This summer has been one of the most beautiful the UK has seen in decades. Londoners have enjoyed picnics in the park, ‘al fresco’ dining and beautiful day trips in the British countryside. Now that we are back to London’s gloomy and cosy weather, it’s time for us to look back at some of the best experiences we have had this summer.
This June, Bentley has kindly invited us along for an extraordinary gastronomic tour in the English countryside surrounding London. We had the pleasure of driving the newest Bentley Continental GT for a road trip through the Cotswolds, Daylesford and High Wycombe, sampling local culinary delights along the way.
Our meeting point was the Beaumont Hotel in Mayfair, where we all had our coffee fix and a delicious and healthy breakfast together with the group, and where the chauffeurs delivered our Silver Bentley Continental GT to us. Our first stop of the gastronomic tour was the Cotswolds Distillery – which has been producing craft distilled spirits such as Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky and Cotswolds Dry Gin, with the highest quality ingredients everyday since 2014 in the beautiful setting of the Cotswolds countryside.
In our private tour around the distillery we witnessed first-hand their production processes, while learning how whisky and gin are made, before heading up to the cask warehouse to see how the spirits mature. The tour ends up in a cosy tasting room, where we had the opportunity to sit back and enjoy samples of all the various spirits and liqueurs that are made at the distillery.
Our second stop was Daylesford farm,where we enjoyed an incredible summer picnic at the farm’s Glasshouse. The menu exclusively featured organic ingredients sourced directly from the farm, and included burrata, heritage tomatoes, mint and grilled sourdough, quiches and salads, charcuterie and cheese boards and lovely homemade desserts.
As we knew that our third step consisted in tasting some amazing award winning cheeses, we saved some room more food and proceeded driving towards Alex James’ – former Blur bassist – Oxfordshire farm. He talked us through his extraordinary life before presenting us his delicious cheeses.
Our final stop for the day was Thyme Hotel, where we checked in and relaxed before getting ready for our private cooking lesson, where we would be making the starters for our dinner!
We learnt how to clean and prepare a crab starter and headed off to the Swan for a very pleasant dinner.
It’s so beautiful to wake up in the countryside. There is a different vibe compared to a big city like London, you can hear birds chirping, smell fresh air in the morning and see wild rabbits chasing each other.
After breakfast at the Thyme Hotel, we headed to Dawns Hill Vineyard to learn everything about English sparkling wine. We love how this type of wine is growing in the market, both UK and internationally, and is being more and more appreciated by connoisseurs all over the world, it’s absolutely delicious!
Our extraordinary gastronomic tour with Bentley was unfortunately over, but this has definitely been one of the highlights of summer 2018!
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The new Bentley Continental GT is one of the finest sports cars on the market right now. It is easy to drive, fully accessorised and the interiors are elegant and luxurious. Find out more about this incredible car here!
