Living in the city is great, we have bars, restaurants and shops on our door step but the one thing I miss the most is nature. Fresh air, trees, and the sounds of birds chirping. Unfortunately the one thing that can make going away for the weekend a little more of a challenge is my gluten intolerance. When the Grainary farm got in touch with me about their gluten free Sunday roast dinner I just knew we had to pay them a visit!
The farm is located deep in the heart of Harwood Dale, surrounded by luscious green hills, fields and forests. They even have real farm animals! During our stay I made friends with a sheep, some heifers (young cows that aren’t quite adult yet) and two gorgeous black labrador dogs. There’s also pigs and piglets there and even a goat.
Mark the chief manager has been so helpful before and even during our stay. I told him that we’re not local to the area and he recommended things to do and places to visit which I thought was a lovely personal touch that you usually don’t get with big businesses.
Once we arrived we received a very warm welcome by the staff in the gift shop and then were taken to our room where we had a chance to settle and enjoy a cup of tea. Once we’d settled in Mark himself gave us a little tour of the grounds and recommend good walks around the area.
Due to some unanticipated car troubles we actually spent our whole time in and around the farm and didn’t get to visit the nearby coastal villages that we planned to. However there was plenty of walking and exploring to be done around the Grainary farm so we didn’t mind at all.
On our first evening there we checked into our room, had a cup of tea and then went exploring the nearby forest. It was lovely to walk, chat and clear our heads. We came across a lot of mushrooms during our walk and I still wonder how many of them were edible.
We booked a table for dinner and after our walk we enjoyed a meal at the Grainary restaurant. They had some great gluten free options but I decided to go for the Lemon and thyme chicken with creamy savoy and bacon cabbage and chunky chips which was incredibly delicious.
On Sunday morning we went for breakfast which included hot options or a continental breakfast which consisted of cereals, yoghurts and toast. I was so impressed that they had both gluten free cereals and gluten free toast!
The weather was absolutely gorgeous so we decided to spend our day outdoors and work up an appetite for the Sunday roast dinner.
The black labradors took a liking to us and we spent hours with them on Sunday, first playing fetch with them by the lake and then went on a really long hike up into the hills and forests surrounding the farm. We were informed that the dogs would take us on a tour but I think they must have been feeling adventurous because we got very lost! We got to see some amazing views in the process though and were very hungry when we finally made our way back.
For the main course I chose the cooked overnight braised brisket of beef and the boy had blue stilton and mushroom wellington.
It came served with lots roast potatoes, lots of vegetables, what I believe was suade mash and Yorkshire puddings. In the last four years I’ve only had a roast Sunday dinner out in a restaurant once (it’s not that easy to come across gluten free Sunday lunch!) so I was incredibly excited to dig in.
The meat was really tender, juicy and full of flavour, the vegetables and the gravy were delicious. The gluten free Yorkshire puddings tasted very nice but were quite hard in texture. The Gluten Free Sunday Roast at The Grainary Farm is definitely worth trying, I can assure you, you’ll love it!
The boy decided to go for the vegetarian option which on the day was a blue stilton and mushroom wellington and he said that he absolutely loved it.
*The Grainary farm invited us for a complimentary stay in return for an honest review.
Until next time,
Glad you found yourself a good gf roast dinner that you could enjoy - it'd really be a shame to miss out on them totally! The farm looks beautiful! :)
ReplyDeleteOh this place sounds lovely, I am definitely telling my Mum about this one as she can't eat gluten either so this will be great for her. I love the scenery and views you got here too - you're so right, there's nothing nicer than getting out into the open air and having a break from the city. The cows are so cute too! And you look lovely in your outfit as well. - Tasha
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