To The Manor Borne

To The Manor Borne

When we took to the road that morning,

I was feeling quite forlorn.

What cheered me up, 

was a bit of sup, 

when to the Manor borne.

The place was grand but welcoming.

There was croquet on the lawn.

Had I known 'tis posh

I'd have brought some dosh, 

when to the Manor borne.

If only they had told me,

my best clothes I'd have worn.

But I looked cute,

in my birthday suit. 

When to the Manor borne.

Okay, enough of this poem, which was written by the human. I was looking for a good poem to use and actually found a rather great one, The Old Manor House by Ada Cambridge, which is really well worth a read.

The Manor House Hotel is in the very picturesque village of Castle Combe, which is really chocolate box beautiful. We were blessed with the most brilliant bank holiday weather, so this made it perfect  to explore the wonderful village and the hotel grounds.

It was my favourite part of the day (lunchtime) when we arrived so we headed to the table we had pre-booked at The Castle Inn, which is just by the hotel and dog-friendly. The food was excellent. I usually only have two meals a day, so lunchtime is bonus time (woof!) 🐾🐾🐾🐾Pre-booking is recommended as the pub does get very busy. I'm not surprised. Yum!
We had some little humans with us, and as this was a family trip, and as children aged under 11 are not allowed in the Michelin star restaurant in the evenings, we opted for casual dining that evening. Now you're getting an insight into the workings of my mind. Did you see the speed that I went from lunch to dinner? Not even a blink. And as if nothing happened in between. The in between was spent exploring the grounds, and village, and generally lazing about waiting about for dinner.

We could have eaten in one of the comfortable lounges indoors but, with such perfect weather, we dined in the fabulous garden. The waiting staff ( actually, all the staff) were really nice and friendly. Our waiter suggested some rather great sounding gin, so my human had some (would be rude not to, or so she says) and the wine was great too. Food was excellent.

The human had booked the stay via a hotel booking site, so the message had not been passed to the hotel that I (a dog) was coming. The hotel has only 5 dog friendly rooms but we were allocated a room in the cottages, which sound small, but are really good sized. However, it did mean that no bowls or bed was provided for me. The charge for dogs is £25 per night and only one dog allowed per room.

That being said, the human got me my blanket and I was very comfy. The bathroom was huge, with lovely Bamford bath products provided, which the human loved so much, she has ordered some online.
Overall, this was a very relaxing stay. It feels very stately and a great place to bring visitors, specially those from overseas. I really do hope to visit the Manor again. This time, I'll be wearing my best outfit and will be sure to pre-book a dog-friendly room. Woof 5 paws for the Manor🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Oh look, there I am looking all Downton Abbey like when really I was just trying to figure out which of those rooms they keep all the food in.
Gisborough Hall Hotel is dog-friendly and near the small town of Guisborough (not a typo - One of the early hotel owners was granted the title of Lord Gisborough and he decided this spelling to be historically correct. Hey, I'm not about to argue with a Lord, even a dead one). The hotel is situated  near the North Yorkshire coast and the very scenic North York Moors National Park.

I went there a couple of weeks ago for an overnight stay with the human, and young humans. We were greeted very well and escorted to our room and helped with the bags by a very nice man who explained all about the rooms, etc.  They obviously knew I was coming as they had laid out the red carpet.

 I was provided with a bowl, Biscuits (woof! 5 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾and was not shy about making short work of those biscuits.

The Human liked the room. It had a country feel, was spacious, with a large bathroom, and the bed was very comfortable (apparently). The grounds were very nice and there were Llamas right by the entrance to the hotel, which the little humans enjoyed seeing. There was a wedding party that night but there was no sound of it in our room. In fact, it is a great venue for a wedding - the grounds are lovely and the scenery beyond too.

Just after arrival we decided to take the little humans to the nearby seaside town of Saltburn. The beach there is dog-friendly and there were donkey rides, a row of shops selling all sort of goodies and food. Its popular with surfers, so felt a bit like being in Cornwall. Parking was right by the sea too.

I'll tell you something about the sea air, it sure does make a dog hungry. The little humans were hungry too after a while so we headed back to Gisborough Hall for some food. There is a lovely terrace to sit and eat on but we preferred to sit indoors as the little humans wanted to run around too much. Like, haven't they been trained to "Stay"?

Next day's breakfast was a buffet with also a choice of cooked breakfast. It was very good, according to the human, who had porridge with mixed berries and nuts. NOT A SAUSAGE FOR ME! She did bring me some bacon so I didn't huff for long.

We really had a good time at Gisborough Hall. The only problem was our stay was too short to try out the spa or have a proper evening meal in their fine restaurant. Next time.

After checkout we headed to another dog friendly beach at Marske by the sea with miles and miles of golden sand. That was fun. For a while I thought I was in California.

Must do this all again soon. Woof!

Back online - did you miss me?

🐾🐾🐾

Dear Reader(s)
I must apologise profusely for my absence from this blog (Gawd how you must have missed it) but this was all down to the human. She literally put her foot in it, the laptop's screen to be exact, which remained cracked for a good 4 months before she deemed fit to take it to the local computer shop. The nice guy there fixed it within an hour and replaced the whole screen. Men, eh!

So, you may ask, why the six month absence? Well, the human has been busy. As well as our usual walks and gallivanting around the beautiful UK countryside, something possessed her to try her hand at writing a book for kids, AND to illustrate it.
You may like to take a gander. Book wot the human wrote
or even buy the cheaper e-book version here

Here are a couple of the drawings but if you would like to read the book, that would be awesome (woof!)🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

The Bobster visits York

It was cold, but there was a very warm welcome awaiting  me and the humans at the Grand Hotel, York. 
The concierge is always congenial, and the doormen, wrapped up in their warm woolly coats, welcome you with a smile.
No need to park the car, they will do that for you and take care of the luggage - super.

Our room was huge, seriously, it was like living in our own little apartment for  the weekend. The bathroom was just as spacious with both a bath and separate large shower. The bath products are Molton Brown, loverly (woof!)

The Grand is just that, grand and is a 5 Star indeed. It has a spa, with swimming pool, gym, etc. Their are two restaurants: The Hudson and the newly added Rise. The Rise is a bit less formal and there is live music at the weekends. The humans enjoyed this on the Friday night and tell me that this was one of the best meals they have had in a long time. ( hello, doggy bag, anyone?)


My last visit was in November so the hotel was beautifully decorated for Christmas and the holiday season. I am so looking forward to my next visit. And I am also looking forward to exploring more of the beautiful Yorkshire countryside in 2018. To that end, I hope to start doing some of these
dog walks of Yorkshire

Ode To The Strange Hotel

This rhyme is inspired by a stay at a hotel (which shall remain nameless). It is based on a compilation of my experiences at one or two, but mostly that one hotel, over the years. And, as I wont post a picture of the hotel, here's a cute one of me. Much better! Woof!

Ode To The Strange Hotel

The strange hotel when you arrive
Won’t ask of you, how was your drive?
Can we help with your bags?
Offer drinks? Wave some flags?
They just slink to the office to skive.

Up rickety stairways you'll climb,
Through corridors creaking and bending.
You’ll struggle in gloom,
Fail to locate your room,
The search for which seems never ending.

The bedroom itself looks quite jaded.
Though pretty, the curtains have faded.
The wallpaper too, with vertical pattern in blue,
Suggests a makeover’s really belated.

It’s a 6 minutes walk into town.
But by car, dear guest, this they won’t tell.
You’ll be stuck at the lights, until days become nights
In the traffic, the traffic from hell.

Their only restaurant is closed for the night.
You enquire at the desk and are told.
It’s on our website, there – see?
Paragraph 103!!
It won’t matter it has

stars of gold.

The strange hotel’s walls are so thin,
You’ll hear the next room breathing in.
And every snore, will become such a bore.
So don’t plan on a weekend of sin.

On arrival you did like the awning,
Under which there’ll be drink until dawning.
You’ve been kept up at night?
They won’t care for your plight,
Or the fact that you spend next day yawning.

In wakefulness, in the small hours.
While you’re staring up at the ceiling.
Unable to sleep, because noises seep,
You’ll notice each spot where paint’s peeling.

They’ll tell you it’s you are to blame
For any problem you face – what a shame.
If the car park is full (prebooked!!)
they’ll act like you are a fool.
Like, didn’t you know there’s a train??!!

The strange hotel staff never say.
Good morning, or how was your stay?
Oh, the breakfast took ages?
Who cares, we’ve got our wages.
All that matters, dear guest, is you pay.

The strange hotel staff are quite rude
And their customer care is appalling.
When they’re faced with an issue
Say, the bathroom’s no tissue.
Their response to these matters is galling.

To be honest, its really alarming,
as the building itself once was charming.
If the receptionist knew, that just one smile or two,
would lighten the mood, be disarming.

It’s like they don’t really want guests.
It’s almost to them we are pests.
And as there are far better places to stay.
Dear guests, let’s just give them their way. (woof! no stars)

The Bobster visits Helmsley, again

Here I am at the iconic ruins of Helmsley Castle

Dear reader, my apologies for the lack of blog posts recently. My laptop screen has been shattered and is still broken so it makes it very difficult to see what I am typing. I really must remind the human to get this sorted!! Anyway, I will have to persevere with things as they are so please excuse any typos. It is difficult for a dog to keep a blog in the first place (woof!)

Helmsley is a picturesque town in north Yorkshire and very dog-friendly. In fact, a human would almost feel lacking without a fur-friend as an accessory while strolling along its charming streets, eating in the local pubs and cafes or browsing the many gift shops.

We visited the town in October and the shops were geared towards Halloween.

But the town is always well dressed with an abundance of flowers on display and is really quite quaint.

This time on my morning walks I discovered a new shopping area, up an alleyway next to the Edinburgh Wool shop. The Pet shop is really great and has all sorts of goodies like Pawsecco (woof!) Yes Please!!! The Human got me a tartan bow-tie for my upcoming visit to Glasgow (more on that later)

We stayed at the Feversham Arms hotel and Spa, in the centre of town. Our room was a suite near the pool and had a lovely log burning fire, ready to light each night. Though the weather was quite mild, light it we did, as we lack the glow of a real fire at home and there's just something so wonderful and relaxing about it.

The Feversham Arms really makes us dogs feel welcome, they even had a statue of me to greet me on arrival.  And I was welcome in the bar area to eat with the humans, and drink, and eat some more. The Hotel has a spa, and provides guests with  Temple spa products in the hotel bathrooms. As you can see, there is an outdoor heated pool which people were enjoying in October. This photo was prior to my morning walk so no skinny-dipping for me. There wasn't anything provided for me during my stay here, no treats, no dog bowl, or blanket but then again, the human doesn't recall there being any extra charge. 4 🐾🐾🐾🐾 the staff on the other hand get my first ever 6 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾 amazeballs!

Here are a bunch of photos of me looking cute outside the cute shops in the town,  taken during those early morning walks while the rest of the town slept, mostly. The local deli, which sells VERY good cuts of locally sourced meat and produce opens really early, so the human treated me to some roast beef. Well, I was on holiday!

I also recommend the dog-friendly Black Swan hotel. I've stayed there before and had lunch here during this visit and it really is very good indeed.

Places of interest nearby are Reivaulx Abbey and The National Centre for Birds of Prey

the Walled Gardens in Helmsley are also worth a visit

Birthday celebrations

I celebrate my birthdays like a Royal - I have two! woof! woof! My actual birthday falls on July 9th but the humans like to also celebrate it on September 26th, which was the day they first brought me home.

My human companion often tells the story. She was looking on the internet one day and saw this beautiful little cocker spaniel puppy...

I was one of a litter of six, and I was born in Wales, and because of that, and my colouring, the breeder had named me Taffy (like toffee). However, Taffy is sometimes used as a term for someone from Wales in the same way that Paddy is used for the Irish. The river Taff flows through Cardiff, so Taffy comes from that, I suppose, and even though the Welsh name Taffy means beloved, which is delightful, my new human family had heard the following nursery rhyme so changed my name to Bobby.

Taffy was a Welshman

Taffy was a thief;

Taffy came to my house

And stole a piece of beef

I went to Taffy's house,

Taffy was not home;

Taffy came to my house

And stole a marrow bone.

I went to Taffy's house,

Taffy was not in;

Taffy came to my house

And stole a silver pin.
I went to Taffy's house,
Taffy was in bed;
I took up a poker
And threw it at his head

Anyway, they decided to drive all the way to Wales, North Wales, in the shadow of a great mountain, and there I was with my mummy and my little brother Ben. To this day they cannot understand why I was not the first of the litter to be picked, I was so handsome, unless it is because I have a distinctive white patch on my neck. Perhaps others wanted a pup to be a show dog, and thought that patch detrimental, but my humans love that it makes me easily recognisable. I think, perhaps I was simply meant to be with them.

And besides, I could have been a champion showdog, because my grandfather was a champion at Crufts - the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, people!

So the humans met my mother and the breeder in her home, and decided on me🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

While chatting, the breeder mentioned that this was my mother's first litter and, when each of her puppies were collected she had cried. This made my human sad, so sad, that when the day came to collect me, she arranged for the breeder to meet at the nearest garage.

 My mother was very young when she had me so sometimes my humans wonder whether we should go back one day to Wales to see her. They wonder would I recognise her as my mother, would she recognise me as the boy she lost? They wonder what happened to my other 5 brothers and sisters -where did life take them? What type of owners do they have? Where do they live now? They would like to do a Dogs' Lost Families episode with me at its centre (pitching it here, any TV execs out there reading this). Maybe a website Furiends Reunited!! Woof!

Basically, birthdays are about reflection, celebration, and new starts. Oh and don't forget cake.  And biscuits. I love biscuits. Lots of biscuits.

My human got me these fabulous pupcakes and biscuits from The Doggie Patisserie 5 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾