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Days Out | Petworth House

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The weather was so lovely on Sunday we decided to head out for the day. Making the most of our National Trust membership we fired up their rather useful app and started browsing where to go. We settled on Petworth House, it had been on out ‘to visit’ list and was only about 45 minutes away. So off we set!

Petworth House is a rather grand seventeenth century mansion set in the beautiful South Downs. The house was built in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset. It contains some amazing works of art, including works by JMW Turner who was a frequent visitor to the house. There are many highlights to a tour around the house, but our favourites were The Marble Hall, The North Gallery and The Chapel, which is a remnant of the previous house on the site.

The parkland was created by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown in his typical English Landscape style. As it is the 300th anniversary of Brown’s birth Petworth has a series of events and exhibitions to celebrate. There are mapped walks around the park, and plenty of picturesque places to stop and have a picnic. We did just that, sat in the Pleasure Gardens near the Doric Temple, amongst a carpet of bluebells.

After the house and gardens we had a look around the servants quarters, housed in a separate block. It is fascinating to see the scale of the ‘downstairs’ that was required to keep a house such as Petworth functioning. In the servants quarters is the ‘back door’ of the house into Petworth Town. Well worth a little wander around. There are plenty of cafes and antiques shops to keep us happy!

Find out more on the National Trust website

10th May 2016

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Top Five | Summer’s on its way!

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Orchard Blog

Summer has come early this week, so time to enjoy the weather. This is our Top Five things over the last week:

One

BBQing! When the sun shines we do what every self respecting British person does and we fire up the BBQ! Calum is the chef in our household, and he is getting quite the expert on the old BBQ. Although don’t get him started on Gas vs Charcoal!

Two

Richard along with his folks went the The White Hart, Chobham. Richard’s folks used to live over the road from this pub, and were great friends with the Landlords. That was about 25 years ago now, and the pub has been through various changes since. Most recently the pub has had a lovely refurbishment, and makes a great village pub!

Three

Besides BBQing, the other great British summer tradition is a Picnic. Whilst we were out and about on Sunday we found a lovely spot for a picnic lunch. Hopefully the 1st of many this summer!

Four

Whilst we are busy sorting out our veg patch there have been lots of trips to the garden centre for supplies. Lurking in the clearance section Richard found a ornamental banana plant that was just asking to be taken home an looked after. For a couple of quid it seemed like a wise investment!

Five

In our temporary abode we are sharing with a couple of pets. This is Annie, a characterful cat that is adding a little joy into our lives. She also likes boxes.

9th May 2016

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Cocktail of the Week | Perfect Pimm’s

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Our cocktail of the week is a good old fashioned Pimm’s No1 Cup. The first Pimm’s of the season is a sure sigh Summer is on it’s way. It is a pretty simple recipe:

1 measure Pimm’s Nº1
3 measures lemonade (Americans that is what you’d call Lemon soda or Sprite)
Orange, Cucumber, Apple, Strawberries and Mint to garnish.

Mix ingredients and serve with plenty of ice and sunshine! Or to really get the party started add in some extra gin!

Enjoy Pimm’s o’clock!

5th May 2016

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Orchard Escapes | Weekend in Stockholm

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In 2015 for Richard’s Birthday we headed to Stockholm for a long weekend. We are both massive Nordiphiles and this trip just cemented our love for the north. Stockholm manages to be charming and historic, but also exceptionally cool and fashionable. A winning combination that makes it a perfect destination to spend a long weekend.

We stayed in the Östermalm district, close to some of the most upmarket shops and restaurants and only a short walk from Gamla Stan (the Old Town) and Djurgården. We had an amazing time, here are some of our highlights.

Things to do…

Skansen

Probably one of our Highlights or the trip! Situated on Djurgården, Skansen is part zoo, part outdoor museum. It has about 150 preserved houses and building moved from all over Sweden, many of the museum staff are in period attire and help give a great insight of how Swedes used to live. It is huge and you could easily spend all day here. We learnt about Swedish wildlife, folk traditions and sampled local food. Find out more.

Vassmuseet

On Djurgården is a museum dedicated to a massive fail! The Vassmuseet is the home of the 17^th century warship the Vasa. The Vasa was the flagship of the Swedish navy, but within minutes of setting off on its maiden voyage in 1682 the top heavy ship sank. Preseverd by the cold Baltic waters the ship was salvaged in the 1950s and moved to the custom designed Vassmuseet in the 1980s and is brilliantly exhibited. Well worth a visit. Find out more.

Nordiska Museet

Also on Djurgården, not far from the Vassmuseet, is the Nordiska Museet a large cultural history museum. It is housed in an impressive building, a pastiche of a Scandinavian castle, and has huge collection of things Swedish. We love a museum anyway, but this really helps you understand the country’s culture. We loved finding out all about Swedish traditions, and the exhibition about Sami life in Sweden. Find out more.

Royal Palace

You’d be hard pressed to miss the Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet) on Gamla Stan, it is one of the largest royal palaces in world. Although it is no longer the King’s actual residence it is still the official home of the Swedish monarchy, and hosts most of the official functions and court department. A wander around is very interesting. Also make sure you check out the royal regalia in The Treasury and Armoury. Find out more.

Drottningholm Palace

We loved Drottningholm! This is 17^th Centaury palace on the outskirts of Stockholm is the royal family’s residence. It is UNESCO protected and well worth the boat trip out to have a look around. The boat takes about an hour and leaves from near the City hall. It is a gorgeous trip in itself but when the palace comes into view it is something else. As well as looking around the beautiful rooms in the palace we has a tour around the Court Theatre, built in 1766 it has remained almost untouched since 1792, making it the Oldest theatre in the world still in its original state. The palace grounds are particularly lovely to walk around, and the Chinese Pavilion, an 18^th Century ‘summer palace’ in the ground is gorgeous highlight with its rococo interiors with chinoiserie. Find out more.

Boat Trips

Stockholm is built on 14 island, so water is everywhere! This makes a boat trip one of the best ways to see the city. There are plenty of tours to choose from, we did the Royal Canal tour. Find out more.

Food & Drink…

It is clear that the Swedes love their food, and there is a brilliant selection of places to choose from. Here is a few of the places we discovered:

Meatballs for the People

When in Sweden eh? Situated on the southern island of Södermalm (cool area, worth a visit) Meatballs for the People was a great find! A casual place for meatballs and a beer, we were very happy travellers!

Mossebacke

A large bar on a terrace overlooking Gamla Stan and Djurgården. Mossebacke is a bit run down, but the views more than make up it! Head here for a beer at sunset.

Taverna Brillo

Near out hotel we found Taverna Brillo, it bills itself as ‘an Italian brasserie in a Swedish form’. In Östermalm there are lots of lovely restaurants to choose from, but we chose here as it was the Dining Room right combination of formal and casual for Richard’s Birthday meal. It also has a food market and a separate bar.

Flippin’ Burgers

Burgers are probably the hipster’s food of choice, so in a city as cool as Stockholm it seemed a good idea to join the locals and head to a burger joint. Flippin’ Burgers has some of the best in the city, and it is well worth the queue to get in.

There were lots of other cool things about Stockholm. The fashionable shops, the great food, the cafes, the Princess Cake (delicious!), the cool locals – this list could go on and on. We loved our 4 days in Stockholm and will definitely be heading back!

Have you been to Stockholm, what were your highlights we’d love to know?

4th May 2016

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Days Out | Ightham Mote

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Last October we signed up the The National Trust; Perhaps a sign of our impending middle age, but more likely dues to our love of old houses and the countryside. Since we signed up we have been exploring a raft of properties, we are going to share some out our photos and thoughts here.

On Sunday 1st May we made the most of the Sunny weather and headed to Ightham Mote (pronounced Item Moat) in Kent. The House is a fourteenth century moated manor house, and eludes all the period charm you would expect of a 700 year old house. The historian David Starkey describes the house as ‘one of the most beautiful and interesting of English country houses’ and who are we to disagree?

The House is sounded by a moat consists of about 70 rooms around a very beautiful central courtyard. Highlights include the great hall, the old and new chapels, a tudor painted ceiling and the only listed dog house in the country. There are introductory talks to help you get a sense of the place, and you can do a tour of the tower to learn even more.

The gardens are very pleasant to walk around, and there are 3 guided walks around the estate. As it is bluebell time of year we opted for the Scathes Wood route. This being a National Trust property there is a lovely little shop and a cafe for lunch or tea.

Find out more at the National Trust website

3rd May 2016

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Top Five | Bank Holiday Weekend

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May Day Bank Holiday weekend, as sure sign that spring is in full swing and time some new adventures. This is our top five for the Bank Holiday weekend.

One

One of the joys of gardening is taking time to admire your handiwork. We have been going great guns on our veg patch, so it was lovely to enjoy a beer and take stock. Plenty more to do, but we’re feeling confident!

Two

On Sunday morning we got up early and headed into town to go to the Columbia Road Flower Market. We bought a few plants and some flowers for the cottage. Columbia Road flower market is one of the delights of London on a Sunday, and if you of be sure to stop by Cafe Columbia for a bagel and a coffee – a pretty simple place but it is one of our favourites!

Three

We are currently making the most of our National Trust membership, we headed to Quebec House in Westerham, Kent. This eighteenth century house was the childhood home of General James Wolfe. It is a charming smaller property, very interesting to look around.

Four

As is tradition in our house we always have pancakes on Bank Holidays. Neither of us are quite sure why or when we started this tradition, but we carry on regardless!

Five

Richard grew up in Chobham, Surrey. Every May Day bank holiday the village turns out for it’s annual carnival. As a child Richard took part in the carnival; it is great to go back, see old friends and enjoy the fact that in the 2o years since not much has changed!

2nd May 2016

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Cocktail of the Week | Spring Orchard

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This week we continue to delves into the depths of our cocktail cabinet to create new and interesting drinks. We discovered some Absolut Pear vodka, and decided to created an orchard themed cocktail to celebrate our new blog! It is a refreshing and light drink that is very easy to drink, perfect for sunny spring days! Recipe as follows:

2 measures pear vodka
½ measure elderflower liqueur
2 measure Pear & apple juice
¼ measure fresh lemon juice
Soda water to fill

Pour ingredients into a tall glass over ice, use a slice of fresh pear as garnish.

We hope you enjoy, and if you have any suggestions let us know in the comments.

28th April 2016

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In the Garden | Planning our Veg Patch

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We are currently between houses so we find ourselves living with Richard’s Mum & Dad, and we are likely to be here over the summer. To help out whilst we are here we have offered to take on the veg patch. Having lived in a flat with only a tiny balcony it is very exciting to have some outside space to get our hands dirty in.

We have both had veg patches previously but that has been quite a few years ago so we are taking it simple this year, but we are already planning what we would do in future years.

This year, in the veg patch we will be growing the following:

Lettuce ‘Little Gem’
Mangetout ‘Delikata’
French Beans ‘Sultana’
Courgette ‘Early Gem’
Carrots ‘St Valery’
Potato ‘Vivaldi’ and ‘Nicola’
Onions – Various Varieties
Pumpkin
Strawberries
Raspberries
Rhubarb

and in the greenhouse we will be giving the following a go:

Tomatoes ‘Tomatoberry’ and ‘Big Boy’
Cucumber ‘Telegraph improved’
Aubergine ‘F1 Scorpio’
Chilli Pepper ‘Cherry Bomb’
Sweet Peppers ‘Jingle Bells’ & ‘Italian Long Sweet’

In addition to the fruit and veg we are going to give a cut flower patch a go, we’ll update on the another time as it is still in the final planning stages.

I am sure there will be plenty of updates so check back and see how we are getting on, and if you have any questions or suggestions please let us know in the comments below.

28th April 2016

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Top Five | This Week’s Adventures

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Every week we are going to share five things we have been up to, things we’ve discovered or things that have made us smile. so without further ado let’s get on with this weeks top five!

One

We went to the Village of Bibury in the Cotswolds. it was a glorious day and was wonderful to walk around their picturesque village; the highlight being the seventeenth-century weavers’ cottages and water meadow.

Two

It is Bluebell season! Bluebells are undoubtably one of the most iconic of british wild flowers, is there anything better than a walk in a bluebell wood?

Three

Whilst we are living with Richard’s Mum & Dad we will be looking after their veg patch, and creating a cutting garden. One of the first things we planted in the cutting garden are some sweetpeas, we’re looking forward to their gorgeous scent later in there summer.

Four

After much discussion back and forth we have decided to head for a week in the Loire Valley. We have been before, but it is so lovely and really not that far away or expensive. Very much looking forward to lots of wine, food, exploring chateaux and relaxation!

Five

Now we have temporarily moved into Richard’s Mum & Dad’s cottage, Richard needed to set up a place for him to work as a freelance graphic designer. He has created a cosy nook, with plenty of natural light and surrounded but some of his favourite things.

25th April 2016

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Cocktail of the Week | The English Garden

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When we moved house we discovered we have an abundance of spirits that were just gathering dust at the back of the cupboard. Obviously we couldn’t just let then just sit there so in order to try and make a dent in the supply we decided to experiment with a ‘Cocktail of the Week’ that we will share here.

So let’s get started, in honour of it being St George’s Day, and because we have been working hard in the garden all afternoon we are staring with an ‘English Garden’ the recipe is as follows: