Little Barwick House

‘We could not have asked for better.’ ‘We have never been disappointed.’ ‘It seems to get better every time.’ There is a chorus of praise this year for Tim and Emma Ford’s restaurant-with-rooms in a Georgian dower house down ‘a narrow road that could well have led to the Hobbits’ Shire’. As Hobbits might, guests arrive to a ‘sumptuous’ afternoon tea. ‘Smiling, efficient, informative, Emma sets the tone as front-of-house; Tim’s cooking is of a consistently high standard.’ After ‘delicious’ hors d’oeuvre in the ‘well-appointed’ lounge, taste ‘well-balanced’, ‘excellently executed’ dishes inspired by the seasons, perhaps an ‘extraordinarily good’ wild mushroom risotto. The ‘unusually wide’ selection of half bottles of wine makes a good accompaniment. Spend the night in ‘comfy’, ‘clean’, country-style bedrooms well equipped with cafetière coffee, fresh milk, home-made shortbread (‘we didn’t know what to do with the 13 scatter cushions’). Enjoy a leisurely morning after breakfast: ‘The peaceful garden is part of the charm.’ (Ron Greenman, Bryan and Mary Blaxall, Michael and Margaret Cross, Michael Gwinnell, WE Riddell)