Thursday - Ashridge and Brownlow's Cafe
November 13, 2014
Apologies if this post is a bit Hertfordshire biased but I thought I'd share one of my favourite places to spend a weekend morning since we've got a dog. Ashridge a large country estate owned by the National Trust with miles of great walks, the Bridgewater momument and Ashridge House. There are lots of nice pubs, {this one is our favourite} but for a mid morning snack, Brownlow's Cafe never disappoints! We tend to go once a month for a nice long walk throughout all seasons, these photos are from this past Sunday's visit.
Ashridge is beautiful in all seasons, the bluebells are spectacular in the Spring, you can bring a picnic in the summer and buy an ice cream, autumn as in these photos has lots of colour and in the Winter you can wrap up for a long walk. We've been in the snow before which was lovely.
There are so many walking routes you can choose from, a lot of people cycle them too. We normally do one of three favourite routes starting and finishing near the monument, always finishing up at Brownlow's cafe. Rain or shine you can sit out under huge canopies on picnic benches, or in the sunshine if it's nice with your pups {they sell Bonio biscuits for four legged friends}. The hot chocolates are especially good as are the freshly baked cakes, we normally go for carrot but shared a few different types this time. Sometimes we order brunch too, sausage sandwiches or soup. The prices are reasonable and the quality is great, everything is made fresh and sourced locally. They don't even own a microwave. The only drawback is the length of time you have to stand in the queue sometimes but the atmosphere is always good and the staff all work so hard churning out so much food and lots of coffee from a tiny kitchen. It was featured in Conde Nast's best places to eat outside in England.
There are acres of woodland and open fields to walk through. My Dad is a member of Ashridge Golf Club so he's helped us find some new routes but you can go to to the Visitor's centre if you want a map or some walking routes. If you're lucky you'll see deer.
When you're done walking, Berkhamsted is just down the hill, a lovely historic market town for a wander. I'll do a blog post on it sometime soon, I got my wedding dress there, most of our house is furnished from the various antique shops off of the high street, the Rex cinema {blog post here}, a Waitrose, charity shops, restaurants, we like to visit most weeks.
I love this bridge in the woods surrounded by autumn leaves.
Ashridge info here.
R <3 xx
1 comments
Your enthusiasm for the weekends really inspires me. You are always doing something lovely! We've often become stuck in a rut at the weekend thinking of things to do and places to go so if you've got lots of great ideas please email them to me!!! :) xxx
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