Whitworth Hall Hotel, Spennymoor

Aug 17 2008 by Robert Weatherall, Sunday Sun

Rating: 16/20

TELEPHONE 01388-811772

FOOD SERVED
Noon to 2.30pm

I THINK it is safe to say this summer has been more of a wash out than last year.

Apart from a couple of weeks towards the end of May I can’t remember the last time we had a good spell of weather.

The best we seem to be able to hope for is a few hours of sun before it starts to drizzle, spit or pour down in torrents again.

Such unpredictable weather can make it difficult to organise days out.

After all Mrs E doesn’t want to go for a long walk in the country miles away from anywhere only to end up getting drenched . . . but equally I don’t want to spend hours walking around indoor shopping centres if there is a chance of a few hours’ sun.

It was with this problem in mind that we decided to pay a visit to Whitworth Hall Hotel and Country Park.

This country park is situated just a few miles outside of Spennymoor and I am told is one of the old ancestral homes of the famous Bobby Shafto . . . he who went to sea with silver buckles on his knee.

There are plenty of indications to his former presence with the Shafto Restaurant, Silver Buckles Brasserie and a statue of him in the grounds. It was the idea of a walk in the grounds which attracted us to this place. We knew that if it started to rain we would be close enough to the main house to take shelter.

And the walk we took in the grounds beforehand to help build up an appetite was one of the highlights of our visit. The grounds are populated by a herd of deer which are partially tame. Mrs E managed to get within about three metres of them before they ran off startled. However some families walking around the grounds had discovered a shop selling some kind of feed for the animals and on more than one occasion we saw some of the braver creatures feeding directly from people’s hands.

Mrs E has always been a bit of an animal lover and I did nothing to endear — no pun intended — myself to her when I asked the question “How long do you think it will be before, instead of running around out here, they are being served up in the restaurant?”.

Having turned the topic of conversation back to food we headed to the main reception area and were led through to a bar where we ordered drinks while looking over the menu. As I settled down into one of the sofas, while listening to classical music in the background, I was about to comment on the brilliant quality of their sound system when I spotted a pianist in the corner.

You can’t beat a bit of live music. We ordered our food and were led through to the Library restaurant. We were seated right next to an open French window looking out on the grounds. In no time our starters arrived. I had ordered the baked mushrooms and Mrs E went for the healthy option of melon with summer berries which she described as basic but tasty. My mushrooms were a pleasant surprise. I only ordered them because I wasn’t taken by anything else on the menu but they came in a very tasty and rich sauce which set me up nicely for the main course.

Mrs E decided to forgo the traditional Sunday lunch and ordered the fried Marlin with vegetables in a spicy tomato sauce. She Who Must Be Fed said the fish was cooked well and not too dry, which can often be a problem with fish.

Being a traditionalist I went for roast loin of pork with Yorkshire pudding, bacon rolls, stuffing and all of the usual vegetables.

The pork was very succulent, the Yorkshire pud was massive and dominated the plate but I felt that it was so big there were parts which hadn’t cooked properly and it felt a bit too doughy.

The bacon rolls were so tasty I could have scoffed a full plate of them.

Mrs E and I had already decided we weren’t going to have dessert but when a menu was left on our table we found it hard to resist. Mrs E went for Bailey’s white chocolate cheesecake with cream which was so good she wasn’t prepared to give me a taster portion.

I went for the tiramisu with raspberry and peach.

The flavours really complimented each other and following Mrs E’s example refused to share.

The three courses with coffee and mints cost £16.95 each and after settling the bill we took advantage of another break in the weather and went for another stroll in the grounds.