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| Timberstone Bed and Breakfast, Ludlow |
Holidays - these are the times we remember - the love and the laughter.
Just a few weeks ago a friend came back from a trip
fuming. She’d been onto a website to check out the travel reviews and booked the accommodation for her break in confidence. What she’d read online indicated that it
was a lovely place to stay.
She paced the floor, coffee in hand and over
several minutes ranted about how clearly the people that were commenting on the
site had wildly different standards than hers. The place was dirty, the people were rude and she’d been so
unhappy she packed her bags and moved on to stay elsewhere. I gingerly pointed out that this was
her opportunity to tell the truth on the review site. Her reply was short.
She said that commenting was all very well .. but it was her break already been ruined.
So what to do when you want to go somewhere really
lovely to take a break? Some of the review sites clearly have bogus people posting great reviews about hell holes. How do you
know that the place you are choosing is lovely? How do you guarantee charm,
romance, and a break that we all remember for the right reasons?
As the conversation continued and I finally managed
to get a word in edgeways I was surprised to find that my friend hadn’t heard
of the Alastair Sawday books. (I thought
everyone knew about them.) My parents bought his first book about 20 years ago. They’d sat in bed one Sunday morning,
reading the Sunday Times (.. as
they have done for 40 years or more and read an article about Alastair Sawday
and were hooked.) They were
absolutely thrilled when the book arrived and booked the bed and have since
booked the breakfasts from the books every time they’ve been away.
Twenty years on and I asked mum why she still loves
using the books “it’s like having a friend personally recommend you where to
stay. “ she said. Of course I skip
straight onto the Internet to look for wherever I want to go and I know that if
a venue has been picked by Alastair Sawday and invited to join the guide then
it will be wonderful. It’s so
reassuring.
When I was invited to stay through Sawdays a few
weeks ago at Timberstone cottage near Ludlow my husband had work commitments and
couldn’t come. All the same I was
thrilled to be going to stay near Ludlow.
It’s famed for being a foodies paradise.
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| Crisp white cotton bedding and fluffy towels |
Timberstone was everything the Sawdays guide promised
it to be. The welcome was warm, the dogs wagged their tails and Alex and Tracy
were the perfect hosts. It’s not
easy to take a break with three young children, especially on my own but Tracy
and Alex have two boys the same age as my children and within minutes the kids
were working out the best way to climb a tree and I relaxed as Alex put my bags
in my room.
Oh I can’t tell you how lovely it was to just
relax. There were fluffy white
towels, really crisp white cotton bedding, and jugs of fresh flowers in all the
room picked from the garden. When
I was offered a home cooked meal that evening and I can honestly say I was
relived not to have to going out to find somewhere to eat. The food was
comparable to any you would expect from a really good restaurant and Tracy
explained that her love of food and working along side a top chef meant feeding
guests was one of her favorite aspects of running a B & B. The wine was superb. Again as we
chatted it turned out that Alex and Tracy met whilst they were working for a
wine merchant. We spent the
evening chatting and they gave me a great run down of the local food scene,
which held me in good stead for the following day. I slept like a log in one of
the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in.
I loved that all the food was locally sourced; the
sausages at breakfast were outstanding, along with Tracy’s pretty pots of home
made chutneys and locally made sourdough bread from Prices the bakers on the
market square.
I loved the stay so much that I’ve booked to go
again in July, only this time I will be sure to take my husband. He’ll love it.
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| Ludlow. Fresh sourdough from Prices the Bakers on the market square, cheese from the Mousetrap and the local market was wonderful. |
RULES
Please see
competition Rules before entering. This giveaway is open to all
readers over 18 with a UK mainland address. The winner will be
chosen at random by randomizer.com. You need to leave your e-mail address
in order to comment, I am the only person that can see it. Please do not
include your email in the actual comment as well.
This
competition on behalf of Alastair Sawdays and they will be responsible for
organizing the prize with the winner. Their decision is final and no
correspondence will be entered into.
There is
one main way to enter and there are lots more chances to win .. . and
you must leave a separate comment for each bonus entry otherwise they will
not be counted.
For a
chance to win please comment and tell me who would you take with you if you
won?
For a 2nd chance to win please follow @sawdays on Twitter and
comment below to tell me you have done so.
For a 3rd chance to win please like Sawdays
on Facebook and comment to tell me you have done so
For a 4th chance to win please Follow @Timberstone1 on Twitter and
please leave a comment to say you have done so.
For a 5th chance to win please tweet me @VanessaKimbell and tell me
who you’d love to take with you if you won – please comment to say you have
done so.
For more
chances of winning Tweet this article and comment below to tell me you
have done so. Each comment counts and an entrance and you can have a
maximum of 1 entry per day to win this break - but you MUST comment with
your twitter ID telling me you have done so!
Automated
Entries are not allowed. There is no cash or product
alternative. The invitation must be used by
Closing date of this competition is 4pm 11th
July 2012 The winner will be announced on Twitter on the July 12thth 2012
