A seriously good facial at Beauty Bee, Bramhall

When Beauty Bee opened in Bramhall a few months ago, I started to hear from friends how good it was. As something of a facial addict I decided to book myself in for a treat and to see if the buzz about Beauty Bee was correct.

Located at Moorend Golf Driving Range in Bramhall, it might at first glance seem to be an unconventional location for beauty treatments, but Beauty Bee offer a selection of deep tissue and sports massages to the golfers, as well as a full range of beauty and pampering treatments to non-sporting types too. Once you are in the Beauty Bee treatment room you’d never guess you were in a golf club and it has the benefit of having more than ample free parking too.

Beauty Bee

On arrival Abby greeted me and escorted me into her treatment room, it was warmly decorated and very comfortable. We sat and chatted about my skin and if it had any problems, then she left the room while I got undressed and I made myself comfortable on the treatment table. Abby wrapped me in towels and a blanket and offered to put the heated blanket on for me, but I was warm and comfortable enough without it.

I’d booked myself in for the Prescription Facial (£30) and Abby took a good look at my skin. It’s fairly normal, combination skin which is a bit dehydrated around the eyes and starting to show a bit of wear and tear (I am 40 this year so it’s time I started looking my age, if not acting it occasionally).

Abby explained that she would be using products from The Potion Shop, a Manchester based company who make organic and paraben free skincare products.

Beauty Bee

It was at this point I largely zoned out and just relaxed into my treatment. I was aware that for the best part of 45 minutes I was being pampered to death. My skin was exfoliated, massaged and treated to hot towels and lots of TLC. Towards the end of my facial, Abby applied a face mask and put chamomile and lavender soaked pads on my eyes whilst she gave my hands and forearms a massage. It was blissful.

My skin felt amazing and was really glowing. As you can see from the before and after photographs below, my skin is a much more even tone, it’s less shiny and I look incredibly relaxed afterwards.

Beauty Bee

The treatment lasted just under an hour and it was an excessively good pampering. Abby clearly loves her job and is very passionate about what she does. I can really recommend Beauty Bee and the prescription facial, I adored my treatment, the look on my face in the second photo is all you really need to know – I will definitely be booking to go back again soon!

SPECIAL OFFER: Maternity Mondays at Beauty Bee – 30% off all treatments if you are on maternity leave and book in on a Monday.

Beauty Bee is at Moorend Golf Driving Range, 177 Woodford Rd, Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire SK7 1QE Phone: 07876 032125. You can find Beauty Bee on Facebook. They also offer treatments on selected days at The University of Manchester.

What’s On: Roald Dahl’s Tremendous Adventures at Tatton Park

Growing up I was an avid reader, I’d devour book after book and my favourite author was most definitely Roald Dahl. His books always filled my head with extraordinary tales, and as he wrote in James and the Giant Peach – “a little magic can take you a long way”. This year to celebrate 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl, Tatton Park in Cheshire are embarking on a magical journey to celebrate his works.

From Easter until the end of 2016, Tatton Park is is bringing Roald Dahl’s imagination to life, with a host of children’s trails and events for all the family. Join Danny the Champion of the World in the gardens, Fantastic Mr Fox at the farm and Matilda in the mansion and you’ve got to be careful of The Enormous Crocodile out in the parkland!

Tatton Park

I can’t wait to take my son to explore and discover the world of Roald Dahl, we’ll be visiting next weekend so do keep an eye out for our review. In the meantime here’s a run down of what’s going on at Tatton Park this year.

Roald Dahl at Tatton Park Events include –

Cover to Cover: Roald Dahl around the World Sat 19 Mar – Sun 30 Oct
A fascinating mansion exhibition displaying illustrations of Roald Dahl book jackets from across the world and throughout time.

Phiz Whizzing Trails: Fri 25 Mar – Sun 2 Oct
Danny the Champion of the World in the Gardens
Fantastic Mr Fox at the Farm
Matilda in the Mansion
The Enormous Crocodile in the Parkland

Fantastic Mr Fox Activities at the Farm Tue 26 Jul – Fri 26 Aug
Mr Fox invites you to spend the most marvellous summer day joining him in a farmyard packed with fun. Go on a journey to find the den, get creative in the writing hut, be entertained, listen in to storytelling and enjoy one of your best days ever!

Danny the Champion of the World Outdoor Theatre at the Old Hall *Sat Aug 27
Enjoy this thrilling family performance of Danny the Champion of the World as he masterminds the most incredible and exciting plot to save his Dad from danger.

Roald Dahl Big Picnic Day Sun Sep 11
Pack a picnic and come and celebrate the month Roald Dahl, the world’s best storyteller, was born. Bags of activities to make for a splendiferous time.

Willy Wonka Outdoor Cinema* Sun Sep 11
A late summer screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory starring the legendary Gene Wilder as Wonka. Grab your golden ticket and bring a picnic.*

A Frightsome Halloween Sat 22 – Sun 30 Oct
“Witches are easily the most dangerous of all the living creatures on earth.” This half -term be spooktaculary entertained by a park full of Roald Dahl witchy mischief….and plenty of mice!

A Gloriumptious Christmas Mansion* late November – December
“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it”. Step into the Christmas mansion and into Roald Dahl’s magical world as his extraordinary storytelling weaves itself through the grand staterooms and into the bustling servants’ quarters.

It looks like it’s going to be a jam-packed whizzpopping year of all things Roald Dahl – I can’t wait to explore and reminisce and I’m looking forward to taking the small boy on some fictional adventures and into a world of pure imagination.
Tatton Park

Days Out: Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire

Most people will be familiar with the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire as the place where Stargazing Live is filmed. Jodrell Bank is owned and run by the University of Manchester and it is the home of the Lovell Telescope, the third largest steerable radio telescope in the world. It is open to the public and has a lovely new visitors centre as well as exhibits and gardens to explore, as well as the chance to have a look at the Lovell Telescope up close and personal.

We visited Jodrell Bank one sunny but bitterly cold day in February. It’s not actually that easy to find as the signposting is few and far between, but if you look for the giant telescope and head towards that you’ll eventually find it (or just use sat nav like normal people). There was ample parking in the car park and it cost £7 per adult and £4.95 per child to get in, which we felt was good value for money.

The visitors centre is not huge, it houses the cafe, shop, reception and a display room with information about various parts of the universe as well as a clockwork Orrery, something I’d never seen before but instantly wanted to have one in my house. An Orrery is a mechanical model of the solar system. There was a handle at child height which we turned and watched the planets and the moons on the ceiling move around. It was something quite special and we spent a lot of time looking at it and talking about the planets.

Jodrell Bank

From the visitors centre we went outside, there were gardens to explore, but as it was very cold we decided to head straight for the outdoor science experiments area. There were a number of large scale experiments to try, each with a plaque explaining what to do. We particularly liked the “Whispering Dishes” or parabolic reflectors, two dishes opposite each other, but some distance apart, one person would whisper into the dish and the other could hear it. It was brilliant and very popular.

Jodrell Bank

We were close to the base of the telescope, there is a large fence around it so you can’t actually go and touch it, but you can get very close. The Lovell Telescope is huge and the dish measures 78 metres across, I was in awe of the size of it, even though I remember visiting as a child.

Jodrell Bank

Having spent around an hour outside conducting experiments in the cold, we headed into the Space Pavilion to have a look at some of the indoor exhibits and to discover how the scientists at Jodrell Bank use radio telescopes to learn more about distant objects in space.

Jodrell Bank

There were lots of hands on exhibits to look at and play about with, as well as a little room where you could sit and watch a film about space. The boys loved it in here, the was lots for them to look at and learn about. I felt the Space Pavilion would have benefited from having someone there to help explain and demonstrate some of the exhibits, but I like to have things explained to me.

Jodrell Bank

After a few hours exploring we felt ready for a hot cup of tea and some cake, sadly the Planet Pavilion Cafe was heaving, so we headed to the shop to buy some space souvenirs and experiments we could try at home, then hopped in the car and left.

Jodrell Bank

We’d had an especially lovely afternoon at Jodrell Bank. We’d explored both the observatory and the outer edges of the universe, learned a little bit about science and got some fresh air. It was a great afternoon out and we are planning to return in the summer when it’s a bit warmer.

For more information about Jodrell Bank visit their website.

Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, The University of Manchester, Macclesfield, Cheshire, Sk11 9DL

Days Out: Etherow Country Park, Stockport

Last week, one particularly sunny day we hopped in the car and went to Etherow Country Park, located on the far flung edges of Stockport. We’d not been before but we’d heard that it was well worth a visit for a walk, and if we went on a weekend there was a high chance we’d get to see the boating lake in action.

We arrived just before lunch and parked (pay and display, but not ruinously expensive). The boy and I wandered over to the lake to check out the local bird life, there was the usual selection of Canada geese, ducks, some swans and a few more colourful interlopers. There were also three little model yachts pootling about on the lake which were quite fun to watch.

etherow country park

We watched the birds and the boats for a while, there were lots of small children throwing bread for the ducks, but proper duck food is available from the little garden centre near the cafe if you forget your own.

We decided to walk down the path to the weir and back around the lake. For the most part the path is tarmac or firm ground and is accessible. The path runs along a small waterway so you can watch the wildlife and waterlife as you walk. There are lots of ancient ferns, undergrowth and interesting bushes and trees all around and it’s clearly a popular spot for local families and dog walkers alike.

Walking up to the weir you pass a few reminders of the industrial heritage of the site, Etherow Country Park was once a thriving cotton mill and various bits of machinery and gears remain. You can hear the weir from some distance away, the roar of the water is something to behold and I can’t help but think Stockport Council are missing out on a trick here, not making use of the water power at the weir.

Etherow Country Park

Walking back to the car park we decided to skirt around the other side of the lake, by that time a few yachts were out catching the wind. The lake is surrounded by beautiful views all around and even in bleak but sunny February it was breathtaking, you’d never know you were so close to civilisation!

By the time we’d got back to where we’d started, the boys were hungry, so whilst I went to the garden centre to pick up some plants, they popped into the busy cafe for coffee and sandwiches.

We’d enjoyed our morning out, the walk is a good length for a five year old, with enough to interest them along the way. The walk we did was not long, but you can walk up beyond the weir and explore the woodland further up if you want. We’ll be returning later on in the spring for another walk up to the weir.

Etherow Country Park & Local Nature Reserve, George St, Compstall, Stockport. SK6 5JD

Days Out: Rode Hall Snowdrop Walks

Having enjoyed a quiet half term at home, by weekend we were itching to get out for some fresh air and exercise, so we headed off to Rode Hall near Congleton, home of the fabulous Just So Festival, to blow away some cobwebs on their famous annual snowdrop walk.

On what was probably one of the wettest and miserable days we’ve seen so far this year, we were undeterred by the weather and determined to enjoy a day out at Rode Hall. Wrapped up against the elements, we headed off into the Old Wood to explore the glorious hide and seek woodland, and to see if we could find all of the willow animals dotted around. These are new this year and the simple act of looking up and down and all around for these willow creatures makes for an interesting adventure for children and adults.

Rode Hall Snowdrop

We were given the job of finding the seven woodland creatures, some were hidden up trees, around corners, hovering over ponds, lurking in the undergrowth, it was a real job to find them all, but there’s a certain satisfaction in finding them all and having a good look at these beautifully made willow animals.

The woodland walk is approximately a mile long, but we spent a little over two hours exploring the woodland and finding all the interesting little nooks and crannies, like the grotto, the stew pond and the sugar pool, it felt very magical and you can see why it is the perfect place for the Just So Festival. Walking down to the lake we enjoyed drizzly views of the boathouse and Birthday Island, it all felt very Swallows and Amazons.

Rode Hall Snowdrop

I was thrilled to see that as well as the snowdrops we’d come to see, that some of my favourite winter flowers, Hellebores (the pink flower above) were in abundance. The Old Wood is a fantastic place to explore whatever the weather and even in the depths of February it is full of life and interest.

After our time exploring the woods we headed to the more formal areas, the rose garden, past the summer house and Colonel’s Walk and into the walled kitchen garden. By this time we had worked up an appetite for some lunch and thankfully they have a rather excellent tearoom complete with a roaring fire.

The tearoom is a gem of a place, the menu is packed with homegrown and homemade treats. I opted for a couple of Staffordshire oatcakes filled with melted cheese, hubs had a chicken and bacon pie with peas and gravy and the boy had a sausage bap. The homemade cakes looked so good we were powerless to resist, so we didn’t, besides we’d earned a treat!

I love a good tearoom and I can say with confidence that the Rode Hall tearoom is one of the cosiest and best I’ve been to in a long time.

The Rode Hall Snowdrop Walks end on 6th March, but if you miss out this year, their bluebell walks begin on 30th April, an event we have already penciled in our diary!

Rode Hall Snowdrop Walks 30 January – 6 March
Open Tues – Sun 11-4pm (Closed Mons)
Admission £5/Children 5-15 £1
For more information visit their website www.rodehall.co.uk/snowdrops

Rode Hall Snowdrop

We’re going to the Geronimo Festival 2016 – are you?

I’ve got a little bit of exciting news to share with you, I’ve been chosen to be an official blogger at the Geronimo Festival 2016, and what’s more, they’ve given me a very pretty badge to prove it!

Geronimo_Official-Ambassador_Large

I missed The Geronimo Festival last year due to a holiday, and I was gutted when I saw all the lovely pictures on social media of everyone having fun and posing with their favourite CBeebies presenters and characters, I knew I didn’t want to miss out on the fun this time around, especially as the tickets are very reasonably priced for a day of adventure and (hopefully) sunshine.

The festival is on at Tatton Park (May 29th and 30th) and also Harewood House in Yorkshire (May 1st and 2nd). We’ll be going to the festival nearest our house, which is at Tatton Park in Cheshire.

The festival will feature Cbeebies star live shows, a full circus, 3 theatre companies, amazing bands, a full county fair arena including jousting, sheep shearing, motorcycle displays, funfair rides, tortoise encounters, spy school den building and 100 other amazing activities. Sounds pretty good doesn’t it?

This year Cbeebies megastar Justin Fletcher will be there, as well as Mr Bloom, presenters Andy Day and Alex Winters and Cook and Line from Swashbuckle. As well as Les Enfants Terrible who present their Imaginary Menagerie. We’ve seen this show before and it is fantastic, so we won’t be missing that particular festival highlight!

Looking through the festival highlights makes me want to get my marker pen out and start planning the day, but I’ll have to resist until nearer the time. The Geronimo Festival is aimed at families with children aged between 2 and 12 years old and I know that my 5 year old will love it, probably almost as much as me and his dad!

As a Geronimo Festival Ambassador I’ll be sharing updates on my blog and across my social media sites, so do keep your eyes peeled for updates and maybe more. I hope to see you there!

Tickets are currently available for £25 each. For more information or to buy tickets visit www.geronimofest.com.

Review: Dinner for two at the Bamford Arms

As one half of a pair of fairly exhausted parents we often find it difficult to have a night out together. Every few months we make a special effort to have a date night, dress up a bit and go out somewhere, anywhere for a few hours of couple time together. With Valentine’s Day approaching we visited the Bamford Arms in Stockport for a romantic dinner for two.

We’ve been to the Bamford Arms a few times before as a family, we’ve always been impressed with the quality of the food and the child-friendly atmosphere. This time we visited at night, the restaurant was busy with couples and small groups of friends on a night out. We were shown to a cosy booth and ordered a bottle of prosecco while we looked over the menu.

The Bamford Arms is a Beefeater Grill, so steaks are the order of the day. We ordered starters, him a classic prawn cocktail and me the potato dippers with sour cream and spring onion. His prawn cocktail was a fairly big portion, lots of prawns in marie rose sauce, layered on top of lettuce and cucumber and served with slices of ciabatta. He gave it a 9/10 which is praise indeed! My potato dippers were like thin potato wedges or fat crisps with melted cheese over them and served with a sour cream and chive dip. It was a big portion but very tasty. They do sharing plates of these too which I would definitely order again, to share obviously.

Bamford Arms

For our main course he ordered the huge 18oz porterhouse steak which comes with unlimited fries (skinny or triple cooked), half a slow roasted tomato, a grilled mushroom and salad. I’m veggie so I ordered the baked veggie enchiladas which were soft flour tortillas stuffed with lime & coriander rice and tomatoes, topped with melted cheese, red chilli, spring onion and sour cream & chive and served with mini corn on the cob. We also rather greedily ordered sides of macaroni cheese, garlic king prawns and chunky slaw.

Bamford Arms

My enchiladas were very fresh and tasty. It’s nice to see an alternative to the standard lasagne for veggies on the menu. It was piping hot and still bubbling when it arrived at the table. It was fresh and filling, full of wholesome beans and veg, with just enough melted cheese on top, despite the cheese I suspect this is a reasonably healthy choice.

The sides we ordered to share were huge, the macaroni was toothsome and cheesy, and I know my pasta loving son would have devoured the lot in one go. Hubs loved the garlic king prawns, you get 10 big juicy prawns in a serving for just £4.99 which was excellent value and the chunky slaw was the perfect foil for my spicy enchiladas.

Hubs valiantly faced the 18oz porterhouse steak; priced at £20.99 it was the most expensive steak on the menu but it was a special occasion so we pushed the boat out. He asked for it to be cooked medium and for some hot piri-piri sauce on the side. The steak was perfectly cooked and huge, it was beautifully tender and he rather impressively managed to devour it all and declared it to be delicious.

Bamford Arms

We were both absolutely stuffed, but we wanted a little bit of something sweet for pudding, so after much deliberation and negotiation we chose to share the Rocky Road Sundae. This was the perfect size for sharing, lovely ice cream and chocolate sauce with chunks of chocolate brownie and topped with marshmallows and a wafer.

Bamford Arms

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal, although we were stuffed, we’d eaten and eaten well. The restaurant was cosy and the tables weren’t too close together, so you could have a good conversation without feeling like you’re sharing with everyone else. The booth was comfortable and we quickly relaxed into our evening, and importantly at our age there wasn’t loud music blaring, so you could actually hold a conversation rather than shout at each other across the table, which made a nice change.

The food is perfect for sharing, the unlimited skinny or triple cooked chips offer is fantastic, it mean’t that I could pinch a few chips off his plate without him complaining. We couldn’t fault it, and without drinks out food came to £54, which we thought was excellent value for the feast we’d just had.

For a romantic dinner with good food, great wines in a cosy and relaxed atmosphere, the Bamford Arms is well worth a visit for Valentine’s Day, and if you want to push the boat out, order the porterhouse steak. You’ll not regret it!

Note: We were invited guests of the Bamford Arms Beefeater Grill in Stockport, all images and opinions are our own.

Preview: International Cheese Awards 2015

It hardly seems like a year since I returned home from the International Cheese Awards, a bag of cheese slung over my shoulder and the inspiration for a thousand cheese boards filling my head. Since my invitation to this years International Cheese Awards arrived, I have been eagerly watching the construction of the massive (massive is an understatement really, it’s 83,000 sq ft) marquee on Twitter and sneaking a peak at some of the entries.

This year is the 118th International Cheese Awards, which are held as part of the Nantwich Show in Cheshire on 28th (judging and trade day) and 29th July 2015 (show day). This year there have been a record breaking 4,611 entries across literally hundreds of different categories of cheese, with entries from small artisan producers, to huge dairies and supermarkets. Last years Supreme Champion was the Nottingham based Colston Bassett Dairy with their Whole Blue Stilton, and rather delicious it was too.

I’ll be there on trade day, but the 29th July sees the International Cheese Awards marquee open to the public as part of the Nantwich Show. You can take a tour of the trade stands, try a few cheeses and book in and watch a cookery demonstration by a celebrity chef – James Martin, Will Holland, Jonathon Harrison and Sean Wilson will all be there, and last year I bumped into Aldo Zilli too!

The Nantwich Show is a brilliant day out for all the family, there’s so much to see and do, the Nantwich Show is apparently the biggest agricultural show in the UK, with everything from cows, sheep, pigs and pigeons to horticulture and honey. Take a look at the vintage cars and agricultural machinery as well as the latest in tractor technology! I know my boy would love it there!

The morning of the judging day is a hectic whirlwind of activity, with the marquee packed full of huge wheels of cheese, it is a sight to behold and enough to keep several large villages in cheese for a lifetime. The white-coated judges patrolling the tables, deliberating over their category and choosing the very best cheese. It’s an opportunity for non judges like me to take a turn around the trade stands and explore new cheeses and other dairy products (though chocolate cheese has yet to find a place in my heart).

The afternoon of judging day will this year see 1,144 people sitting down to a delicious four course meal, followed by the announcement of the winners and of course the supreme champion. The International Cheese Awards is the largest dairy hospitality event in the UK and the highlight of my foodie calendar!

You can find out more about the International Cheese Awards on their website, and you can find out more information and buy tickets to the Nantwich Show.

International Cheese Awards

Pond dipping at Abney Hall

Abney Hall is one of my favourite places to visit and it’s virtually on our doorstep. It’s just outside Cheadle village and is less than ten minutes in the car from our house. It has everything a little adventurer and his fairly exhausted parents need to while away a couple of hours. We went over the weekend with the promise of some pond dipping and an ice cream, what more could a small boy want?

Abney Hall

We parked up and walked round to the pond. The pond was looking incredibly healthy, with water lilies in bud and lots of ducks and birds in and around the water. Last year the pond suddenly developed a sink hole and all the water drained away, so it was good to see it looking in such fine fettle.

We found a suitable spot and tried pond dripping. There wasn’t much to be found, but the small boy enjoys the process of pond dipping as much as catching something, and every good fisherman knows they can’t catch something every time. His Dad however did catch some tin cans and other rubbish, which we put in our bucket and took away to a bin. I wish people were more considerate!

Abney Hall

Having no luck at the pond, we walked up and around near the Hall and then down the steps to the stream. As a child I used to paddle in the stream which always looks clear and cool and it’s quite shallow so it’s great for (supervised) little ones to play in. Plus there’s the stunning backdrop of Abney Hall to admire!

Abney Hall

The boys didn’t manage to catch anything in the stream either, so we decided it was time for some ice cream. I’d already managed to cross the stream (without getting my feet wet) so the boys had to follow. The small boy was a little nervous, but managed it by holding on tight to Daddy’s hand. Later he had to cross some stepping stones over slightly deeper water, which he did all by himself.

Abney Hall

We walked round to the cafe, spotting a heron, cows, a squirrel and several different kinds of birds along the way. We had a lovely few hours, a nice walk and a bit of an adventure. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon!

Review: The Bamford Arms, Stockport

As a child growing up in the 1980’s we regularly dined out in style at our local Beefeater restaurant. They had a reputation for great steak and back then kids ate for just 99p, plus pudding was always a giant ice cream sundae. I have very fond memories of Beefeater restaurants, so I was looking forward to visiting the Bamford Arms in Stockport to see if the steaks were still good and the ice cream sundaes still giant!

The Bamford Arms has recently been refurbished and the interior is light and bright with lots of interesting features, it is decked out in calm neutrals and if you peek through the bar you can still see the chefs grilling in the kitchen.

We were shown to our table by Gemma, a lovely cheery waitress who gave the small boy a Mr Men activity book and crayons and a matching Mr Men menu. The activity book kept him occupied throughout the meal, something which is pretty unheard of.

We ordered our food, to start we decided to share the Whole Baked Camembert, priced at £5.59. It is a 45g Camenbert drizzled in garlic and parsley butter, served with onion marmalade and ciabatta. It was impressive looking and delicious. The onion marmalade worked well with the cheese, my only small complaint was it only came with four pieces of ciabatta and it could’ve done with another couple of pieces, but it was an excellent start to the meal.

The main courses soon arrived. I’m a veggie so I ordered the “Veg Out Burger” (£7.99) which was a huge Quorn burger topped with Monterey Jack cheese, a chargrilled red pepper, ranch dressing and smoky tomato sauce, served with your choice of fries and some chunky coleslaw. It was an excellent burger, because it was Quorn it held together and didn’t collapse into my lap after the first bite. It was served with my choice of fries, because you could choose from plain, smokey spiced or chilli and lime spice. Gemma brought me both kinds to try as fries are unlimited (yep, eat as many fries as you can, is that a challenge?).

Hubs was hungry, so he opted for the 10oz Rib-Eye steak (£16.99), served with a tarragon bearnaise sauce (99p), chunky chips and salad. He asked for it medium and it arrived perfectly cooked. It looked beautiful and it cut like butter, I snaffled a couple of his chips and they were excellent, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. He couldn’t fault it and left a clean plate!

The boy had sausage and mash which came with its own little jug of gravy (give a northerner a jug of gravy and they’re in heaven). He happily ploughed through his meal, the sausages and gravy vanished quickly, he ate about half of his mash and peas, which is pretty good going for him. I would say that I thought the mash was a little on the salty side for little ones, we’re always being encouraged to minimise their salt intake so a little less seasoning would be good.

Although we were full we decided we *needed* to try the puddings. Hubs went for the plum tarte tatin (£5.49), I opted for the giant (hurrah) Caramel and Popcorn Sundae (£4.09) and the small boy had jelly and ice cream.

The tarte tatin was good, the pastry wasn’t as puffy and billowy as I would’ve liked, but it was tasty and had a generous amount of plums, the custard was obviously good as I had to step in to stop Hubs drinking it straight out of the jug. My Caramel and Popcorn Sundae was huge, with a quivering tower of popcorn on top. I was slightly expecting the soft whip ice cream I remember from 1983, not the vanilla seed flecked considerably posher ice cream of 2015, but I did enjoy it, especially as I worked my way down through the sundae I’d find little pockets of popcorn or sauce.

The small boy loved his jelly so much, he sat so quietly while he concentrated on scooping the wobbly jelly onto his spoon and into his mouth. It was a joy to watch.

As we went for lunch we all drank soft drinks which had free refills, so the drinks bill was pretty inexpensive. When the bill for the meal came I had to double check that it was correct, it came to just £46.64 (kids eat free every Saturday from 12-5pm) which is remarkable value for what was a really delicious and enjoyable family meal. It was so good Hubs wants to go back again next week!

Note: We were invited guests of the Bamford Arms Stockport, all images and opinions are our own.