Highdown Hotel

Hey guys!

I had the opportunity to head out to Highdown Gardens + Pub/Hotel during lockdown for some well needed family hang out sessions, and thought I’d share some of the awesome yummy treats we got there.

So sadly during the pandemic they have had to shut the gardens, which was our main temptation to venture there, but they have a hotel and tea room which was full of little puppies. Everyone that was there seemed to have a selection of little dogs, it was extraordinary! My niece liked the look of them so we went to see what they had to offer. Next door to the hotel part is a pub which was gorgeous. It felt like a lovely, just out of the way country pub and is in the heart of Tarring. The food was pretty exceptional, we weren’t expecting a lovely meal but my mum ordered some braised cabbage, with apple sauce, some roasted vegetables and pork. She thought it was excellent.

My niece had some chips and dippers, I had some chips and salad. my sister had some quiche with halloumi. It was all amazing, I snuck some of the quiche and I was mega impressed. During the eat out schemes, part of the meal was reduced so it was actually cheap and I had a great time. Normally I’d say it was about 20 pound a head without the dessert, so if you’re in the area, defo check it out and we’ll be back to visit the gardens. I also got to try this orange cocktail thing which I’ve never had, I thought it was going to be like a really yummy orange flavour but it was this intense bitter Prosecco thing that doesn’t compute with the normal things I like, but I LOVED it!

Definitely recommended and a lovely atmosphere for family dining.

I’ve written this many times in my previous blogs, but I cook plant based at home, I navigate my diet based on what my body is able to thrive on, so I found out as a very young kid that I was intolerant to eating meats. I did a full DNA test with Circle in the Beauty section and it confirmed that I have an intolerance to the toxins produced by meats, so there is some science behind it I can go into another time. But I grew up in a meat eating house hold and that’s part of it. I want people to find the website if they eat meat or dairy and think, hmm I’ve always had this issue with my skin, or my weight, or my mood, and then navigate with the information I will be sharing to all the alternatives, so they can find out what works best for them.

It’s important for me to not only focus on plant based things because it’s not an exclusionary website, I want everyone to find something they like and sustainability and health are my focuses. I don’t eat dairy whatsoever, I don’t think that it works for me at all but when I’m out and there are limited options, I’ll pick at the things that I can work with. I am 100% against militant rules with food. The minute you start restricting things is the minute your body fights against that and you want it even more, it’s part of our experience of life and we must NOT inflict control issues surrounding it onto young people. In France we have chicken coups, I would like to have our own eggs and I’ve never had an ethical reason for saying no to that if the chickens produce them, so that’s where we are. This is the reason why I chose to align myself with Veganuary as opposed to other organisations because I think they really hit the nail on the head with this. All love!