Easter in Oxfordshire

What glorious weather we've had this Easter, perfect for our weekend away with friends in Oxfordshire., staying at the De Vere Milton Hall Hotel.

Milton Hall Hotel

The hotel is set in beautiful grounds with parkland separated from the lawn by a ha ha ditch. We didn't see any roaming deer but did see plenty of kites flying high, an elusive huge bird of prey that flew just too far behind the ancient beech trees for us to see, and heard a very busy woodpecker!

Saturday we visited Abingdon which lies on the River Thames. My ankle is feeling great, almost back to being my own foot again apart from swelling as soon as I use it and the annoying blood clot in my calf. Visiting Abingdon was the first big walk I have done so far and it felt so good, there was no wobbling on the uneven pavements and I even managed to climb the huge staircase to the top of the Market House - a huge achievement which boosted my confidence that things will be as they were!

Abingdon Market House

Looking down the huge staircase 

The weather vane

All smiles on the roof terrace 

The museum inside had many interesting items, being a craft  person I was very impressed with the celebration quilt, so many significant dates.

Beautiful quilt in the museum

The River Thames looked gorgeous in the spring sunshine, blue skies, still waters, plenty of walkers, dogs and boats. English country at it's best!

River Thames

Such a variety of boats

Enjoying the beautiful weather with a riverside drink

On Saturday our hotel hosted a wedding, perfect weather for enjoying the hotel lawns and capturing great photos  - hopefully we were not caught in any although we did catch them in ours!

Our 'wedding' photo

On the way down on Friday we called at Slurp wine in Banbury who have a huge selection of wine. It's always nice to discover different labels and find a few old favourites.

On Saturday we called in at Majestic wine, more for a browse really but they did have the Bordeaux Hubby enjoys and was out of stock at Leicester. I picked up a breath bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc which we enjoyed in the sun at the hotel later.

We also called in to Loose Cannon brewery at Abingdon, great beer, so good that we bought back a 5 litre barrel for our Bank Holiday BBQ. As they also sold their beer in litre bottles the chaps opted for a bottle each to enjoy outside.

Beer and wine in the spring sun

It's was a superb weekend, great food, great wine, great company - I am certainly starting to feel better and am looking forward to the summer.

2 years on ...

Yesterday marked two years since my fall which marred not only Cuvée Reserve 2017 Wine Weekend but has has affected my (and my Hubby's) life since. If you don't know the story this was my blog post back then - Stratford Weekend

It was Grand National weekend and unknown to me I had a horse in the sweepstake the others did as part of their Majestic tasting .... amazingly my horse won! The prize was a stunning bottle of Moet 2008 which Hubby and I enjoyed at my first big achievement - our bed finally moving upstairs after 4 months sleeping in the conservatory - Celebration bubbly

Our friends also gave us a bottle of Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc which they had all enjoyed at the tasting. Sauvignon Blanc is my favourite grape and so I have been saving this bottle for a special moment .......

....... yesterday was that moment.

Four weeks ago I had all the metalwork removed from my ankle, a tendon flattened and a nerve repaired. My foot is quite sore as I now have a five inch scar either side of my ankle, however it now feels like it actually belongs to me and is not just a lump on the end of my leg. My movement is returning, I can walk up/down stairs, get my boots on and manage about half way round a small supermarket. It's early days but hopefully once the scars have healed, the swelling has gone down and my mobility increases I will feel like myself again and be back to 'me' before 7th April 2017.

So two years on and starting to feel normal, yesterday was Greywacke day. Hubby and I enjoyed this nicely chilled, initially on it's own and then with our chicken dinner.

It was a lovely wine, great glisten in the glass giving it an inviting appearance. It was full of peach and melon on the nose with a blossom background. It's flavour was soft white fruit and grapefruit, plenty of citrusy crispness with a smooth finish.

I did enjoy this wine, such a shame it wasn't back in 2017 with our friend whose gift was very much appreciated, salute!

Weekend on the Wye

For a change of scene whilst recuperating we booked a cottage in the Wye Valley, very last minute so unfortunately our son couldn't join us due to work but our daughter and her boyfriend did. It's so nice being retired as not only can we do things last minute but can book Friday to Monday so we do all get a full weekend away instead of having to leave 10am Sunday morning. 

Kerne Cottage in Kerne Bridge was lovely, if a little hilly. I managed to walk up and down the slope from the garage to the front door which was a huge improvement. We were very lucky with the weather, it was glorious when we arrived. 

Settled on the patio 10 minutes after arriving

The house was over two floors; a large cosy lounge, a well equipped kitchen, super dining room, utility room and loo downstairs; three double bedrooms and family bathroom upstairs. There was everything we could need, even vases for my Mother's Day flowers - a real home from home.

Homely hearth - roses from Hubby

Daffodils from our daughter and her boyfriend 

Superb dining room with stone fireplace 

The garden sloped away with views across the Wye although we couldn't quite see the river from the house. There were plenty of birds both in the garden and soaring high above, we even had a pair of swans fly by.

The view from our lounge on Saturday morning -
earlier we couldn't see anything out of the window

The fog cleared to reveal the stunning view  to the hill across the river 

Lovely to see the sparrows having a bath

Afternoon visit from Mrs Pheasant 

Saturday morning it was just Hubby, myself and our daughter so we popped into Ross-on-Wye, a fabulous riverside town although the main street was on a very steep hill so I didn't walk far. Just enough to see the old market place and have lunch with cocktails in Leonards at 39.

Ross-on-Wye

Cocktails with lunch 

The scenery is the Wye Valley is amazing. We went for a drive around on Sunday along the river and to Symonds Yat Rock. It was high up in the forest so I stayed in the car whilst the three explorers followed the trail to the view over the river with birds of prey flying beneath them.

Kerne Bridge over the Wye River

Looking upstream 

View from Symonds Yat Rock

The Wye River flowing off in the distance

It was a very relaxing weekend, enjoying the countryside, good food, good beer and good wine which were all from Majestic.

Our daughter brought a bottle of Prosecco with her - Romeo and Juliet Prosecco with it's very arty label. This is a light bubbly, plenty of pears and red apples with some acidity. Served well chilled it was perfect with our  light pizzas.

Romeo and Juliet Prosecco

Hubby had a meaty pizza which paired very well with Papa Luna red wine from the Calatayud region of Spain. It's a blend of Garnacha, Syrah and Monastrell grapes with plenty of raspberries, cherries, a touch of spice and vanilla high notes.

Papa Luna 

With our fish and chip supper on Saturday we had a new wine - Gufetto Pinot Grigio. I picked this up the other week when in store, in all honesty because it was £4.99 and I liked the owl on the label. It was a nice little wine, plenty of citrus with a little minerality and was a great match to our meal. All wine having it's place this would be a perfect light wine for a summer's lunch, certainly one to have in the wine rack for easy drinking.

Gufetto Pinot Grigio

Our other wine was also a Pinot Grigio. Salveto has flavours of white fruit and pears but for me needed a little more depth. Of the two my preference would be for the Gufetto.

Salveto Pinto Grigio

It was a lovely weekend away to an area we have passed through any times on the way to Cardiff, a very enjoyable time which certainly helped with recuperating !!