Stoke Lodge Hotel Fish Night

Platter of starters before...

 STOKE LODGE FISH NIGHT

We were lucky enough to enjoy a delicious Seafood Supper at Stoke Lodge on Thursday 5th May.

We'd heard it was good and wanted to try it for ourselves, and have to say that we weren't disappointed!

There was a great atmosphere in the dining room - a 'special' party was going on at the next table - as we joined our friends and relaxed with freshly baked bread rolls and butter accompanied by crisp chilled white wine, which got us nicely in the mood for our starter. 

...and after!

Within a few minutes, a tempting platter of seafood to share appeared - bearing scallops baked in shell with white wine, breadcrumbs & wild garlic butter, hot king prawns with chilli ginger and garlic, and smoked mackerel, trout & salmon - all served on a bed of cucumber salad and accompanied by home-made Marie Rose sauce.

All of it was lovely, hence none of it lasted long with us around...

Ooops - sorry, we forgot...

Next came the Main Event, which I am ashamed to say we got so carried away with that we forgot to take a picture before we started gorging ourselves silly on it!  The photo says it all, I guess...

Anyway, we were presented with a steaming bowl of mussels in Devon cider, leeks & cream, and another platter - this time containing char-grilled whole mackerel on Panzanella salad, crispy goujons of plaice, and pan fried sea bass with salsa verde.

All these fishy delights were just as tasty as they looked - and served with a bowl of piping hot skinny fries and washed down with more of aforementioned chilled white wine we all agreed our meal was nothing short of perfection!

Photo before temptation got too great...

Finally, just when we thought we couldn't manage another morsel, in came yet another platter - this time with a stunning array of desserts. 

I'm not really a dessert sort of person normally but one spoonful of the gorgeous lemon posset (my favourite) served with shortbread biscuits and a chocolate tuile and I was a convert...

... and five minutes later

I'm ashamed to say that I then went on to try the chocolate cheesecake, lemon tart, chocolate brownie with fudge sauce and mango sorbet - but it's not as bad as it sounds, honestly.

  

That was what was so nice about having the sharing platters - you could have lots of lovely tastes of everything without feeling sinful or guilty (well not TOO much, anyway...)

And ten minutes later. You had to be there...

All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. 

We have to say a big thank you to all the lovely people at Stoke Lodge, we'll definitely be there for the next Fish Night - and we'll be telling all our friends...!

Guest Blogger Val Depledge

Stoke Lodge Hotel - World Book Night Celebration for Readers and Writers

Author Lesley Pearse with daughter - and friends..!

 

Well, what a fantastic experience we’ve just had! 

 As avid readers (both) and sometime aspiring writer (me) we went along to the World Book Night lunchtime event on Saturday April 23rd hosted by Stoke Lodge Hotel, not really knowing what to expect - and ended up spending a most enjoyable four hours (not to mention having a delicious lunch) meeting and chatting to a whole host of talented local writers.

World Book Night is an annual celebration of reading and books taking place on 23 April, which sees passionate volunteers give out hundreds of thousands of books in their communities to share their love of reading with people who don’t read regularly or own books.

The event is run by The Reading Agency, a national charity that inspires people to become confident and enthusiastic readers to help give them an equal chance in life. 

World Book Night was first celebrated in the UK and Ireland in 2011 on 5 March, and in 2012 it was moved to 23 April, the international day of the book and, probably, the birth and death date of William Shakespeare.

Stoke Lodge Hotel

The idea to hold the World Book Night Celebration at ‘my favourite hotel’ came from Annette Shaw, book reviewer for Devon Life.

Annette Shaw

Annette organised the event and was assisted by Sarah Stevenson-Olds – both of whom immediately put us at ease with their warm welcome and coffee in the sunny and comfortable lounge, where we chatted awhile to the accompaniment of a chilled Spanish guitar discreetly played in the background by local musician Patrick Barton.

Lesley (right) with her 'thank you' bouquet

The event kicked off with the charming and competent Master of Ceremonies David Scott – who did a fine job throughout the day – introducing best-selling author Lesley Pearse for the first extremely entertaining talk.

Lesley had a wicked grin and a mischievous glint in her eye from the start and was such a lovely lady – honest, irreverently funny, interesting and friendly – who had us enthralled with tales of her vivid and varied life and how she came to become the hugely successful writer she is today.

I’m sure it left many of us either wanting to rush out and buy all her books or putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and writing our very own best seller – or both.

Stoke Lodge sun terrace with happy guests

We were then invited to stop by the Hotel bar for a pre-lunch drink, which we enjoyed on the sunny terrace with its brilliant view of the sea, before being called in to lunch.

Enjoying the sun with me (RH corner - spritzer in hand...) are writers Jill Treseder, Bea and Tony Porter, an unknown gentleman and the back of Jenny Kane..!

Chelsie with Foodie Feast

The veritable feast on offer was laid out in the airy dining room and quite simply it looked fantastic. 

There were succulent joints of ham, beef and turkey, beautiful quiches and an array of tasty salads and accompaniments, and just when you thought you couldn’t possibly eat another thing a stunning selection of desserts appeared which were just crying out to be tasted...
...Well, the SLH chefs had obviously gone to a lot of trouble and it would have been rude to refuse, wouldn’t it?



(N.B. I’m not usually much of a dessert girl but I have to say the chocolate cheesecake was amazing and certainly gets my vote…)

Annette Shaw with MC David Scott

So, sated and relaxed, we returned to the lounge where we were treated to more five-minute talks – David was very strict about this! – from some of the writers present. 

We heard from Mel Menzies, Steve Stevenson-Olds, Jenny Kane, Chris Robilliard, Jane Gill and Tony Porter (huge apologies if I have left anyone out – those five-minutes slots seemed to whizz by in a blur…) - all of whose talks were  very informative and enjoyable in different ways.

Three o’clock came around way too soon, leaving us inspired, informed, entertained and enthusiastic for this wonderfully enjoyable event to be repeated again next year. 







Stoke Lodge Hotel was, we felt, the perfect venue – the peaceful setting overlooking the bay was inspiration alone, and we were so well looked after throughout the day by owners Chris and Stephen and two of their daughters, Chelsie and Sigourney – not forgetting Claire on the bar and all the other staff involved – that it made it such a relaxing experience and we really, really hope they will do it all over again next year.

No wonder it was a sell-out this year - Annette tells me that she already has names on the guest list for 2017 so rest assured we’ll be making sure that we book our places early next year… 

We left clutching our complementary ‘World Book Allocated Choice’ book – Perfect Daughter by Amanda Prowse – feeling happy, relaxed and satisfied.

What a wonderful way to spend a day - thanks so very much to all involved – we just loved it!

 

Links:

David Scott: http://davidscotttraining.com
Jane Gill:  https://www.facebook.com/janegillauthor
Jenny Kane: http://jennykane.co.uk/
Lesley Pearse: http://www.lesleypearse.com/http://www.lesleypearse.com/
Mel Menzies: http://www.melmenzies.co.uk/
Steve Stevenson-Olds: http://www.stevensonolds.com/http://www.stevensonolds.com/

Stoke Lodge Hotel: http://www.stokelodge.co.uk/
World Book Night: http://worldbooknight.org/

 NB. The next event at Stoke Lodge Hotel is a Devon Fish Night on Thursday 5th May 2016 - a beautiful sea food dinner and a glass of wine on arrival all for £26.75.

To enquire or book please call 01803 770523  or visit
http://www.stokelodge.co.uk/

 

Guest Blogger Val Depledge

World Book Night Celebration for Writers and Readers

Guest blog post by our friend and book reviewer for Devon Life magazine - Annette Shaw

11am on Saturday 23rd April 2016 at Stoke Lodge Hotel, Stoke Fleming near Dartmouth

I've just completed my first year reviewing books for Devon Life magazine.  It's been terrific to meet so many writers and enthusiastic readers!  So, I thought that on World Book Night 2016 it would be a great opportunity to share our passion for reading and publishing.

Run by The Reading Agency, (the independent charity with a mission to get more people reading more), World Book Night is now in its sixth year.  Held on what is probably the birth and death date of William Shakespeare, the event is designed to inspire and encourage more people to pick up a book. 

Reading for pleasure is a globally recognised indicator in a huge range of social issues from poverty to mental health, yet in the UK 36% of people don’t regularly read (DCMS, 2015).

source: worldbooknight.org

Stoke Lodge Hotel in Stoke Fleming is the venue for this literary get-together and there will be a buffet style lunch.  Even more good news is that the No 1, best-selling novelist Lesley Pearse will join us and open the session, expand a little on World Book Night and talk about her own career. With fans across the globe Lesley's book sales now top 10 million.  If you'd like to buy any of Lesley's books before the event, she'll be pleased to sign your copy.

It will be a relaxed day and chance to not just talk about books but maybe make new friends and contacts.   Master of Ceremonies will be David Scott.  Former Managing Director of the Birmingham Daily News and a group of large weekly newspapers in the West Midlands, David runs a newspaper management consultancy and journalism training company. He is also an author and his books cover subjects as diverse as the changing face of the regional press and a guide to public speaking.  

Sarah Stevenson-Olds has kindly offered to help with admin as she's on the ground so to speak in Stoke Fleming.  Her husband   Steve is thrilled with ever increasing sales of his, steamy in places, latest novel, The Human Jigsaw.  

Bestselling author Jenny Kane from Tiverton has just confirmed she'll be with us as well.  Jenny writes contemporary romance and children's fiction. Her first novel, Another Cup of Coffee (Accent Press), became a Kindle best seller- and the paperback version isn’t far behind.   Jenny's romance, Abi’s House, hit No.1 in the Amazon Romance, Contemporary Fiction, and Women’s Fiction charts.  

Places are limited to a maximum of 40.  To book please contact Sarah, then a cheque for £15 (non-refundable) made payable to Stoke Lodge Hotel will secure your attendance and lunch.  This should be sent direct to Sarah - she'll let you have her postal address. 

The plan envisaged is:

11am -  Morning coffee

11.15am - An Audience with Lesley Pearse

12.15pm -  Networking and saunter into lunch for 12.45pm

2pm -  David Scott to chair questions from readers and speed dating for writers, i.e. quick fire presentation of books published and work in progress - a great practise for pitching!

3pm - approx -  Close

Very best wishes

Annette Shaw

Sarah's e-mail to arrange a place and pay is: steve@stevenson-olds.com

Lesley Pearse's web site: lesleypearse.com

David Scott's web site: davidscotttraining.com

Steve's web site: stevensonolds.com

Jenny's web site:  jennykane.co.uk

Stoke Lodge Hotel web site for directions: stokelodge.co.uk

Situated in Stoke Fleming village approx 1 mile from Blackpool Sands and two miles from Dartmouth. 

Things to do when staying at Stoke Lodge in Autumn & Winter

Although it is a fantastic place to stay in Summer when the sun is shining, there is a ton of stuff to do through the Winter. Here are some suggestions:

Find a great cafe and enjoy a hot cuppa or soup to warm you up. Not to mention really good Devon food. There are some amazing cafes such as Cafe Alf Resco in Dartmouth, the Venus Cafe at Blackpool Sands (but check opening times) and many many more to explore.

In Plymouth you will find the National Marine Aquarium a wonderful destination for all the family.

We love walking on beaches in the Winter, there's just something a bit wild about it. And we are close to some really fantastic award winning ones. 

How about a trip on a real steam train? We are close to the Dartmouth Steam Rail and Riverboat Company line that comes to Kingswear. This runs through the most spectacular countryside and coast lines of South Devon. 

Candlelit Dartmouth is an annual event where children and parents turn out 'en masse' with paper lanterns and a full parade winds through the heart of the town. There are market stalls and the children meet Santa who arrives at the Boatfloat in a boat instead of a sledge.

There are really good river and sea trips throughout most of the year so you can wrap up warm and enjoy being on the water.

Interested in history? Then a visit to Dartmouth Castle is a must. Guarding the mouth of the River Dart you can take a tour and then buy souvenirs in the gift shop. Fabulous views out to sea.

We know that lots of our guests are members of the National Trust. There are dozens of venues to visit in Devon of course and we are lucky to have two of the best right on our doorstep: Coleton Fishacre (above) near Brixham and...

...the home of Agatha Christie, Greenway House, up the river towards Dittisham.

For those of you who love walking we offer a tremendous selection of wonderful Devon to see. Dartmoor is less than an hour away and is breathtakingly beautiful...

...and of course Stoke Lodge is situated right on the South West Coast Path voted the best part of the whole of the UK Coastal Path. Don't forget to wrap up warm!

Did we mention steam? Well it's not just trains of course. Dartmouth is famous for being the birth place of Thomas Newcomen, inventor of the atmospheric steam engine (original full size working model in the Tourist Office in Dartmouth) so we also have a Paddle Steamer, the Kingswear Castle.

Fancy something inside in the warm? Then the Flavel Art Centre, Library and Cinema in the middle of Dartmouth is for you. Exhibitions, theatre, live screenings, Comedy Festival, Music Festival venue, Digital Cinema, live music, talks and lots more offer a really full programme year round.


Sometimes though, you may want to just curl up in the lounge with a mug of tea and a book and that can be as enjoyable as anything!

South West Coast Path - Dartmouth to Stoke Fleming

Stoke Lodge Hotel sun terrace – perfect end to a perfect walk..!

We've just had the most marvellous day walking from Dartmouth to Stoke Fleming.


Living as we do in the middle of a busy town, I can’t think of a better way of relaxing and connecting with nature than a walk along the coastal path – especially as it wasn't really planned but turned out to be really rewarding and enjoyable. Nerves had been feeling slight shredded and we needed to unwind so this really did the trick - returned feeling quite refreshed and rejuvenated, I can tell you!

It was lovely to leave the hustle and bustle of Dartmouth and head for the hills – or in this case Dartmouth Castle where we took the SWCP.

We started with a gently undulating walk through sunny woodlands with the sight and sound of the turquoise sea always on our left, and followed the path around the headland with spectacular views of the soaring cliffs, craggy rocks and the sparkling sea –speckled all along the way with the white sails of a whole host of boats by courtesy of the Classic Sailing Regatta, which we hadn't even realised was on that day!  Very accommodating of them to arrange this for our entertainment, we felt…

The weather too was rather accommodating for us - the sun shone most of the time but we still had the pretty fluffy white clouds in the very blue sky, and a lovely sea breeze was thoughtfully provided to cool us along our way.

We saw swifts and swallows as we were walking along the paths, and on one of our many stops to enjoy the view we caught sight of some gannets, and a little further along admired the shags and cormorants on the rocks, just sunning themselves and drying their wings and - such a lovely sight to see.

We made a short detour from the main path about half way through the walk to visit Compass Cove. Sitting there on the small, almost-empty beach – with just one other quiet couple collecting pebbles and shells – we enjoyed our simple picnic of French bread, cheeses and a bottle of chilled beer.

We could literally feel the tension draining out of us as we sat against the warm rocks, gazing at the waves landing softly on the beach and watching a rock pipit hopping in and out of – well, the rocks! Didn’t realise they were such pretty little birds and luckily we had our binoculars with us so we could see its lovely markings really clearly. We agreed with the friendly pebble-collectors that sitting quietly on this secluded beach on a sunny day watching the sea was surely the closest thing to paradise you could get!

We rather reluctantly left the Cove, promising to treat ourselves to a return very soon, and continued along the path through green fields and always with within sight and sound of the sea, coming out onto a wide grassy area directly overlooking the coast where there were skylarks singing high above us.


We spotted Stoke Fleming village in the distance and – more excitingly – were lucky enough to see a peregrine hunting and soaring over the cliffs.





This was our personal highlight for the day and quite a sight to behold - he entertained us with his aerial displays for more than ten minutes…and all less than a mile from Stoke Lodge Hotel!

With this and thoughts of chilled lager in mind, we continued along the rest of the path tired but happy, and once reaching the village turned left out of Redlap Lane for the short walk down the hill to the Hotel.

Sitting with the aforementioned chilled lager on the lovely sun terrace overlooking the sea to recharge our batteries before catching the Dartmouth bus, we agreed that this was just about the most perfect way to end what for us had turned out to be a perfect day.

In fact so much so, I felt compelled to write and tell you about it - hence this blog post!

Guest Blogger - Nature Walker

Exploring Wildlife on the local South West Coastal Path (SWCP)

The SWCP by the Erme Estuary

Following the road down the East side of the Erme Estuary past the village of Kingston we came to a dead end and parked the car. From there, we walked ahead and just before the small beach turned left off the path and joined the SWCP. 

Walking along the wooded section it then opened up along the headland. After about 30mins walking we arrived at an area between Muxham Point and Fennycombe Point. We were walking along there when we spotted a Peregrine flying about 50 feet away over the sea and parallel to us on the path. It swept along and was soon out of sight around the headland but gave us a great view and we were thrilled. Thinking that was all we would experience we carried on.

Then, around 2 or 3 minutes later, it re-appeared behind us over the fields. It stopped in mid-air and hovered, holding it's wings straight out. It was quite gusty and the falcon manoeuvred 'on the spot' mainly by adjusting its tail

feathers. It then proceed to entertain us with a wonderful display of flying and hovering for around 5 minutes or more, all within 100 feet or so.  Through the binoculars it was a magnificent sight and looked to be a tiercel or male Peregrine. It put up quite a few herring gulls during this time and they seemed quite anxious, understandably. 

Eventually the peregrine flew off inland working its way across the fields

evidently hunting but without catching anything. This was a brilliant sighting of my favourite British bird and means we will be back along this lovely stretch of coastal path quite often in future to catch more sightings.

The coastal views are pretty good as well! Well recommended. 

Slapton Ley National Nature Reserve

A walk around the Ley!

First up, what is Slapton Ley? 

It's a National Nature Reserve which is based at the largest freshwater lake in South West England being 1.5 miles long. It is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Geological Conservation Review Site. There is a Field Centre just up the road from the Ley. 

Where is it?

It is located just a few minutes down the road from the hotel. Just off the A379 between Kingsbridge and Dartmouth and lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. (AONB)

What's it like?

It is a peaceful wildlife sanctuary with a footpath around one side that allows you to connect directly with nature. Follow this link to find out more.

Why should I visit?

Well we like to go there to unwind. Just strolling around the footpath with a pair of binoculars, listening and looking at the birds in amongst the reeds, out on the open water, in the air above or in the trees and woodlands is just so relaxing. Certain times of year are particularly special. In the Autumn, Starlings gather just before dusk to roost in the reed beds. Tens of thousands of them swirl in a murmuration that is a true spectacle and not to be missed. At other times it is chicks and ducklings to see or just passing visitors. 

Surely something for all bird and nature lovers all year round.