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When a man reaches his mid forties, chances are he's got all the clothes, cd's, gadgets and gizmos he's ever likely to need. With the big day looming, I must admit I was struggling to think of the perfect gift when I had a bit of a light bulb moment...
AND SO TO BED
I've known Mr Roberts for over fifteen years and have come to learn that, for him to relax, he needs to be taken away from his usual surroundings - the phone, computer, household chores (ha! private joke) to switch off and recharge his batteries.
Having thoroughly enjoyed a weekend at one of the Von Essen hotels a while back, at The Royal Crescent in Bath, I searched online at www.vonessen.com and saw that they had several hotels under their ownership. Quite a few of them took my fancy but I didn't really want to stray too far from home so Thornbury Castle in Gloucestershire, seemed to fit the bill perfectly.
The castle stands in fifteen acres, has its own vineyard and boasts the oldest Tudor garden in England and, the only castle in England to open as a hotel. It is steeped in history, as you can imagine, and history has it that Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn once walked the rooms and grounds. It celebrated 500 years in 2009 when it came under the ownership of the Von Essen collection of private hotels. Its current accolades include 3 Red Stars and 32 AA Rosettes from the AA. The Castle is perfectly situated to explore the surrounding Cotwolds.
We arrived fairly late into the evening and just happened to be greeted by Brian Jarvis, the super friendly general manager of sixteen years standing. Brian led us to our room, one of 27 in the Castle, the Mary I suite which had a very impressive four poster bed chamber, (one of four in the Castle). As with most of the rooms it also featured beautiful tapestries and ornate ceilings. It had the most beautiful oriel windows which gave us very impressive views of the church opposite. I was a little concerned initially at being so close to a church.
Would early morning bells deafen us in our slumber? I needn't have worried. The bells were more chime-like and we had to strain to hear them. Perfect.
Perhaps the Castle's most requested room is The Tower Bedroom, with commanding views of the River Severn and the rolling hills of South Gloucestershire and Wales beyond, and features, what is reputed to be, the widest bed in England, at over ten feet wide. There's also a beautiful Victorian Gatehouse with two lovely bedrooms and its own private garden.
We dined at the Castle's Tower dining room where the menu was extremely tempting. We chose well, starting with scallops, main course of venison and, to finish, chocolate pudding, all of which were cooked to perfection.
Next morning, after a hearty full English, we spent our Saturday exploring Bath and then spent a couple of hours with Denzel Washington in his latest movie The Book of Eli which I can thoroughly recommend. Our last night at the Castle went just as pleasantly and it was a shame that we had to leave but we wanted to pay a visit to Cheltenham on our return journey. We were glad we did. This beautiful spa town boasts gorgeous independent boutiques, gift shops and the most beautifully appointed barbers.
The reality of work and home-life dawned on us and, as we couldn't figure out a way to stay longer, we made our way home with a promise to return. Maybe on our next visit, we'll see if we can lose ourselves and find each other again in the 10ft wide bed! Many happy returns Mr Roberts!
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