Autumn Days Out with The Kids

**Get outside this season, breathe in the fresh air and watch Hestercombe gardens come alive with the rich colours of autumn.**: - Autumn at HestercombeSeptember and October sees Hestercombe transformed by the rich shades of autumn; the cold-loving flowers and shrubs begin to bloom, bringing new colours and points of interest to the gardens. On your next...

Just when we all though we could go on holiday... And not to forget the new Autumn Menu. Kevin and his team have once again exceeded expectation with some scrumptious warming dishes using seasonal and local ingredients including a wholesome beef stew with dumplings and the delicious apple and cider cake made with Hestercombe's very own apples! I'm sure...

My apologies for the lack of blog posts lately, but the more observant among you may notice that I am now publishing under a different name! My time and focus over this last summer has been taken up with organising my wedding, but now I am free to concentrate on writing blogs again! Last week we began the autumn chop back, which is a job I love because you...

The crisp autumn mornings this week are the perfect chance to wrap up warm and come for a stroll. Plus the restaurant is now serving bacon butties and a hot cuppa! What a way to start the day...

Today's been a bit cold with the changing seasons but plans are afoot for the HESTERTOMB and Hallowe'en is just around the corner. Mark's been decorating the courtyard in a very ghostly guise... Next time you visit Hestercombe's Stables Restaurant you're in for a big surprise! - Spooky tours - daytime and night, will be running throughout the holidays, and...

**Another week, and it's a week that is filled with menu planning for the new spring season. A visit to a local food show always gives a great opportunity to meet new suppliers and find new ideas. As winter is still upon us a great and versatile (if a little bit ugly) vegetable is the celeriac, fantastic as a soup and also great as mash or puree to accompany...

**With autumn in full swing now we are certainly finding plenty to do in the gardens! Apart from the seemingly never ending task of leaf blowing and raking we have been chopping back all the Mexican daisies that grow in the walls. This reveals the beautiful stone work underneath and shows off the intricate structure of the Formal Garden. We also have some...

The courtyard and Stables Restaurant have been transformed overnight. Spooky drapes, blackened walls, giant spiders surround you as you eat, who knows what might jump out to steal your sandwiches!!

This cute little house and garden is on the Castle Drogo estate and was built as a childrens garden. Quite adorable! Gertrude Jekyll was a big fan of childrens gardens and in fact wrote a book on it. She encouraged whole minature kitted out houses so that kids could learn to cook in there and live out a fantasy world.

If you've got kids and need work which will fit around them, this is the ideal job for you. You can pick the days and times you're available for regular work. You will be working in private homes where you will carry out duties like dusting, vacuuming, wiping surfaces, cleaning sanitary ware and emptying bins as asked by our customers. You'll have the same...

Ben at Illumina_ Illumina is AMAZING!!!!!!! What a marvellous way to view a garden. It is completely entrancing and magical. The pathway takes you through the shrubbery to the cascade and back round and through the formal gardens. The change in perspective in the dark is phenomenal and having worked in the gardens for 6 years it is really...

**Be Part of Our Team** **Day Care Host, The Filo Project, Taunton and surrounding areas** **The Filo Project is a not-for-profit enterprise offering high quality, small group day care for older people.** **Our mission** Our mission is to provide enriching day care for people living with dementia and the challenges of older age. Through meaningful, social...

**Be Part of Our Team** **Day Care Host, The Filo Project, Taunton and surrounding areas** **The Filo Project is a not-for-profit enterprise offering high quality, small group day care for older people.** **Our mission** Our mission is to provide enriching day care for people living with dementia and the challenges of older age. Through meaningful, social...

To my worldly blog followers, sorry for my absence over the last few weeks, it’s been a busy time in the kitchens. A little belated I know but I wish Liz our old pastry chef good luck in her new venture. The weeks that passed after Liz left were busy ones but (would you believe I was making cakes?!) but were made easier by the support of a great team in...

Miss Warre (cascade)_, C-type print, 2017 © Trish Morrissey This autumn (opens 18 Nov) the Hestercombe Gallery is privileged to welcome acclaimed photographer Trish Morrissey to its exciting contemporary arts programme. Having exhibited extensively in solo and group shows in the UK and internationally, her work is in major private and public collections....

Woo hoo! Another long weekend... it will be great to see some more people at Hestercombe this side of half-term. And in true Hestercombe style, Kevin's putting on a BBQ in the courtyard on Bank Holiday Monday. Freshly cooked meat over the Hestercombe charcoal and a delicious variety of crispy salads. And as May draws to an end we're all getting busy. Herb...

...and looking relaxed after a week's holiday with his young family including three very energetic little boys... Kevin is our Welsh Wizard Head Chef and even on his hols he has been thinking about the new Autumn menu. Always seasonal, I think we can look forward to pumpkins and butternut, sweet potatoes and casseroles but he does promise to keep the hand...

**Happy new year! The new year has brought with it some beautiful flowers to brighten up the gloomy days. The following can all be found near the path as you walk through the Shrubbery: Above: Hamamelis commonly known as witch hazel has these spidery yellow flowers borne on bare stems. The flowers always remind me of curls of lemon rind! They prefer a sunny...

**Best Things to do this Easter Weekend in Somerset and beyond**: Across Taunton, Somerset and Dorset, Easter is in the air and if you're looking for an Easter egg hunt, there are plenty of options for you and your little ones. Here’s our list of the best things to do this Easter weekend in the local area from doing an Easter egg hunt to food and drink...

Tucked into tree roots and springing from the lawn, mushrooms are emerging by the dozen as autumn arrives at Hestercombe. And with the annual Fungal Foray not far away, we’ve got some toadstool trivia to share with you. We’ve all heard of frogs transforming into prince charming, but how about a mushroom? Agaricus Augustus is the fungi honoured with the...