Titchwell Manor Hotel – An English Gem

By Gilly Pickup

The bespectacled man in the suit smiled as he made his farewells. “I will certainly come back again,” he promised. “But next time, it won’t be on business. It will be to relax and I’ll bring my wife along. She’s going to love it here!” Titchwell Manor Hotel’s owner, Margaret Snaith, beamed heartily in response.

After check-in formalities were completed, Margaret took us to our room via a mini tour of the garden. Besides guest rooms in the main part of the hotel which dates back to 1890, there are a further thirteen rooms sited round the herb garden, all with herby names, including ‘Coriander’, ‘Thyme’ and ‘Oregano’. As we passed, delicious wafts of rosemary and lavender sweetened the air. Two ground floor rooms have been adapted for wheelchair users, while a separate set of ground floor garden rooms are designated for people who want to bring their pets along. Margaret told me that besides dogs, who are given their own towels, blankets, drinking bowls and biscuits to help them relax, pet loving guests have brought along cats and even budgies!

We were assigned a glorious room quaintly called ‘The Potting Shed’, an efficiently kitted out, individually designed, detached wooden building. Bathed in light from windows on three sides, this unique room has in-room roll top bath, remote controlled living flame fire and its own area of private decking with views over the gardens - just the spot for a pre-prandial, or indeed, post-prandial drink. A thoughtful touch was the enormous vase chocca with fresh flowers. A separate ensuite shower room has masses of rustic tiles while the shower compartment has an interesting crazy paving floor. Complimentary toiletries are of The White Company variety and we found the fluffy towels gorgeously warm to snuggle up in after showering, thanks to the huge heated towel rail. All rooms have tea and coffee making facilities, free bottled water and an assortment of nibbles.

You could easily lose your loved one in the vast bed, with its snowy white linen, wooden headboard and resident teddy bear perched on top holding the TV remote control and when bedtime came, it proved so comfortable that I slept like Rip van Winkle, quite unusual for an insomniac like me!

Our space was so relaxing we were almost reluctant to leave to go to dinner but hunger pangs beckoned so we thought we should discard the fluffy dressing gowns and matching slippers thoughtfully provided by the hotel to spruce ourselves and hie off to the bar to take a gander at the menus. We grabbed a table beside the log fire - a homely touch - and ordered glasses of wine. Punchy menus were brought pronto by a smiley member of staff. "Hmm, I do like the sound of the pan fried duck breast, semi dried grapes and apple puree for starters," my husband declared, before deciding on the seared tuna with black olive and honey paste, dandelion and sesame. I went for the goats cheese terrine with caramel pecan nut, sweet and sour beetroot and croutons.

Head Chef Eric Snaith has one eye on the local nets - fresh fish and shellfish feature prominently on the menu - and the other on nearby farms for meat and veg. The results are stunning – no wonder the hotel is the proud recipient of two AA rosettes for its food.

In due course, we ambled through to the atmospheric, candelit conservatory for dinner. This elegant room with its smart, starched white tablecloths, heavily embossed cutlery and convivial atmosphere, overlooks the walled garden.

It is obvious that to Eric, restaurant manager Mark Dobby and the Titchwell team, presentation is all important. They spend a lot of time working not only on recipes but on the superb appearance of the dishes.

Delicate appetisers were brought to begin with, then our starters, accompanied by a choice of home-made bread arrived. These were exemplary and left us in tongue tingling anticipation about what was to follow. After a sensible break in proceedings, our palate cleanser, a delicious pineapple sorbet, arrived. I had chosen for my main course organic sea trout with smoked garlic mash, roast salsify, queen scallops and wild mushrooms- a delectable mix - while my husband'sj seabass came with rosti potato with preserved lemon, roast onions and lavender sauce. You may have noticed, we are quite fishy people.

And dessert? Well, why not? I went for the rhubarb dessert option which looked – and tasted – a zillion times more appealing than my description and hubby chose the chocolate orange gateau which he pronounced ‘utterly delicious’. It was obviously top notch because he is still raving about it.

Breakfast is another pleasure. The help-yourself table has a toaster and plenty of thick-sliced bread, cereal, fresh fruit juices, pots of golden butter and delicious homemade preserves. Besides that, there were prunes and apricots poached in red wine, muesli, fresh fruit galore, organic yoghurt and local Norfolk honey. Those who can’t contemplate starting the day without a cooked breakfast could choose from Lincolnshire sausage, smoked bacon, grilled locally smoked kippers, organic porridge, smoked salmon, eggs how you like them and enormous field mushrooms.

And if you can bear to drag yourself away from the convivial atmosphere of the hotel, nearby picture-book attractions just begging to be explored include Titchwell Marsh Nature Reserve, quaint country towns, picturesque villages, miles of pristine sandy beaches and glorious Sandringham House with its delightful country park, the Norfolk retreat of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11.

Tariff and Contact Details
Titchwell Manor Hotel, Titchwell, Near Brancaster, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England, PE31 8BB
Prices start from UK £100 per double/twin room per night B&B midweek and UK £130 at weekends.
Telephone: (+44) 1485 210221 for a brochure and more details or visit www.titchwellmanor.com. Email: margaret@titchwellmanor.com.

Awards include:
Small Hotel of the Year at the regional ‘Enjoy England Awards for Excellence’ awards
AA 2 rosette restaurant
AA Seafood Restaurant of the Year finalist
Visit Britain Tourism Gold Award for Quality