Exmoor looks fab after all the rain!

Yes, we have had a bit of rain recently. Today it's sunny and much warmer, though. Does that mean the Met Office's 'barbeque summer' is here? It feels more like holiday time should, anyway.
We drove over to Taunton yesterday and going over the Brendon Hills everything was wonderfully green and lush, with that washed-clean kind of look. This spring was especially flower-full, and it looks like this is going to continue, with the rosebay willowherb looking gorgeous just now and the heather getting more purple by the day.
Another benefit from the rain is that the whortleberries are large & juicy - we made whortleberry pie last week (delicious with clotted cream). We look forward to blackberry-picking season!

Herbs & salad

Well, the rain we've had recently has meant that the salad crops I planted are flourishing! The leafy ones, anyway - lots of lovely rocket & baby lettuce leaves, and the spring onions are coming on nicely. Sadly, the tomatoes are not doing so well. They should pick up once we get more sun though.
The herbs are really vibrant: the mint's incredibly minty, the lemon balm very lemony, and the sage - well - sagey. Last year my sage was comprehensively eaten by snails, but this time it seems to be surviving much better.
Frank does a great dish of local chicken breast stuffed with our home-grown herbs and wrapped in local bacon, which we serve with a herby tomato sauce - delicious! We've also been doing some wonderful maincourse salads.
Remember that Exmoor House is open to non-residents for dinner (though it's essential to book at least 24 hours in advance, especially if you have any particular dietary requirements).
Hope to see you soon!

Special offers at Exmoor House with FreeDiscountCard

Exmoor House has joined the FreeDiscountCard scheme, and we've special offers available for members. There are also discounts available on all sorts of other things nationwide.
Have a look at www.freediscountcard.co.uk for more information!

Another award for Exmoor House

We had our Quality in Tourism (Visit Britain) inspection last week. Just got the inspector's report yesterday and were delighted to learn that as well as our 4* grading we now have a Silver Award too. That means that we scored highly in all Visit Britain's quality categories (e.g. hospitality, food, comfort & cleanliness). Good to have this official recognition!