Lords of the Manor

THE unmistakeable drawl of America’s deep south cut through the air like a hot knife through butter.

“Ah do declare. I ain’t never seen such a pretty village anywhere, ever.”

It was hard to disagree with the American tourist who was lagging behind the rest of her group from the USA and their tour guide because she was taking so many photographs.

The Cotswolds is blessed with numerous villages that are picturesque enough to grace any Fortnum and Mason chocolate box lid but the unfortunately named Slaughters take some beating.

Upper and Lower Slaughter lie a pretty 20 minutes walk from each other across fields via a path known as Warden‘s Way, but unlike some of the more commercial towns and villages their visual beauty is not spoiled by wall to wall tourists and motorists competing for parking places.

There are tour groups - as illustrated by the aforementioned Americans - but their numbers are relatively small so you can wander around the honey-coloured stone houses with their pretty weathered slate roofs without having to keep stepping off the pavement to let people pass by.

Both villages are quintessentially English. Both have the same slow flowing river running through the middle of them and both promise a photograph opportunity around every corner.

Lower Slaughter, by far the larger of the two, has its own working water mill and close by are a couple of pedestrian bridges and a road bridge over the river so you can easily wander back and forth. If you want to cross the river in a car in Upper Slaughter you have to be prepared to get your tyres wet driving through the ford, but it‘s good fun.

Upper Slaughter is also home to one of the most prestigious hotels in the Cotswolds, Lords of the Manor.

Set in eight acres of landscaped gardens and rolling parkland the property dates from the 17th century and was bought by the Slaughter family from Henry VIII.

When we visited staff at the hotel were on a high, having just learned that - under head chef Richard Picard-Edwards - they had retained their Michelin Star for 2016, the seventh consecutive year the property has held the coveted award.

It’s also the Good Hotel Guide’s 2015 Country House Hotel of the Year, an accolade not lost on the guests staying there that I spoke to.

Open the visitors book and it’s like reading a directory of nations. In 2014 two princes from the Japanese royal family were guests, although staff free

ly admit that they are not sure what comments in Japanese written in the book say about them - but hope they are all complimentary.

Visitors from all over the world make a beeline for Lords of the Manor when visiting the Cotswolds because its history makes it as English as you can get.

Beamed ceilings, antique furniture, cosy sitting rooms and terraces where you can take tea in tranquillity surrounded by a kaleidoscope of colour from a garden that could only be in England.

At the front of the house a rolling lawn where you can enjoy an aperitif before dinner leads down to a small lake which is home to a number of ducks.

It’s a world away from city life, which is probably why it attracts so many overseas travellers and London residents keen to unwind for the weekend.

But it’s also the hotel’s Michelin star that’s a big draw, enhancing its reputation for good food.

We sampled the popular seven course tasting menu, not cheap at £85 per person but definitely exceptional.

To waken our taste buds we started with an appetiser of set onion cream, roast chicken jelly and parmesan foam; an inspired combination.

We then enjoyed linguini and consomme of corn fed chicken before tucking into pan roast fillet of turbot, broad beans, gnocchi and Thai foam. Unusually it was decorated with a jasmine flower, which is edible.

Adding a little substance to the meal the main course was beautiful combination of roast fillet and braised cheek of Stokes March beef, onion, braised turnip, shitake mushrooms and red wine sauce.

Heralding the sweeter dishes was blackberry and apple foam, followed by a pre-desert of lemon meringue pie, although this unusual take on the classic dessert came in a glass with the meringue in the form of tiny wafers.

To round it all off our main desert was a rich chocolate marquise, hazelnut puree, coffee jelly and coffee bean ice cream with gold leaf decoration - a treat for the eye as well as the stomach.

And while seven courses sounds an indulgence they were perfectly calculated so that - after the coffee and handmade chocolate petit fours - we were replete but not too full.

If you feel like indulging in some interesting shopping during your visit Stow-on-the-Wold is just a few minutes drive away and boasts a host of shops and galleries with a difference, but parking can be a problem at weekends.

And the picturesque village of Bourton-on-the-Water is less than three miles from the hotel but again does get very busy.

If horses are your thing call into the Plough at Ford for coffee or something stronger as we did. Next to the pub car park are the gallops of renowned trainer Jonjo O’Neill, and if you time your visit right you can see the horses from the stable being exercised.

Anyone staying at Lords of the Manor who also wants to indulge in some gentle exercise by walking in the Cotswolds countryside has no excuse/ The hotel has a collection of green wellies at the front door for guests to borrow to work up an appetite for their Michelin starred dinner.

FACTFILE

To book a room at Lords of the Manor visit http://www.lordsofthemanor.com or telephone :01451 820243