Let's talk luxury. 5 star luxury. It's such a good label but from my experience very few places live up to the hype. Not this one, definitely not this one. The Three Daggers in Wiltshire is absolutely delightful.
With only 3 rooms the whole experience feels pretty exclusive and really rather special. We were in The Priory room with a hugely high beamed ceiling, an enormous bed, and the best bathroom/walk-in shower I have ever experienced.
And that's not all. There is also a living room/kitchen which is shared amongst the very small number of residents. With another large screen TV (each room has its own large screen TV also), a fabulously comfy sofa, and a fully equipped kitchen with a large variety of tea and coffee making facilities, fully stocked fridge, freshly baked bread for midnight snacks, and all sorts of other baked goodies, this hotel is worth every single star.
Breakfast is included in the accommodation and you can opt for a buffet style one from a heavily laden table or something cooked from the kitchen. Ever one to give everything a go, I opted for the buffet and Dave for the cooked. His poached eggs looked (and tasted!) like perfection, and my Dorset Cereal muesli with natural yoghurt and giant fresh strawberries were delicious! Followed by a round of toast, a grand pot of tea, and a fab cup of freshly brewed coffee. There's also the choice of croissant or pain au chocolat, and various other cereals from the buffet table.
Whilst we're on the subject of food, you can also opt to eat in the restaurant or pub below. We were initially booked into the restaurant side but opted to stay in the pub side for an informal evening. The menu choice was wide and apart from a mix up with our bread starter, the food was extremely tasty and beautifully presented.
The focaccia starter with homemade pesto, cumin hummus, and balsamic vinegar dips was huge and delicious. My chicken Caesar salad was divine and Dave's spatchcock poussin in BBQ sauce with fries and homemade coleslaw was also yummy, though he had serious food envy over my seriously good salad. Despite being full up to the brim I couldn't resist ordering a pudding of white chocolate crème brulee. Served with home baked shortbread and a chilled strawberry coated in white chocolate the sugar crack was a resounding success and absolutely bloody delicious! For £34, the meal was excellent value and also got a resounding 5 stars from us both.
Also worth a mention is the farm shop and the brewery. Dave tried the beers and liked them enough to buy some to bring home (and some for a gift) and the farm shop was gorgeous, with blooming flowers hanging everywhere and lots of tasty treats to choose from. We opted to bring home some Three Daggers Ale Chutney which is blummin' fabulous on a cheese sandwich!
Our overall experience was just the best. The staff were friendly and couldn't do enough for you, and the 2 night stay was indeed the luxury they promise. If you are looking for a lovely couple of nights away I can highly recommend the Daggers. Absolutely delightful!
It's another big'un. But you can never have enough cups of tea in one day, right?
With the prospect of rain for 4 days straight we decided to quit the camping, pack up the very soggy tent, and head to a hotel for some serious hair washing (that would be for me) and sleep in a room that didn't move with the weather. Staying in Cornwall, we booked a basic room and headed to Truro. It did exactly what it said on the tin and I slept for 12 hours straight. Feeling refreshed we started one of the longest legs of the journey, out of Cornwall and back to civilisation.
It took us 10 hours to travel 100 metres...ha! Not really, we got caught in one bit where there was road works but good music and some pear drop sweeties soon solved that.
We decided to stop for a coffee at the services at Exeter on the M5. NEVER EVER DO THIS! Yowser! We went from hardly any people to all the people in the entire world, or that was what it felt like, all queuing up for Burger King. Horrid. I'm still mentally scarred by the experience.
Thankfully that horror was to be replaced by one of sheer relaxation when we reached our hotel for the night. It was intended to be our first hotel from camping so we planned a bit of luxury, spoiling ourselves, and oh-ho we were not let down. The 3 Daggers was absolutely ah-mazing! I've planned another blog post about it as it was such a brilliant place to stay so look out for that soon.
The reason for our Wiltshire accommodation was to go to Longleat. I was sooo looking forward to this as had always wanted to go so was properly excited. After we'd been there about 2 hours I was filled with a kind of dread, is this all there is to see type feeling? If you do go, don't worry, once you've moved past the smaller attractions the safari drive is well worth the wait. The place was packed so Dave suggested we go over lunchtime when everyone else would be eating. Brilliant idea as it was really quiet. Essentially you get to drive around and the animals roam around you. Quite an amazing concept and also pretty brilliant! We saw so many cool animals and even though the road is probably only about a mile long, it took us 2 full hours to drive round it all.
As the last of the crowds started to fade away we wandered around the other attractions, the best one being the maze of mirrors! So much fun!
We might have ended the day with another ice cream... And yes, we're on a healthy eating thing now!
And so to Watford. Say what? Not exactly the most sexy sounding place. You would be right there, but very conveniently located for HARRY POTTER WORLD! (not the real name at all but it sums it up pretty well). It was our last day. I was big style looking forward to this but also kind of nervous as Dave knows absolutely nothing about Potter and has no interest in it either.
That's a guy right there who will indulge your likes even if they're not his likes, just sayin'.
We arrived. The queues were enormous. But it was worth it. I'm really not going to say too much as if you plan to go (and who wouldn't) I would hate to ruin the many brilliant surprises that are there to greet you. All I will say is that it was absolutely, 100% a 5 star attraction, for all ages. If you love Potter you will gasp out loud and be open jaw delighted by so many things, and even if you don't love Potter (like Dave) you will LOVE it! Yes that is the real steam train. And the real Knight Bus. I say no more.
And so our road trip came to an end. A brilliantly good end. It was proper fabulous and a truly great holiday. I think they call them a Stay-Cation these days but I just call it a bloody good time!
