The Pheasant Inn - A Little Corner Of Heaven In Cheshire!

The Pheasant Inn at Higher Burwardsley, Cheshire has been a favourite place of ours for a good long while now - in fact, I would probably say that this place was the first hotel we stayed in that received a 'Custard favorite places award'!  We first ever went around 3 years ago for my birthday and since that stay, whenever we want to go somewhere that brings back happy memories and includes everything you could possibly want for a sublime chill out break - we think about going there!

The Pheasant Inn - Higher Burwardsley

I really feel like I have to shout from the rooftops about how good this place is - its just awesome in every sense of the word and last week Mr C and I were lucky enough to escape there for 2 nights so let me tell you all about it.....

We arrived at the Pheasant Inn last Wednesday lunch time.  We were obviously a little early to check in but having sampled the delights of the food there before we decided to get there early and enjoy a spot of lunch before checking in!

On arrival at the bar, we were greeted by a really lovely young gentleman who told us he would keep us informed of the progress of our room whilst we were there eating lunch and enjoying the cosy surrounding.  We decided to have a drink first before ordering the food as the fires were on and the pub had a really lovely buzz about it with people dotted here and there chatting, eating and generally having a good old time!

The decision to wait before ordering food was a good one for me though as after we sat down with our drinks, some food came out of the kitchen for another table and the huge portions on the plates took my breath away - they were enormous - although I have to say they looked mouth wateringly good and wouldn't have looked out of place on a Man V Food challenge!  Being only little, I decided to opt for a roast pork sandwich for lunch instead and save myself for a big meal later but on the menu you can actually have a smaller portion of some of the meals and after talking to the staff later on that evening too, they were more than willing to do a smaller portion of just about anything you wanted!

As our food was delivered to our table and we started to tuck in to the fine fair, I happened to turn around and glance outside to the Pheasant's terrace (which has to have THE best view from a pub that I have ever seen by the way) and noticed that two walkers had cheekily sat down on one of their benches to enjoy the view whilst eating their own pack up!  I then glanced back at my rustic, wooden board that was filled with a soft white teacake oozing with hot roast pork and apple sauce and compared it to their tiny, crushed, unappetizing sandwiches that were wrapped in foil.  At that point, I suddenly felt a real urge to go out and shout 'stop being so tight!  Look what you're missing!'  The shouting didn't materialise though as I didn't want my pork to go cold but hey - you just can't help some people sometimes either can you? Anyway - I think you get the message that our lunch was just lush!

Huge steak burger with the works!

A few drinks and a full belly later, the bar man came to tell us that our room was ready if we wanted to check in - what great customer service! After a little chat with him and another female staff member about the Pheasant Inn, the other hotels in the Nelson chain and how much they all enjoy working there (how nice!), we got our bags from the car and went to chill out in our room.

The rooms at the Pheasant are really nice - right from walking in, you feel like its home from home as the decor is just lovely. They are all equipped with decent sized flat screen TV's too which is great when laid in bed as you don't have to squint due to small screens like you still find in other hotels these days!  The beds are super comfy and because of the positioning of the hotel, its really quiet throughout the night so you feel really rested when you wake up!

One other thing to mention about the rooms is the drinks tray - Mr C and I have always measured a good hotel on whether or not they have hot chocolate on them as well as tea and coffee - for some reason it feels more indulgent when you're away and true to form - hot chocolate on the tray!  Hooray!  Although I have to say, I'm not surprised with this hotel chain - they just seem to know how to keep their guests happy!

On Thursday morning, we woke up after a really good sleep and decided to go for a walk after breakfast doing a spot of Geocaching as there are a fair few series in the area and its really beautiful around there so there's lots to see.  On our way over to the main building, we stopped to take in the hypnotic view from the terrace - as did all the other guests it seemed on their way to breakfast!  Just take a look below for yourself - its just stunning and you can't help it!

The best terrace in England - early morning!

The breakfast was amazing, there was a great choice on the menu and all of the staff were extremely polite.  The full English accompanied with Illy coffee was magnificent and most definitely set us up for the walk ahead!  If you didn't want anything as big as a full breakfast though, there were plenty of other lighter choices such as smoked salmon and scrambled eggs or cereals, fruit and toast.

A great start to the day!

One long walk later, we arrived back at the Pheasant around mid afternoon and to our delight, the sun was blazing down on the place!  What amazing weather and everything looked so nice - the blue sky, the autumn leaves - it just would have been wrong to go straight inside rather than sit out in the sunshine with a drink first!  Although we had to have our coats on, the sun on our faces was warm and heavenly - what a treat in mid November!

Sunshine in mid November - what a treat!

After a glorious day in the sunshine, we then went to get changed in order to enjoy a relaxing evening in the restaurant.  The Pheasant is filled with cosy corners, sumptuous leather sofas, real log fires and candles that create a really romantic surrounding - it looks seriously beautiful on an evening when the sun has gone down!

We decided to have one last meal before we left the morning after so for this, I chose from the specials board!  My choice in particular, I have to say was the best meal I have eaten in probably 10 years - I chose salmon steak with chilli new potatoes and vietnamese salad and oh my lord what a taste exposion that was!  It was something I wouldn't normally choose as I'm not a massive salad fan but the flavours that were magically put together in that dish were just divine and worked so well!  Compliments to the chef!

Salmon with chilli new potatoes and vietnamese salad

All in all, if you didn't get what I was trying to say whilst reading this post (I doubt that though!), the Pheasant Inn is without doubt a little corner of heaven in Cheshire and everyone should go and try it - it is definitely one of our favourite places!  Its priced very well for such a great standard of accommodation in such a beautiful place and the staff, the food and the ambience are second to none!  The Nelson hotel group really know how to deliver what a customer wants in a break away and I think personally, for that, they deserve a huge pat on the back!