HARPURS RESTAURANT – 23rd October 2010

Harurs Restaurant, 46-48 Tavistock Street, Bedford, MK40 2RD

With an modern, attractive looking frontage, its difficult to miss Harpurs resturant at the corner of the street. When in bedford you be hard pushed to do better than a meal here, and at the weekend booking a table ahead is recommended.

Décor (7/10) – With cream walls, wood floors and beech tables and chairs the modern décor is hard to imagine as this as being warm and friendly place, yet this restaurant manages to pull it off well.

Atmosphere (7/10) - There is a wine bar situated downstairs from the restaurant as well as a bar situated to the side of this packed restaurant, both seem to blend to add a relaxed atmosphere rather than separate areas.  One small thing was that the place did have tendency to leave one of the main doors open allowing a breeze in which acted to cool our food faster.

Food (6/10) – For starters we both had spinach and goat’s cheese parcels with a leafy salad (£6) which was both tasty and substantial in size. One point to note is that despite this being an enjoyable start to the meal, the speed in which the starters were served after they were ordered meant they had been prepared earlier that day; some prefer food prepared to order. The same scenario does not apply to main courses however which are most definitely cooked to order. I had duck pancakes (a little unusual serving choice maybe) while Dan had sirloin steak.  

Service (7/10) – The team at Harpurs are particularly friendly, efficient, helpful and knowledgeable. They simply added to what was an enjoyable evening.

Overall 27/40 = 67.5 % this was our second time, and I am sure it will not be our last.   

De Vere Venue Milton Hill House (Abingdon) – 2nd October 2010

Milton Hill House is a charming Georgian Mansion House set in 22 acres of peaceful parkland. The enchanting Georgian manor house which has been sympathetically extended over the years is surrounded by 20 acres of tranquil parkland and is delightful blend of modern comfort and traditional charm. It's perfect as a stopover for experiencing some of the huge variety of attractions close by. After a day exploring, take time out at the health and fitness club with mini gym, swimming pool, whirlpool spa, steam room, sauna. Relaxing, stimulating and incredibly convenient, Milton Hill House is situated just off the A34 and only 20 miles south of Oxford.

Grounds              6/10     

Reception           8/10       

  Bedroom Facilities

• TV
• Tea and Coffee Making Facilities
• Wi-Fi
• Room Service 24hr
• Direct Dial Telephone

Room                    7/10  

 Leisure Facilities

• Indoor Pool  
• Jacuzzi  
• Sauna  
• Steam Room  
• Gym  

Facilities               7/10

Pool/sauna         6/10       

 Bar and Restaurant Facilities

• Breakfast served from
• Monday to Friday: 7:15am  – 9 am
• Saturday/Sunday: 08:00 – 10 am  
• Bar in Hotel
• Restaurant in hotel

Bar                                         7/10       

 

Restaurant Food              4/10    

 

Breakfast                           7/10

Value for money              7/10       £94 one night with full breakfast 

Total                                  59/90    65.6% 

Oxford - Saturday 2nd October 2010

Oxford is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 151,000 living within the district boundary. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre. For a distance of some 10 miles (16 km) along the river, in the vicinity of Oxford, the Thames is known as The Isis. For over 800 years, it has been a home to royalty and scholars, and since the 9^th century an established town, although people are known to have lived in the area for thousands of years

Buildings in Oxford demonstrate an example of every British architectural period since the arrival of the Saxons, including the iconic, mid-18th century Radcliffe Camera. Oxford is known as the "city of dreaming spires", a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold in reference to the harmonious architecture of Oxford's university buildings. The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world.

The Ashmolean Museum (in full the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology) on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum. Its first building was built in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities Elias Ashmole gave Oxford University in 1677.

 The University of Oxford is the third oldest surviving university and the oldest university in the English-speaking world. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back as the 11th century. The University grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. 

After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled north-east to Cambridge, where they established the University of Cambridge. The two "ancient universities" have many common features and are often jointly referred to as Oxbridge. In addition to cultural and practical associations as a historic part of British society, the two universities have a long history of rivalry with each other.