Britain Accommodations

Sawday's online B&Bs and Inns guide.
Sawday's print guide: Great British Hotel & Inn Guide

Sites to See - England, Scotland & Wales

Cromford Mill (aka Arkwright's Mill)

Ironbridge

Caernarfon Castle

Chatsworth House

Arthur's Seat

York Railway Museum

Falkirk Wheel

Kew Gardens

Hampton Court

Herstmonceux Castle

V&A Museum

Da Vinci at Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh

Snowdonia

Ben Nevis

Scafell Pick

Britain Restaurants and Pubs

As seen on Fred Sirieix's series Remarkable Places to Eat is the Michelin starred restaurant in the Leith area of Edinburgh called The Kitchin. Fred considered his meal one of the best he's ever had. High praise from a top chef! The three course à la carte menu is £110.

Sawday's online Eat and Drink guide.
Sawday's print guide: Great British Pub Guide

See Sawday's Telegraph article: 50 Great Pubs in England and Wales

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Great British Pubs
Leisureways Magazine February 1997

Travel 46km (28miles) south of Edinburgh to the village of Innerleithen and visit the Traquair Arms Hotel. Notable is the house specialty, Finnan Savoury, made from the finest Scottish smoked haddock sautéed with onions and finished with Ayrshire cheddar cheese, double cream and garnished with parsley. Creamy it was and delicious, full of little rewards in every mouthful. Another house specialty was the Traquair Steak Pie, made with fine steer beef cooked in a local dark ale. A small cloud of fragrant steam escaped as I cut into the crust, the meat was tender, the gravy rich and the pastry light and flaky.

In the most southwesterly point in England — Cornwall, The Pandora Inn is beautifully situated outside Falmouth, fronting Restronguet Creek. This was the establishment which In Britain readers liked best. The editors wrote, “It’s a dream of a place — formerly a 13th-century farm. It has a thatched roof and is set on the sheltered waterfront. Rambling flagstoned rooms, low wooden ceilings and cosy alcoves set the scene.”

I asked the hostess to bring me her choice for my repast and her selections convinced me that the Pandora deserved its applause: local mussels steamed in white wine with garlic and herbs, a seafood platter of potted shrimps, prawns, smoked mackerel, brown and white crab meat, winkles, cockles and poached salmon. Wonderful!

Next I was off to England’s mid point on the east. Walk down the aptly named Steep Hill in Lincoln to the Wig & Mitre, a pub that studiously avoids pretension and one of its promotion pieces invites the public to use it “as a meeting place or an eating house, a reading room or watering hole, and a haven of peace.”

I enjoyed two smooth patés — one lentil and garlic, the other chicken liver — both sharing a sprightly radicchio salad, These were followed by a tender and delicious lemon sole with chives in nut-brown butter. The fish was enhanced by small, locally grown potatoes, a new crop and a special delight.

My next foray led me to the Cotswolds where The Falkland Arms is located in one of the prettiest villages, Great Tew, Oxfordshire. The day I was visiting, workmen were thatching one of the cottages. Many consider this the perfect English pub and there has been a public house on its site for some 500 years. Originally called The Horse and Groom, it was renamed in the mid-19th century in honor of the Falkland family, former owners of the manor of Great Tew.

The pub’s bar has a big Inglenook fireplace, century-old flagstones, high-back settles, oak panelling and beams. There’s a large collection of English mugs and jugs hanging from the ceiling here and in the breakfast room.

I treated myself to a sinfully good, homemade Stilton, port and garlic paté, the garlic and port each adding extra character to the strong personality of the Stilton. Next came a generous portion of chicken, bacon and mushroom pie with assorted vegetables, including one of my favorites, leeks.

The last stop on my culinary trek brought me to the famed Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese in London. The entrance is in Wine Office Court, an alley off Fleet Street, almost next door to the shiny black mausoleum that once housed the Daily Express. The Chop Room has retained much of the appearance and atmosphere it had when it was frequented by Dr. Samuel Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith in the 18th century, and Charles Dickens in the 19th. There are still cubicles and sawdust on the floor.

I lunched at the long oaken table where those literary lions dined. There’s a portrait of the lexicographer in The Chop Room and upstairs a copy of his dictionary. The Johnson Restaurant and the Johnson Bar also pay homage to the doctor.

Licensees Gordon and Debbie Garrity live on the premises. The fish and chips were undoubtedly the best I tasted during my stay. A superb steak and kidney pie boasted fluffy pastry that almost floated away and the beef and kidneys were wonderfully tender. These English traditions were followed by another — sherry trifle loaded with fruit and topped with cream — a fitting way to end my culinary odyssey.


Traquair Arms Hotel
Traquair Road
Innerleithen
Scottish Borders  EH44 6PD
Tel: 01896 830229
info@traquairarmshotel.co.uk


The Pandora Inn
Restronguet Hill
Creek
Falmouth
Cornwall  TR11 5ST
Tel: 01326 372678
info@pandorainn.com


Wig & Mitre
30-32 Steep Hill
Lincoln
Lincolnshire   LN2 1LU
Tel: 01522 535 190
www.wigandmitre.com


The Falkland Arms
19-21 The Green
Great Tew
Chipping Norton
Oxfordshire  OX7 4DB
Tel: 01608 683653
falklandarms@wadworth.co.uk


Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
145 Fleet St
London EC4A 2BU
Tel: 7353 6170