The Old Kiln House news and views

Broadway Tower Whitley Bomber Memorial Service

Broadway Tower is an amazing folly built on a hill overlooking Broadway. They also have a lovely restaurant and gift shop there which serves excellent food and coffee.

A sadder part of the history here is the anniversary of a Lancaster bomber crash which occurred here on 2nd June 1943.

“At the time of this tragedy, Broadway Tower was being used as a Royal Observer Corps post and first on the scene were two corps members, Albert Lowe and Ernest Hollington. Braving the flames, the two men pulled all five airmen clear and though four were dead, a fifth man was still […]

By |June 3rd, 2018|Countryside|0 Comments
Read More

Christmas with Daylesford

Around our luxury B&B in the north Cotswolds are several exciting businesses that reflect the changing face of the beautiful Cotswolds. One of the most impressive organisations and one which we have previously written about is Daylesford Organic, home to one of the best farm shops in the world.
Daylesford is a great organisation with excellent organic products and truly beautiful branding and packaging. Recently, Daylesford has been extending one of their buildings by adding an additional section behind the main food hall.

The New Hall
The hall opened this week hosting the Christmas area and it is a lovely light airy […]

By |November 9th, 2016|Farm Shops and Delis, Places of interest, Shopping, The Cotswolds|0 Comments
Read More

The jam in the breakfast

Before we started this business, I always believed that breakfast was one of the most important aspects of a getaway. A few years ago we visited the Lake District and stayed in a hotel which had a long write up on their website touting  their locally sourced breakfast and I remember how disappointed we were with what was on offer. The sausages were awful, the eggs poor and badly cooked and the preserves were your standard mass catering jelly type products.
We resolved to provide the best quality breakfast we could and fortunately our guests have  loved our efforts.
Last year […]

By |June 18th, 2016|Breakfast|0 Comments
Read More

Cotswolds Distillery – Another great day out

Last month we were very happy to meet Daniel Szor the founder of the Cotswolds Distillery. He lives in the beautiful village of Stourton which is very close to our luxury Bed and Breakfast in Shipston-On-Stour.
Daniel is a great guy who has an amazing city to countryside story (ex New York finance) to tell. He and his family used to travel to Stourton and they slowly fell in love with the Cotswolds.
He decided to jump in with both feet and the Cotswolds Distillery is the wonderful result.

The distillery is obviously a labour of love and Daniel has excellent taste. The […]

By |May 21st, 2016|Places of interest, The Cotswolds|0 Comments
Read More

Dining Out – The George Townhouse

Shipston was recently named by The Sunday Times as one of the best places to live in the UK. It continues to grow with new and interesting businesses opening regularly.
This month an old classic has reopened after undergoing a total change.
The George in Shipston has a long and varied history.

There are numerous photos of the George in circulation but unfortunately few of them are dated.
Over the last few years, The George chugged along with enthusiastic staff doing their best to keep everything going.
At the end of 2015 we received the great news that The George had been bought out […]

By |April 28th, 2016|Eating Out|0 Comments
Read More

Daylesford Organic – The new Cotswolds

Over the past twenty years the Cotswolds has changed dramatically. The picture used to be one of thatched buildings with old ladies in white pinafores serving tea. The whole game changed and changed dramatically for the better when Daylesford Organic farm shop opened in 2002. Daylesford is a one of the “must visits” for guests at our Cotswolds B&B.
Daylesford had been farming organically for 35 years and the shop and restaurant were a natural extension to their great ethos. However I don’t think that anyone expected the shop to have the impact that it has had.

Daylesford products are of […]

By |March 3rd, 2016|Dog friendly, Eating Out, Farm Shops and Delis, Shopping, The Cotswolds, Uncategorized|0 Comments
Read More

Dining out – The Fuzzy Duck in Armscote

One of the most important aspects in our life at our Cotswolds B&B is food! We are very fortunate to have a lot of good options close to us. It is a challenging market and restaurants have to stay on their toes as standards of food and service are usually high.
One of the top restaurants around here that consistently maintains high standards is The Fuzzy Duck in Armscote.
The restaurant is located in a beautifully renovated building where everything has been finished to the highest standards.

They have a well thought out seasonal menu (an example below).

One of the best starters […]

By |February 10th, 2016|Eating Out, The Cotswolds|0 Comments
Read More

Our repeat customers – The ulitmate compliment

When starting our luxury Cotswolds Bed and Breakfast in Shipston-On-Stour, we thought that it would take us a few years to build up momentum and repeat customers.
This year we knew that we were getting things right when we had a large number of guests returning.
Also, because Shipston-On-Stour is such a conveniently located town, central to Birmingham, London and the South, Wales and even Manchester we are lucky to have been chosen for groups of friend’s reunion parties. We have had one group of six friends returning three times and a different set of six returning twice.
This is in addition […]

By |January 10th, 2016|Creating a B&B|0 Comments
Read More

Taste of the Country – Shipston deli

One of the things that drew us to Shipston when we were looking for a good locations for our Cotswolds B&B was that Shipston has an unusually high number of independent businesses. In fact, corporate shops are more the exception in Shipston and are far outnumbered by the independents.

It also helps that this area of the Cotswolds takes food and drink very seriously.
Taste of the Country is a lovely deli which recently has had a total makeover. They stock a lot of products from local producers but what is more impressive is that more than half of their products […]

By |November 15th, 2015|Farm Shops and Delis|0 Comments
Read More

Dining out  – Buckland Manor

Choosing your dining options while staying at our Cotswolds B&B is important. Restaurants around here get booked up quickly and the idea of booking a restaurant and taxi at 6pm on a Friday is not an option. It is important to book ahead and I am more than willing to book restaurants and taxis ahead of time for my guests.
Although there are many quality dining options around Shipston-On-Stour, one of the best fine dining options is Buckland Manor.
Buckland Manor is a 13th-century manor house set in 10 acres of beautiful gardens. The restaurant won the Cotswold Hotel Restaurant of […]

By |September 10th, 2015|Eating Out, The Cotswolds|0 Comments
Read More