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Pure Lakes at The Severn Trow

user@domain.com — 2012-04-14T10:45:03+01:00

When we started out on this journey, we inherited a lot of small toiletries - the sort of things you get at a lot of B+Bs and hotels. It was very nice quality - and guests liked it. But we always had doubts. Firstly the shower gel or shampoo was difficult to get out of the little bottles - and often too much for a one or two night stay - and so a lot of that would be wasted. Little soaps, however cute, do not get used up by guests and so they get wasted too.

And then there is disposing of the empties. Now we would always try to make sure the little bottle went for recycling - but that meant taking them to the tip because locally our recycling did not take plastics. Even so, guests would often take the toiletries away (oh you would be surprised!) and we could not guarantee that once they emptied the bottles at home that they would recycle them. We reckon that most of those little wasteful bottle end up as landfill. And we think that’s wrong

We had long wanted to try something different - and so for this season we have. Pure Lakes.

Pure Lakes is an award winning range of natural toiletries, hand made up in Cumbria by Iain and Sandra from natural products and extracts (you can see them here). They come in 330ml bottles which we can refill for our guests. They produce less waste and because they use fewer chemicals (like nasty foaming agents and parabens) they are very good for your skin. They smell fantastic too.

We have their grapefruit and lemon grass handwash, shower gel and body lotion and geranium shampoo. I have to say I am addicted to the scent - its is so fresh and invigorating. And guests are giving us really good feedback too.

We pay a little more for Pure Lakes products, but the environment pays a little less. We do believe that Trow people will understand why we have made this move - and will love the range as much as we do.

Soon we hope to be able to offer our guests the chance to purchase Pure Lakes products from The Trow. Watch this space!

See a video about PureLakes and hotel waste on youtube here

No More Bad Hair Days

user@domain.com — 2012-04-11T14:37:25+01:00

When I first started to come to the Gorge I use to suffer from what we came to call “Shropshire Hair”. You see I have very thick hair (if hair could be made for digging potatoes on an Irish bogside, it’d be my hair). In other places - like Liverpool and Manchester, where the water is soft it wasn’t a problem. But Shropshire has the hardest water in England - its a fact. No shampoo would lather, my skin itched and my hair turned into straw.

So we started to soften the water in our showers - and it has made an enormous difference. Not just to my hair, but to Ken’s curly mop - and believe it or not, to his eczema as well. Oh and I don’t have to scrub the shower screens quite so hard to get rid of the limescale.

The water softeners we use filter tap water through ceramic beads and attach just under the water inlet on our showers. This softens the water and removes additives like chlorine. We’re hoping (if we win the lottery or Ken ever sells the old land rover - look there’s a flying pig!) to get a whole house system installed. But for now at least we know that people staying here can have lovely rainwater showers, soft and refreshing, after a day exploring The Gorge.

Now we’re happy to claim that we have the softest water in any Ironbridge Gorge B+B - and we promise you no bad hair days at The Trow.

The Best Breakfasts

user@domain.com — 2012-03-20T10:39:11+00:00

Those of you who have visited The Trow will know what a pride we take in our food. For summer 2012 we’ve just launched a new breakfast menu - I guess if we were more marketing minded we’d have called it our Olympic or Jubilee menu!

We’ve added some new dishes - things our guests have requested over the past year - and things we particularly like. Our first addition was bacon and eggs. There is nowhere to hide with bacon and eggs. Everything hangs on the quality of the produce. If you take great bacon (like the smoked back or dry cure we get from Simon Gibbons in Broseley just outside the Ironbridge Gorge) and fresh eggs (from our own chickens in the back yard of our bed and breakfast) you can cook them to perfection on the Aga. The simple combination of bacon and eggs is one of the great British dishes of all time - cooked well, the flavours are sublime. Take bad bacon however - over salted, or pumped full of water and battery eggs (which not only are unethical and inhumane but also taste really bad too) - and you have a dish that fails to deliver on any level. Needless to say, we would cut off our own right arm before we started serving food like that at The Trow!

Another addition to our menu are pancakes, maple syrup and bacon - a good old American favourite. I say American, but actually the first time I ate this was at a roadside diner in Toronto - oh about 20 years ago. It also always reminds me of my Dad.

During the last year of the second world war, my father, Ray, was stationed with the Kings Lancashire Regiment in the Alps. The area he was in was occupied by the Allies by this point and he worked as a messenger boy in the intelligence service riding a motorbike between the US and British bases in Yugoslavia and Italy. One day after a ride across the Alps to a US Army Base he found himself unable to travel back because a thick fog had come down over the mountains. He spent the night with the US forces - and apparently it was some night! US soldiers rations were not as restricted as those for the British Army and so my Dad described a “gut-busting” supper in the mess and a great night spent sharing tall tales with his new friends - lads from New York and Texas.

He had high hopes for breakfast, and despite being somewhat worse for wear turned up at the mess next morning on the dot of 7. He described it as a near heaven experience

“ Imagine it, I’ve not seen bacon - proper bacon - for years, since I was a boy and here I was being offered bacon and sausage and eggs sunnyside up not powdered. There’s patties of something that looks delicious - but I don’t know what it is - and hashbrowns and tomatoes and baked beans. In the end I’m just holding out my tray and nodding. Its the best i can manage - hungover and dazed by all this beautiful food. I just start saying yes to everything. Then right at the end as I hold out my tray with this beautiful, sumptuous breakfast on it, a guy takes a jug and pours syrup all over it. I nearly burst into tears - syrup on a breakfast - how could they?”

But then he tasted it - that lovely, smokey, caramel flavour of maple syrup drizzled over crispy bacon and pancakes, and fell in love on the spot. And I have to agree, there is something very very special about the flavour combinations of this classic dish - if you come and stay with us, please do try it.

As well as bacon and eggs and pancakes and syrup, we’ve also added boiled (chuckie) eggs and toast soldiers to our menu. Our eggs are so delicious that just the simplicity of this breakfast is gorgeous. We often find that after a couple of days of our full Shropshire breakfast, boiled eggs and soldiers is a lovely change - and just what the doctor ordered. Similarly our bacon or sausage “sarnies” without or without egg and sauce - are a grand treat - particularly eaten outside on our sunny deck where you can watch sleepy Jackfield wake up.

As well as all this there are our usual options - the full Shropshire with Scrambled or Aga Eggs (eggs cooked on the top of the Aga - lower fat and delicious!) locally cured bacon and Shropshire sausage, mushrooms sautéed in butter, with lemon juice and black pepper, roasted tomatoes or The Shropshire Veggie with 2 Aga or scrambled eggs, mushrooms sauteed in butter with lemon juice and black pepper, roasted home grown tomatoes. If you’re in a more adventurous mood, we also offer smoked mackerel with roasted tomatoes and scrambled eggs. And of course there are cereals and fruit, fresh coffee and tea and toasted or still warm from the oven home made breads.

Both Ken and I both believe that breakfast really is the very best meal of the day and that a great Ironbridge Bed and Breakfast needs to have a great range of fresh food, brilliantly cooked and served in a warm and friendly atmosphere. Smiles at the breakfast table equal smiles all day long!

You can read our new breakfast menu here

Busy Days

user@domain.com — 2012-03-15T16:27:44+00:00

Its so great that we’re at the start of the new season - and so exciting. I enjoy spring anyway, but the jobs are coming fast and furious at the moment - and I love to be busy.

Today has been a case in point. Ken is off working in Yorkshire today (he runs a small charity). I am sure when he’s away he thinks I sit around eating chocolates and reading books, but actually its 4pm now and its my first sit down. This morning after breakfast I sorted the rooms out, then went out into the garden to try and begin managing the dog debris (the little **** ate a teddy bear last night and scattered it across the garden!). Then I started to stake out a new space for a rockery (dog proof planting zone!) and plant out, stake and net the flower bed. That done I came in, finished the laundry, checked on bookings and began baking.

Carrot cake with soft cheese and maple syrup icing, victoria sandwich, some queen cakes and 2 loaves. A little sit down and soon I’ll be on a batch of marmalade (oranges are already prepped). We’re checking in two lots of guests today - who hopefully will enjoy the fact that they are arriving on baking day!

Busy like this the days just fly by and I’m so looking forward to the clocks going back again. Light nights spent pottering in the garden listening to radio 4 are my idea of bliss. Now if only I could get that greenhouse I’ve always wanted ...

Hellos and Goodbyes

user@domain.com — 2012-02-13T11:28:56+00:00

Wow our winter break was barely a break this year - we had guests right through December and January. We expected this to be a quiet time - and I had a pile of books as high as the ceiling to read. I barely got through a quarter of them! Ken similarly only managed to scrape the surface of his Leicester Tiger’s rugby backlog. This did not go down well - though he is doing his best to make up for it with the 6 nations (says the woman who did *not* enjoy standing outside the pub on Saturday evening just so he could carry on avoiding the score so he could sit by the fire and watch the match while I made the tea!). Rugby schmugby!

Its actually lovely to be busy through the winter - it passes so much quicker! The harsh weather that we had in 2010/11 barely touched us this time. Though its sad not to see The Gorge dressed in its winter finery for longer, I must confess to not missing being snowed in.

Sadly not all of us made it through this winter, and we were heartbroken in January when our old dog Robert died. He was 16 years old and just about the most beautiful old boy you can imagine. But his time had come - and I hope he’s now happily playing in some doggy heaven with all our other much missed dogs - Wilfred, Toshak, Sally, Joley, Miles and Bertie. God Bless.

Poor Buster was very desolate to lose his old friend and wandered around the house very unhappily. Then we took a call from a family friend who asked if we could help with a Dalmatian who desperately needed a new home. It was sooner than we wanted to get another dog, but we couldn’t say no. So Rosa joined out family just a couple of weeks ago - and Buster learned that having a ‘girlfriend’ is not always fun (she’s very much top dog already - and Buster is in lurve ...).

There’s so much to do with spring around the corner. As I write now I can hear Ken in the garden wondering what we can do to fix a lawn that two young dogs are slowly turning into a rugby pitch! The reason of course I can hear him is he’s wondering out (very) loud! Debs is spring cleaning and singing at the top of her voice upstairs, and I’m getting the feeling that its time I stopped typing and got on with some scones for this afternoon’s guests.

Sara

Busy Times!

user@domain.com — 2011-12-13T13:34:42+00:00

My what a busy summer we have been having - with some wonderful guests. It seems a little boastful to say they have all had a fabulous time with us, but our reviews on Trip Advisor and the comments people leave us in the visitors book seem to suggest they like staying with us very much. And that is so important - not just because its good for business. Running a B+B is hard work - but it really is all worth it when you know someone has had a good time.

Which is why when Caroline and Bruce asked us if we’d thought of offering a traditional English Christmas at The Trow, we jumped at the idea. Its the sort of thing we had thought about before. But having guests suggest this was the sort of place that people would like to spend such a special time of year made it feel like an even better plan.

The Gorge at Christmas is beautiful - with fairy lights reflected in the river and frost sparkling across the roof and treetops of Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale, Jackfield and Coalport. There are lo0ts of things going on round here at Christmas too. From festive drinks in The Black Swan, to the Christmas Fayres in Much Wenlock, Ludlow and Bridgnorth, its a great time to be in Shropshire.

In a Jam

user@domain.com — 2011-07-03T11:43:00+01:00

A glut of cheap english strawberries at the market has turned our kitchen into a little jam factory! The whole place smells like Willy Wonka’s as we have pans of hot red gooey deliciousness bubbling away on the Aga. We use a very simple strawberry jam recipe. Hulling the strawberries and then leaving them to sit on the shelf over the Aga overnight with lemon juice and sugar.

The resulting syrupy goodness spends half an hour in the simmering oven, half an hour on the simmering plate and then another 10 minutes or so boiling up to make the best strawberry conserve you’ve ever had. Next week it’ll be mixed fruit with strawberries, gooseberries and blackcurrants - and then my favorite - raspberry.

There’s something about opening a pot of raspberry jam in the middle of a cold and dark winter that lifts the spirits. Its your own personal little piece of summer. My favourite way of eating it is on a hot buttered crumpet. As I taste it I remember when we picked the fruit, what we were talking about and the plans we made for the summer. This morning one of our guests said that Trow raspberry jam tastes just like eating fresh raspberries - and to me that’s just what a good jam should be - fresh, zingy and full of sunshine.

Trow Happiness

user@domain.com — 2011-06-15T09:42:57+01:00

People who know that this is a relatively new enterprise for me (though not for Ken who is an old hand at this B+B lark), have been asking me how I’ve been doing - and do I find it a huge change from my life in London? The answer is I’m doing great, and while life is different to London and I do now and then get a yen for a sight of Westminster Bridge at dawn, there are many many compensations here. The sheer beauty of the Shropshire landscape makes me tremendously joyful, as does the sound of the chickens in the morning and a head clearing walk down the banks of the Severn. Shropshire ale will lift the spirits anyday (in moderation!) and the fresh food and produce we can so easily get our hands on has turned my pleasure in cooking into a passion!

A few weeks ago I came across this website Action for Happiness. Its based on a very simple idea - that if more people were happy we would have a healthier society, and that its important therefore that we do more things to help ourselves and others to live happier lives. The core ideas behind Action for Happiness are

1. We can each affect our happiness and the happiness of those around us
2. We need to prioritise the things that cause happiness
3. Helping others is essential for a happier society

For me making people happy is the fundamental purpose of running a B+B. Yes its an income, but to make that income you have to make people happy. Yes its a great way of making a house come alive. The Trow has always been about hospitality and guests. From its earliest days as an alehouse, right through its years as a brothel and an inn (and a scout hut, library and church!) - The Trow has been here to make people happy. We do it with fresh cotton sheets, rooms that its impossible not to relax in, great breakfasts and friendly service. We see people arrive wound up from a long journey. We then apply tea, cake and relaxation - as well as some of the most beautiful countryside in England - and there you have it, we’ve made a little more happiness in the world.

And tell me, what could be a better way of spending your time than that?

The Marmite Guarantee

user@domain.com — 2011-06-08T12:08:38+01:00

Before I took up B+B -ing, I used to travel a lot for work. Hotel after hotel, B+B after B+B ... I suppose its one of the reasons I chose this change of direction - at least I know what makes it a good experience. My list of top “musts” for hoteliers wanting my repeat custom includes real coffee for bedroom drinks as well as in the dining room, cotton sheets - not poly cotton and never ever nylon, easy access to Radio 4 and MARMITE. These are all things we promise you at The Trow.

I am a Marmite lover. The morning is a depressing spectacle without that comforting yellow and black pot on my breakfast table. Lunchtime too - when I often spread it thinly on pitta or crackers and top it with homemade hummus and some sliced chilli. Teatime is relishing the toasted cheese on top of the Marmite saturated holes on a buttery crumpet. I love normal Marmite of course, but Marmite XO, Guiness Marmite and finest of all, valentines Champagne Marmite all tickle my tastebuds in different fantastic ways. (Apparently it does the same for Buster the pup as he just tried to steal the Marmite jar when I had breakfast in the garden this morning. Oh how many more times will I say ‘Bad Dog Buster’ before he thinks its his name?)

Now Ken is not a Marmite fan. You know those early stages of a relationship when the other person tries to like everything you like? Well, bless him, he did try to get with the Marmite thing. I even started him off on that milder Australian alternative to see if that would help. But no, Ken will never feel the same way I do about breakfast’s black gold.

Thing is, wherever I travelled, I always asked for Marmite and I never ever got it. Abroad I was always brought marmalade instead (“zese crazy Engleesh asking for their orange jam ...”). In the UK I have been presented with everything from beef extract (not the same at all!) to incredibly, gravy browning. And sometimes that Australian stuff, of which I will write no more.

This is why, despite Ken’s protests, we have introduced the Marmite Guarantee at The Trow. If you come for a stay here and we can’t offer you Marmite with your morning toast, we will give you one free night’s bed and breakfast* for a future stay to make up for it.

Of course if you are not a Marmite lover, this is not very heartening, and it you are a Marmite hater it may seem terrifying. However we also promise that no one will ever be compelled to eat Marmite and we swear on Buster’s life that no Marmite adulteration will spoil your breakfast.

Can’t say fairer than that can we?

Sara
xx

*One free night when you book two that is ... oh and here’s another little sneaky one for those who have got this far, if you book via this website and mention “The Marmite Guarantee” in the comments box on our enquiry form, I’ll knock 5% off your room rate for the whole of your stay.

Bad Dog Buster!

user@domain.com — 2011-05-27T16:25:41+01:00

Buster and Robert have been up to some new tricks. When we collect the eggs in the morning we pop them in a tray in our laundry well back on the shelf. We’ve noticed of late that they seemed to be going down rather more quickly than we expected. I thought Ken had developed a new rabid appetite for omelettes and he thought I was stocking up post apocalypse levels of home made lemon curd (which reminds me to make some more actually).

Once we’d ruled these endeavours out we decided we had to find out what was happening. So after Ken brought the eggs in this morning, we hid in the utility room to see what was happening in the laundry. After 10 minutes or so, Robert and Buster came in. It was obvious that Buster was after eggs as he started whining and looking up at the shelf. Robert was his usual imperturbable self. Next thing we knew, Buster climbed on Roberts back, got hold of an egg very gently and jumped down. As soon as he’d done this, Robert mugged him - and by the time we got into the Laundry both dogs - well - had egg on their faces!

This is not the first time Buster has been egg hunting. Last week we found he’d broken into the chicken run and found an egg that has been laid in the nettles (must have been Prudence - she’s the only one daft enough). Ken found him happily chomping away on the shell round the back of the compost heap.

Puppies eh? Who’d have ‘em?

April, Come She Will

user@domain.com — 2011-04-30T12:12:00+01:00

Oh what a fantastic April it has been! So much sunshine, the Gorge has been alive with visitors - and its one of those times we’re glad to be tucked away in sleepy little Jackfield. The garden has come on in leaps and bounds and we have *nearly* repaired all the chicken damage. Our herb garden has turned into something approaching a jungle and we’re busy drying them (yes already!)

A new farmer’s market has opened up in Ironbridge - taking place every four weeks. Its fantastic to see the market place being used for its real purpose rather than just as a car park.

We sampled a new (well new to us) local restaurant this month. Its called the KIng and Thai and its just up the hill from us in Broseley. What a revelation! Fantastic food and wonderful service from the lovely couple who own it - Simon and Suree (who is the executive chef).

Its often said that chilli is a spice that makes you happy - it releases endorphins and stimulates the production of serotonin, the feel-good chemical. All we can say is that we have never tasted chilli enhanced food that made us feel quite as good as Suree’s food. Its never too hot, in fact not really hot at all. There’s more of a fresh zinginess to the flavours. Simon and Surree are also committed to using local ingredients in their food - just like we are at The Trow. It really does make a difference. Anyway, we can’t - really can’t - recommend the King and Thai enough. Its the very best Thai food we have ever eaten - and we liked it so much we’ve been back three times already.

One of the things we are aiming to do with the website is include links to our favourite places to eat in the Gorge and across Shropshire. So watch out next month for our review of another great local eatery.

Spring in the Gorge

user@domain.com — 2011-03-21T17:11:26+00:00

After what seems like a long cold winter the sun has come the Shropshire. We’ve been out in the garden most of the past two weekends. First of all trying to assess the hen-damage in the back lawn. What is it that they get out of destroying every blade of grass and inch of turf? I’ll give ‘em dust baths - more like hippos in the mud! Now the days are drawing out though, they’re laying like real troopers - and so we’re willing to forgive them most things. The most delicious eggs in the world - and this week I’ve had two double yolkers. I have always thought this was good luck and have been crowing about it ever since. Ken says its just about good mature hens. Bah humbug!

In the end back-lawn wise we have concluded that it may be best turned over to herbaceous border and veggies this year, with maybe a little bit of wild flower meadow. We’d both like to get some bees in too - but that might be summer 2012. We can have Olympic bees!

So once we’d assessed the back we turned our heads to the front courtyard. Now this is where I like to sit in the morning with my coffee - its a real peaceful little haven. While we have the crocuses and the daffs and the hyacinths coming through, I’ve been thinking of the summer and getting some nice flowers for cutting planted out. Ken is entering something of an obsessive phase with sunflowers now and we’re going to be planting no less than six different varieties this year. And we won’t fight about whose gets tallest .... honest.

The herb garden has been replanted for this year. We both love cooking - and fresh herbs make such a difference.. For Ken there always must be sorrel and fennel and for me, tarragon is the king. I haven’t been able to get any french and have had to settle for the hardier - but less initially flavoursome - Russian variety. Apart from this we have two kinds of basil propagating (along with dill and tomatoes and some little peppers), great marjoram, oregano, rosemary, parsley and 3 kinds of thyme from last year. Lemon balm is a must for teas, and borage for a jug of Pimms in the summer.

And after the hard work of planting - well there is nothing nicer than sitting in the courtyard on the bench, as the sun dapples down through the trees and the birds sing .... at least until ‘im indoors starts on about how gardens don’t get made from “singing oh how beautiful and sitting in the shade ...” ... I wish I’d never got him that Kipling.

Sara

xx