weekend (in amersham)

The first weekend of October S and I caught a train to Amersham in Buckinghamshire for a weekend away from London. After watching the rugby at home on Saturday morning (priorities) we jumped on the tube to Marylebone station and a half hour train ride later we arrived. England was still engulfed in its second summer and the weather was gorgeous, close to 30 degrees in October! We walked from the train station along a track through the woods and eventually came out at the top of a field with Old Amersham below us.

Old Amersham is a picturesque old market town. Consisting of one high street lined with pretty boutiques, old pubs and old fashioned sweet shops, it is perfect for wandering. We checked out the market in the ancient market hall, admired the Tudor architecture and visited the church and its beautiful gardens before heading to Artichoke for lunch.

Artichoke is owned and run by a husband and wife team who were so warm and welcoming we felt like guests in their home. The soothing green tones, wooden tables and bespoke crockery (made here) were so comforting we made lunch last for hours. We started with a champagne aperitif, followed by steak tartare and duck breast for me and scallops and lamb for S. It was delicious. For desert we shared the best berry souffle I've ever tasted.

The service was impeccable and little touches like the fresh mint tea brewed from mint straight out of their herb garden made the experience extra special. We will definitely be back.

After lunch we were so full, we wandered up Cherry Lane and found a field to nap in. When we eventually found the motivation to move again, we walked back down the hill past some of the cutest cottages I have ever seen.

We spent the night at The Crown, an old coaching inn. Our room was lovely with wooden beams, uneven creaking floors, an extremely comfortable king size bed and Aesop products in the bathroom (I'm all about the products). Unfortunately, the service at The Crown wasn't great. There didn't seem to be anyone in charge and at dinner the staff were running around in a mild panic. Our table was forgotten and when they did remember to bring our food, they forgot the utensils. Still, the inn itself was lovely and the sunny courtyard proved to be a great place to while away the hot afternoons.

On Sunday we went for a long walk in the countryside. We walked across dry paddocks, through woods, past cows and old farm houses with beautiful gardens. It was strange to see all the leaves changing colour when it was so hot! Walks in the UK seem to always take you through at least one village where you're guaranteed to find a pub meal. This walk was no exception. We stopped at the Red Lion, an old family run pub in the village of Coleshill, for lunch (salmon sandwiches for me and pie for S) and pints of coke. From here it was an easy walk back to Old Amersham, where we rewarded ourselves with mint choc chip ice creams in the sun before grabbing our bags and heading back to London.