travel writer

VIDEOS

By Tim Saunders

“You have such well behaved children.”

I’m really not expecting this comment from an elderly couple sat at a table next to us at The Old Bull’s Head country pub and restaurant in Loughborough during our trip to the East Midlands. And it’s not a sarcastic comment either. They really mean it. It comes at the end of our meal at this historic pub where we while away more than a couple of hours, and it’s way past the little ones’ bedtime. Comments like this really boost the morale. Our welcoming host Laura takes our orders. We have a garlic bread pizzette for the table and Caroline has a tartin – a portion of goat’s cheese with shallots and butternut squash, which she really does enjoy. Henry (8) has a Margherita pizza and Pepsi while Heidi (11), Harriett (13) and Mummy each go for a cheeseburger. Lemonade for the girls and a weak bitter shandy for Caroline. Line caught cod and chips has my name on it, accompanied by an ice cold Guinness. A mini pudding of chocolate brownie with a hot chocolate is all I can manage while Caroline has a cappuccino and crème brulee and the children have triple choc cookies and ice cream.

On our way up we explore Kirby Hall, a Grade I listed Elizabethan country house in Northamptonshire. Built in 1570 its architecture is reminiscent of grand Italian architecture that was particularly popular at the time of construction. This important stately home was visited by King James I on many occasions where he stayed in the best room and played billiards. Then in the 1800s when the Finch-Hattons, who had renovated the property, lost their money, they sold the lead from the roof and abandoned it. “They had a second home though,” says one of the English Heritage staff. Peacocks roam outside and the children love watching them especially when they all jump on to the wall as we leave.

We stay at 2 Meynell Mews, one of a collection of stylish renovated red brick holiday cottages at Breedon Hall in Breedon on the Hill, Leicestershire. Approached by a tree lined driveway it makes for a grand and luxurious retreat. Chickens and ducks live by the entrance. Our abode is very welcoming and lit up, which is helpful as we arrive in the dark. Inside, considered interior design greets the weary traveller. There is feature wallpaper, good quality flooring and carpet upstairs, pleasant and comfortable furnishings and antiques. There’s not only an en-suite bathroom but also an en-suite shower room and a downstairs loo, all of which make for very comfortable family friendly accommodation. Although this cottage is aimed at four occupants, it easily accommodates the five of us with a Z bed in the lounge for Heidi. All our hotel standard beds provide a good night’s sleep. The children make the most of going downstairs in the morning and switching on the television to catch up with their programmes. We enjoy the bath and it’s a naughty luxury having a television in the master bedroom, which allows me to keep up with the news at the end of a day. At the cottage we have our cereal breakfasts and cheese and cracker lunches, which is easy and relaxing.

On the first day we have a lie in and after getting ourselves ready we take a stroll around the area. We discover that outside the driveway is a herb garden packed with mint, thyme, sorrel, lavender and more and interesting stories about them, too. Beside this is an interesting little stone building that we discover was in fact the village prison principally for drunkards and hard headed individuals, before the local police was established. It was later used as a pound for stray livestock.

We make our way to St Mary and St Hardulph Priory Church. On the way there is a stone memorial to the villagers who died in both world wars, thirteen in the first and two in the second. We’ve brought Henry’s scooter, which works a treat and he scoots around the memorial. The devastation of war, with most of the men in the village killed. And we don’t learn.

We make our way up the hill to the church, which is in the remains of an Iron Age hill fort. It contains the largest collection and some of the finest examples of Anglo-Saxon sculpture. There’s a piano that Heidi and Harriett play. Original wooden pews, private compartments with their own doors provide the congregation with a pleasant existence. A chance for a little reflection but not much thanks to the children!

It’s time to get back to the ranch and then drive into Leicester, about 25 miles away down the M1 and to our Justpark.com parking space on the edge of the city. This pre-booking service utilises private driveways and makes for an easy, very cost effective way of parking, completely removing the headache. I think it also provides greater security over parking at the roadside or even in car parks.

Travelling without a phone we expect to get lost and are all the better off for it. We see life as it is. We talk to people, some of them are helpful, others tell us about Google Maps… That’s actually in the Audi A3 I’m driving...

Leicester is an interesting multi-cultural city. We need to find our way to the hospital because not far from there at Infirmary Square is Sapphire Seafood Kitchen where we are having dinner. We finally arrive and owner Vhesh is passionate about seafood. He explains how his offering is completely unique in Leicester. I have never actually eaten lobster because I’m unsure of how to and Vhesh assures me that this is a common issue. His way of challenging conservative eating is to kindly take the time to educate people like me by showing how to go about de-shelling prawns, lobsters, crabs. It’s necessary for me to wear an apron and gloves and then I tackle a lobster tail, a handful of prawns and crabs legs. It’s rewarding and tasty, accompanied with chips, new potatoes, egg and corn on the cob. There’s a spicy sauce, too. While Harriett and Heidi do try some, cheeseburgers are more their thing and Mummy goes for Cajun salmon with rice and corn on the cob with egg and a butter dip. Corn on the cob and chips brings a smile to Henry’s face and there are various cakes for dessert. All of this is accompanied by ginger ale for Heidi, pineapple juice for Mummy, apple cider for me and Fanta for Henry and Harriett.

On the outskirts of Leicester is a Vue cinema and here we watch The Wild Robot. Heidi read the book at primary school and really liked it so she is keen to see the film. We get here early and take a walk, discovering a skateboard/scooter park at the back of the venue, which is ideal for Henry to let off some steam. He loves attempting the jumps and is very pleased to make a noticeable improvement after just quarter of an hour.

In the cinema we sink back in our VIP seats with their armrests and good amounts of legroom. This is a lovely treat. We all lose ourselves in this animated story about love, kindness and friendship. Good overcomes evil. It’s quite a timely film when thinking about current world events. It’s always comforting to hear Bill Nighy’s voice and the animation is very clever, too.

It’s time for dinner again and we fancy trying some Indian cuisine. Heading back into Leicester city centre we park the car in our usual spot having booked it out with justpark.com for a couple of days. We want to go to Varanasi Boutique Restaurant in the High Street but have lost our bearings and so visit the library. There, a helpful librarian suggests, “Just use Google Maps on your smartphone.” Uh oh. “Sorry son, we don’t do that, we want to preserve our creativity, can you help us?” And with that he reluctantly calls up Google on his desktop and kindly prints out directions. It’s not that difficult really – we just need to walk past a certain supermarket and then a leisure centre and past the canal where there is a herd of swans… Quarter of an hour later we’re in front of a rather grand, fabulously panelled wooden front door. This is our introduction to what is to become a very special occasion. Pushing the door open reveals even more palatial grandeur. Pillars, sculptures, exquisite interior design that makes the prospective diner feel like they’re entering a temple. We’re greeted by a friendly front of house team who swiftly relieve us of our coats… and one scooter. This is a grand occasion where more formal dress than our casual wear is called for... “We don’t allow caps in here,” we’re advised as I deftly remove Henry’s baseball cap. “Sorry.” Quite so. They should go one step further and ban mobile phones, too. It’s a shame to see fellow diners scrolling. Yet despite this, there’s a lovely atmosphere here, everyone’s talking and nothing’s too much trouble for the waiters and waitresses. Nass and Julie look after us and they have clearly been expertly trained. Waiting is an art and one that many restaurants forget about. It’s almost performance art and a pleasure to experience, it makes the guest feel appreciated. This attention to detail is rewarded by a busy restaurant. We haven’t eaten in an Indian restaurant before and so we don’t know what to expect. We continue to marvel at our sophisticated surroundings as we’re guided to a large circular table on which there is a marble lazy Susan. A couple of baskets of poppadoms and sauces are placed on this. “I recommend Lucky lager,” says Nass. “It comes in a fancy bottle and is brewed in China.” Ok then, I’ll try that, I say. Caroline has a guava juice, Heidi and Henry have Appletizers and Harriett has a passion fruit juice. Henry likes the poppadoms. It’s a bit of struggle to work out what he will eat for a main meal but he does try a tiny little bit of rice and he does eat a naan bread. This in itself feels like an achievement because I might have mentioned that he really is a picky eater. For starters the children eat cheese naan bread and coconut naan bread. I have a tasty chicken samosa and Caroline goes for salmon with pineapple sauce. For our main meals Heidi has a mild Varanasi chicken curry, which after a good effort, eventually proves too hot for her. I have a medium one with saffron rice and really enjoy it but we need a lot of water at our table because the spice is quite hot for our untrained palettes. Caroline has a chicken korma, Harriett, a Delhi classic tandoori chicken. It’s a great experience.

Our final day sees us check out at 10am and make our way to the city of Derby, under 20 miles away, partly through countryside and through the very quaint market town of Melbourne, the namesake of the Australian city but also where travel agent Thomas Cook lived.  

Once again we’re able to park on the edge of the city with justpark.com and explore. At Derby Cathedral we come across a thought provoking display about homelessness where there are some heart-wrenching stories including one about Stephen, who became homeless when he couldn’t cope after the death of his young son. Spiralling into alcoholism that he kept fighting, he established a soup kitchen for fellow homeless people, but died at the age of 39. He posted on his soup kitchen website of his despair, his suicidal thoughts, the fact that his parents had disowned him and he had nobody to confide in, how he had asked for someone to visit him in hospital and nobody came. It’s very, very sad and something that has long been a problem. In 1929 the author George Orwell wrote about the homeless opposite the Houses of Parliament. During our own travels we have seen a number of homeless people, including an elederly man, especially at night. There but for the grace of God go I… “We have one man who comes outside the cathedral most nights to beg,” says one of the wardens, “but he isn’t homeless.” And this is the fundamental problem that we’re all presented with – are the people we see sitting on the street actually homeless? It prompts eldest daughter Harriett to remind me of the time I offered a banana to a man on the street and he turned his nose up at it. Offer them money and likely as not it will fuel addiction. We discuss Prince William’s admirable aim to end homelessness but can’t help feeling he’s out of touch. The only way I can see this being achieved is by thoroughly understanding the situation of each homeless person, making them valued by helping them earn a wage, which will then enable them to pay their way. Some will have the desire to do this. Others will not. I believe there has to be that hunger to succeed in life, that appreciation of what you have got. When you’ve got that, you don’t want to lose it.

All this thought makes us hungry again and we’re extremely fortunate to be able to pop into Bistrot Pierre, a French restaurant in Friar Gate for lunch. It’s a beautiful old building. Stepping inside you feel like you could actually be in France thanks to the décor, which includes classic French posters. It just so happens that our waitress Billie is half French and so we try to order in our best French. For drinks Heidi has an Orangina s’il vous plait, Harriett a blackberry lemonade, an apple juice for Mummy, a Coca-Cola for Henry and a French lager for papa. A brie starter for Caroline, garlic sourdough bread for Henry and the rest of us soup du jour; tomato and basil with sourdough. For mains Heidi and Harriett have Pasta Provencale, Henry has a Margherita pizza, Mummy and I have salmon and smoked cod fishcake with buttered new potatoes, French beans, black olives, red peppers, plum tomatoes, gem lettuce, soft poached egg and Dijon dressing… Mmm. I don’t usually like olives but I find these particularly tasty. For dessert Harriett and Heidi have chocolate sandpit mousse with gingerbread men and sweeties on top. I have a dark chocolate mousse with crunch, Henry has ice cream and Mummy has torte tartin (apple and caramel). Caroline and I decide to finish with coffees; a Macchiato for her and a latte for me.

We drive home to Hampshire.

For more information: