WITH this newspaper having recently reported on the reopening of the Bird and Carter farm shop café in Wilton after a four-year hiatus - which you can read about here - I was offered a chance for myself and a plus one to sample the company's bed and breakfast deep in the Wiltshire countryside.
As recently as October 2021, it was listed by the Sunday Times as one of the best places to stay in the country - and named as one of the 50 best UK hotels for under £100 a night by the same publication in March 2022 - and you can see why.
It opened in 2020 on the 9,000-acre Fonthill Estate just outside Tisbury, and was once a former post office.
Having made sure that week's edition of the newspaper had all been safely sent to the printers, we headed off to Fonthill at around 1pm on a very wet Wednesday afternoon.
As guests of the owners, we stayed in the Ebble room, the spacious open-plan bedrrom in the loft (from £130).
Decorated in a Scandi style with furniture and decor by local makers and craftspeople.
This featured a super king size bed with Egyptian cotton linen, a freestanding bath in the bedroom (ideally placed so that you can watch TV from the bath), and an en-suite shower and wet room.
There was also Fill bath and body products, WiFi, a very comfortable sofa area and tea and coffee making facilities with fresh milk.
We were also very kindly treated to some delightful ginger cake upon arrival, which was so good we helped ourselves to a slice of Victoria Sponge and Chocolate Guinness cake before the café shut for the afternoon.
This was around mid-afternoon, and a couple of hours were spent reading, enjoying the cake provided for us, and just relaxing after a stressful... *check's notes* ...two and half days at work.
In the early evening we fancied continuing our reading at the pub, before dinner.
We had planned to enjoy a stroll to the Beckford Arms in Fonthill Gifford - just over a mile away through the lovely, but on this occasion flooded estate - but the weather had other plans, and we had to drive.
The Beckford came recommended by the staff at Bird and Carter and over drinks and dinner we wiled away several hours.
I had never been there before and it was wonderful, an excellent recommendation, but this piece isn't about the Beckford!
Back to the room and a bath before bed, falling asleep in record time with that welcoming Egyptian cotton.
Morning came and with it breakfast at the café downstairs.
The café/deli is currently open Monday Wednesday to Saturday from 8.30am to 4pm and Sundays from 9am-4pm, closed on Tuesdays.
Breakfast is served from 8.30am - 11.30am, lunch from 12-3 and coffee and cake until 4pm.
For me, the Bird and Carter Full (obviously, I am never one to miss out on the chance of a full english).
Two eggs, two sausages, bacon, roasted tomatoes served with toast (£12.95), with added hash brown and black pudding.
My partner ordered the veggie full (£12.50) which consisted of two eggs, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach and a hash brown served with toast. They added a sausage... and both were washed down with delicious coffee.
Whether at the Wilton café or in Fonthill, the Bird and Carter breakfast will not let you down.
Once breakfast was finished and the afternoon was approaching, it was time to leave and return to Salisbury in the pouring rain.
We did not want to leave, I can promise you, and could easily have spent an extra few nights tucked away in the depths of the Wiltshire countryside.
Whether for breakfast, lunch, an overnight stay or just some coffee and cake, Bird and Carter is a must-visit.
For more information, click here.
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