where do you go in Somerset on a rainy day? Where are the best indoor attractions in Somerset?
Luckily, you can still have a fantastic day out, even if the weather isn’t cooperating. Here are 7 of the best things to do indoors on a rainy day in Somerset!
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If you’re from overseas, you’ll want to explore some of our favourite classic English traditions, from Sunday roasts to steam railways! Here are some of our top recommendations – you don’t want to miss out on them!
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There’s always something happening in Somerset! As July and August approach, we wanted to let you know that there are many events in Somerset coming up! Here we’ve put together a great list of Somerset events in summer 2022.
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We love learning about the rich history of Somerset, so when we heard that local artist Kate Lynch had written a book all about traditional crafts in Somerset, we knew that we had to learn more! Here’s our fascinating interview!
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Somerset is home to some of the best cities and towns in the UK – but there’s so much more to our wonderful county than Bath and Bristol! So if you’re looking for some of the more hidden gems in Somerset, keep reading, because we’re talking about the village of Pensford.
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It’s February, so romance is in the air! If you’ve been thinking about taking a short romantic holiday, then you should absolutely consider coming down to Somerset. From fine dining to fun experiences, here’s what we think you should do for Valentine’s Day in Somerset.
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There have been a lot of changes at the B&B during the last few months. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new at The Old Stables in 2022 – from dog fields to room makeovers!
Continue readingLike millions of others around the Globe, we are getting used to our ‘new normal’ during these strangest of times.
Being fairly rural, we are used to not being in a busy town setting but there is no doubt that we are missing being able to go out, especially during this glorious weather we are having, and of course we are missing welcoming guests to The Old Stables.
So we continue to look for daily positives and have found that we are spoiled for choice! The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing and nature is creeping closer to us. Our two barn owls are swooping over the fields in the late afternoon/early evenings and we are daily finding deer in our fields to the front and the back of the B&B. We hear the woodpeckers in the woods and yesterday two Canadian geese settled in our neighbours’ pond. We sit outside in the afternoon sun soaking up Vitamin D and feeling blessed that we are safe and healthy.
We are also taking the opportunity to get those spring time jobs done. Simon has been busy out in the garden painting fences, tending to our newly planted trees and generally doing some sprucing up . He’s desperate for some new bedding flowers but until everything opens up again we are moving things around in our garden so it’s all looking pretty when we re-open.
I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen and made a Sourdough starter and have produced some pretty stellar Sourdough loaves! Watch out for it on our breakfast menu when we re-open. I’ve also been trying out different muffin recipes, some chocolatey treats and different flavour shortbreads (we’re sharing our baking bounty over the fence with our neighbours – they are loving it!!).
Jasper, our Golden Retriever, is being let over the fence to play with his best mates, Remy and Spencer (also Goldens) and of course he is still enjoying his walks in the sunshine every day. He’ll be 4 years old on the 18th April so I’ll be baking pupcakes for him and his buddies to share 🙂
This too shall pass…
We really are looking forward to welcoming you to The Old Stables when all of this uncertainty is over. We’ll have everything ready and waiting for you from our beautiful rooms to delish shortbread to hearty breakfasts and everything in-between. Our online booking function is available right here on our website or email us on info@theoldstablesbandb.com or give us a ring on 01749 880635.
Simon, Jasper and I hope that you are all keeping healthy and safe and we will see you soon!
With our best wishes,
Aly, Simon & Jasper x
One of the staples of our Christmas is Granny Williams’ Christmas Pudding. Granny Williams is my Great Grandmother and she came from Lincolnshire to Bermuda in the 1920s. Her recipe has been a part of our family Christmas since then – so almost 100 years!
I just doesn’t feel like Christmas until the pudding is made. We actually soak our fruit in rum and brandy for the entire year so as soon as this years’ pudding is made the fruit goes into soak for next year. Our recipes is in cups and ounces so you’ll need to convert it if you’re cooking on metric measurements.
This recipe makes one good sized family pudding.
Ingredients:
4 oz currants
4 oz seedless raisins
4 oz sultanas
4 oz chopped dates
4 oz mixed peel
1 orange
1 lemon
1 apple (peeled and grated)
1 carrot (peeled and rated)
4 oz beef or veg suet
4 oz brown sugar
4 oz flour
4 oz breadcrumbs
3 eggs
1 bottle of Stout
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
Method:Â
Combine all the fruit together, add rum, brandy and stout – let stand for a couple of days. If you want to soak your fruit for the year just put all fruit in a Kilner jar, add the rum only and keep somewhere cool. Remember to give your jar a shake every so often.
When you’re ready to make your pudding, add the rest of the ingredients together with the fruit mixture – don’t forget to let everyone have a stir and make a wish!
Butter a pudding basin, pour in your mixture, cover with a double cover of waxed paper which has also been buttered. Top this with double tinfoil. Tie tightly with string and soft boil for 6 hours. Be sure to check your water level often to see that the pot hasn’t boiled dry. The cooked pudding will keep in the fridge for a few months.
When you’re ready to serve, soft boil for an hour more. Remove coverings and tip out onto a plate. Pour over some brandy and light with a match for some magic at the table. Serve with lashings of brandy butter (make in advance and chill: 1 cup soft butter mixed with 1 cup of icing sugar and as much brandy as you like).
Enjoy! We still hide sixpences in our pudding and whoever finds the sixpence has a lucky year ahead.
Merry Christmas from our family to yours.