Introducing The Slaughters Manor House

The Slaughters Manor House re-opened in March 2016 following a three month closure for extensive refurbishment work.  Previously known as Lower Slaughter Manor, and sitting opposite sister property The Slaughters Country Inn, the new look Manor House offers a completely new ground floor, remodelled to offer a contemporary interpretation of countryside life. 

In addition to its brand new name, new features at The Slaughters Manor House include its new bar, relaunched in partnership with friends at craft distillery Sipsmith.  Open to residents and non-residents, the new bar features cut glass, brass and leather furnishings, setting the tone for a luxurious drinking experience.  Alongside Sipsmith gins and a fully stocked bar, guests will also be able to enjoy new tasting plates from the Manor’s kitchen. 

In addition to the new bar, the new look rooms at the Manor House include; The Porch & Reception, The Lounge, Billiards Room, The Library, The Snug, and The Long Room.

Visit www.slaughtersmanor.co.uk to find out more. Photography by Mark Bolton.

Winter Wonders

Cornus Alba 'Westonbirt'


Tips on winter gardens from Jane Moore, our award-winning head gardener at The Bath Priory

"Winter gardening is always something of a challenge, especially when it’s been as wet as it has lately. But it never seems to matter to the plants how wet, windy and frozen it gets as they’re as tough as old boots, tougher in fact than most of the old boots I’ve ever owned.

They’re built to be tough, genetically modified by generations of flowering their little hearts out in the most inclement and generally ghastly weather that is typical of the British winter. I’m not just talking here about all those lovely coloured barks and brilliant stemmed dogwoods which will cope with wind and rain but more the dainty little pretties that withstand freeze after freeze, downpour after downpour and still hold their little heads high.

These are the real winter wonders: the Oriental hellebores (pictured below) which flop with the overnight frost and gradually, magically raise their stems back up again as they thaw out. The tiny little Iris, so delicate and seemingly fragile, and the little Tete a Tete daffodils, perfect miniature versions of their later flowering, more brash cousins. Then there’s the shrubby winter flowering honeysuckle with its little flowers that make up for their scant size by the sheer volume of their perfume. That plant alone keeps the stray bumble bees well fed and happy through the winter."
 

Oriental hellebores or Helleborus oprientalis and Iris 'Kathryn Hodgkin'

Wintersweet or Chumonanthus Praecox 'Lutea'.


"But best of all is the Wintersweet (pictured above) with its warm yellow, waxy blooms in such abundance on those bare, twiggy stems. That’s the plant that keeps me happy through these winter months. In fact, the chances are that if it’s one of those rare, warm winters’ days, you’ll find me under the Wintersweet, standing there smelling in a cloud of its sublime scent. It’s a little sniff of the summer to come."

Jane Moore
@janethegardener

A new era at Gidleigh Park begins


Gidleigh Park celebrated a successful first service with new Executive Head Chef, Michael Wignall at the helm on Friday, marking the beginning of a new era at the flagship hotel.    

Guests were welcomed with a chilled glass of Champagne and sat down to enjoy Michael’s brand new ten-course tasting menu, beginning with 'Octopus' - octopus pressé, Portland crab, smoked scallop roe emulsion, ginger and seaweed, radish and basil. Supported by his new brigade in the kitchen, including eight chefs who have travelled to Devon with Michael to continue working alongside him, the evening went off without a hitch...
 

GPA-MW-FirstService-18.jpg


“After months of planning, I’m delighted to have delivered our first service here at Gidleigh Park. 
The team have performed brilliantly, delivering faultless dishes, which generated wonderful responses from our first night guests.”
 

Photography by Nick Smith