August 8, 2012 Dinner – Meat Pies at Grapes Pub, Bradford on Avon, England

August 8, 2012 Dinner – Meat Pies at Grapes Pub, Bradford on Avon, England

We arrived at Heathrow Airport and drove our rental car west about 150 miles to Bath and changed money at the Post Office and then followed the directions to Great Ashley Farm, near Bradford on Avon. The Farm is a working farm that raises mainly grass for cattle fodder and is growing a small cow/calf herd.  The old farmhouse has been remodeled to update two rooms to modern standards for tourists and the house serves breakfast with farm fresh eggs, so it is  bed and breakfast.

After showering and changing clothes, we drove into Radford on Avon on one of the narrowest roads I have ever seen, little more than a two rut jeep road with stone walls and vegetation on each side.  I am completely confused by the maps and directions. We got completely lost after dinner and Suzette sideswiped a car on the side of the road. 

Anyway back to Bradford on Avon. BonA is a lovely old stone cottage town built along the Avon River that passes through the town.  We parked beside the Railroad Station, The Great Western RR, and walked back across the river past the posh Three Gables Restaurant with its fancy fine cuisine and across the old bridge over the Avon and up the Main Street to Grapes, a small pub that our hosts recommended for its “proper English meat pies”.  Almost everything in the pub was different than what we see in bars in the U.S. There were taps with beer we had never seen before except for Kronenborg 1664. We chose a Triumph Ale made in Bristol that had a very clean light flavor that we thought would go well with the food.  We were immediately impressed by the menu choices.  Although there was a complete menu the menu was mostly pies.  Wednesday night featured the second pie for ½ price, so Suzette chose a Rabbit and Mushroom pie and I chose a beef and Stilton pie with the approving nod of the young lady who was attending bar and taking our order.         

The pie came on a large platter.  It was about 8 inches across with a baked crust of pie dough and the ingredients in a ceramic pie plate.  My Beef and Stilton pie had roast beef in a dark beef stock gravy.  Suzette’s Rabbit pie had onions and mushrooms with lots of boneless rabbit meat.  Each platter was also served with a side dish to of mashed potatoes and a pile of boiled carrots and haricot vert.

We enjoyed eating the heavy meat pie, but could only finish about ½ of it, even with another of the lovely light Triumph Ales. 

We drove back to Great Ashley Farm and watched the finals of Women’s Beach Volleyball as Misty May and Kerri Walsh easily rolled to their third Gold Medal and enjoyed a lovely night’s sleep.

Unfortunately the next day my digestive system suffered from the heavy dose of meat in the meat pies.