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Bed & breakfasts
publication date: Apr 1, 2009
Farmhouse, townhouse, seaside terrace or country cottage:
whatever style you fancy, Britain’s B&Bs offer everything from good value basics to affordable luxury. By Andrea Spain
BED AND breakfasts (or B&Bs) are a great British tradition in guest accommodation. They vary greatly in style and facilities but most are small properties, usually a family home, with just one or a handful of bedrooms, that offer overnight accommodation and a good breakfast (“the full English/Scottish/Welsh...”). B&Bs can be among the lowest priced accommodation but you can choose with confi dence by looking out for the star ratings given to a tourist board or AA inspected, quality assessed property. Bed & Breakfasts are also a good way of finding affordable luxury: choose from the four- and five-star accommodations, particularly with the gold and silver awards which mark the highest levels of quality and service. One of the charms of Britain’s B&Bs is that
some of them are historic buildings that have
had interesting former lives. Ten miles north
of Norwich, for example, and one mile from
Blickling Hall, the National Trust’s stunning
Jacobean mansion, the five-star gold award
The Old Pump House was built in 1760 and
has been a farm, a boarding school and a
rectory before becoming a B&B with five
ensuite rooms. “It was given its current
name, after the old thatched water pump
in the front garden, when the vicar of Saint
Michael’s church sold the house around
18 years ago,” explains Marc James, former
antiques dealer who now runs the B&B
with Charles Kirkman. B&Bs are often the best places to enjoy the
Great British Breakfast, delivered with the
care and personal attention of your host –
impossible to achieve in a large hotel. At The
Old Pump House, “All the produce we use is
locally sourced, from the bacon and sausages
to the Lowestoft kipper fillets,” says Marc.
Another B&B that prides itself on its food
is Thorney Mire Barn, also five-star with a
gold award, near Hawes in the Yorkshire
Dales. Simon and Jane Hudson are known
for their hearty fare, using local produce –
something that led them to win a place as
a finalist in the Taste of Yorkshire category
of the recent White Rose Awards – as well
as in the Guest Accommodation of the Year
category. On their breakfast menu, they
feature a Pearsons of Ingleton black pudding
which is industry Regional Champion 2008,
and Steadmans of Sedburgh Haggis – winner
of a gold award from the Guild of Q butchers. Thorney Mire Barn is over 250 years old and
was originally the milking parlour for the farm.
“We were frequent visitors to Wensleydale
over 15 years and loved the area so much we
decided to come and live here,” says Simon.
“The rolling countryside is carefully farmed
to preserve the historic landscape.” Staying on a farm in Britain is becoming
increasingly popular: as well as countryside
locations they can give a real insight into life
on a farm. Thistleyhaugh in Northumbria for
example is a working 720-acre farm run by
Henry and Enid Nelless, third generation
working farmers, who now offer five-star
gold B&B in their Georgian farmhouse on
the banks of the River Coquet. It’s a great
base from which to explore the Cheviot Hills
and the Northumberland coastline. Another former rectory turned B&B has
been sitting for over 100 years on the edge of
Tal-y-Llyn, on the south side of Cader Idris
in Snowdonia, and its three bedrooms have
stunning views of the lake. Host John Francis
has turned The Old Rectory on the Lake into
luxurious B&B accommodation and has won
five stars from Visit Wales. It’s the welcome from the host that makes
or breaks a B&B and The Automobile
Association (AA), which has been celebrating
100 years in the hospitality industry, marks
the best each year in its accommodation
awards. In the AA B&B Awards 2008,
Margaret Frost of Diggins Farm, in Chipping
Ongar, Essex was named AA Friendliest
Landlady of the Year. More recommended
rest-stops
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