News

Christmas has officially arrived at the Bath Arms Longleat.

Eight pupils and their Head teacher Miss Andrews from Horningsham school joined us in decorating our Christmas trees. With the lights in place the students set to work, the end result being perfectly decorated trees complete with a shining star courtesy of Archie.

After tree decorating, the children were treated to hot chocolate and danish pastries whilst chatting about santa and what they were hoping he would bring them, we then presented Mrs Andrews with a cheque for £300, a donation from every childs meal purchased in the last 6 months.

'They did it'

Jamie our Food & Beverage Manager and Tracey our Receptionist abseiled 200ft from the top of the Premier Inn, Bristol, in aid of CLIC Sargent

With their total funds raised so far at £560.00, Jamie, Tracey and all of us at the Bath Arms would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored them

 Congratulations from all of us, is it Sky diving next year?

All the staff at the Bath Arms wish Chelsea (front of house team member) and her new baby Matilda our very best wishes.

Matilda Grace was born on Saturday 17th November weighing 6lbs 9ozs.

Well done Chelsea xx 

We ae very happy to announce the surprise arrival of 8 new piglets to The Bath Arms fold. There are all being looked after just down the road by an expert pig farmer, and will be moving back up to us when they are big enough!

Yet again, The Bath Arms was visited by a freak early flurry of snow at the beginning of this week. It only lasted a short while and didn't stop the customers filing through the door (and largely it had melted by the end of lunch!) Perfect timing for lighting our lovely log fires!

As of Monday we have been lighting our Log Fires. So If there is a bite in the air that you cannot shake then why not visit us for a bite to eat, or just a hot chocolate while you warm you feet on a beautiful log fire.

On 31st October we hosted our Annual Pumpkin Carving Competition.

As usual competition was hot, and the entrants were suitably ghoulish. Our head Chef, GM and two of our most discerning locals judged the competiton and after much debate landed on a winner.

Congratulations to Emmanuelle, with her spooky spider entry. Here she is with her pumpkin and her prize.

The staff and management at The Bath Arms would like to offer a huge congratulations to Angus and Charlotte Hillary of the Square Garden in Horningsham on the birth of Martha Rose Hillary on the 14th August, weighing a healthy 9lb1oz.

Angus has wasted no time and has already popped her head into the pub and to the local cricket ground!

Well done to the three of you, we hope to see you all together soon.

Everyone at The Bath Arms is wishing Yoli, our Head House Keeper, a huge happy birthday today!

Richard very kindly had this absolutely fantastic cake made!

Could there be a better suited cake than Henry the Hoover?!

Happy birthday again Yoli we hope you have a great day!

A huge congratulations goes to Richard Swannick who has just been announced as our Employee of the Month.

Richard has been awarded this for his tirelessness, his incredible attention to detail and overall his willingness to go above and beyond his station to be helpful.

A big well done to Richard, a truly valued member of the team here at The Bath Arms. Long may your good work continue!

Our Mini Beer Festival was held at The Bath Arms at the end of June. The day started at 4pm, just after the Horningsham Fete, and included a delicious hog roast, a BBQ, live music and of course fantastic local beverages as well as a selection of ciders and real ale. Check our photos out below:

We had Godminster Farm host a stall at the Beer Festival, displaying their deliciously creamy cheeses and wonderfully tangy chutneys. We also had a guest helper... in the form of our mannequin:

At the beginning of the month the team had a day out to Godminster Farm to learn a little more about how Godminster cheese is made – as we use it in all of our restaurants across the board. The first stop of the tour was the soft cheese making unit where we got to oversee the fresh milk from Godminster’s own cows being turned into their delicious, creamy cheese. Of course health and safety rules applied, for the sake of the cheese, hence the ‘quirky’ outfits in the image below.

The next part of the tour took the team on a trip through the fields, travelling the only way possible on a farm – by tractor and trailer… in the rain! It was on the back of the tractor that we got a chance to see the animals, crops and woodland, without which there would be no Godminster.

Finally we were allowed back inside and out of the rain for lunch, which included salad, grown by Godminster’s gardener Nicole, fresh baked bread by The Chapel Bakery and Restaurant in Bruton and of course Godminster cheese!

After lunch the team took a stroll around the walked garden, learning about all the different fruits and herbs used to experiment new products with. Then it was time to milk the cows (some of the team were more eager than others)!

Our day at Godminster was both fascinating and entertaining. It gave us a chance to connect with one of our suppliers so we could learn and truly appreciate the processes of a dairy farm.

Our letter of thanks from Horningsham Primary School:

The ever-so-British June showers didn’t stop the The Bath Arms’ cricket team taking their chances against the mighty Horningsham Cricket Club. Unfortunately for The Bath Arms’ team, their outlook was as glum as the weather, as they were easily beaten (as predicted) by the pros!

The Horningsham Cricket Club were kind enough to write up a match report detailing (boasting) their victory:

“Horningsham batted first. Sam Lock opened in the pinch hitter role, but seemed in a boycottish mood and didn't pinch much, scoring only one boundary before being bowled for 9. His opening partner Tom Oborne also struggled, not so much to hit the ball off the square, as to hit balls that had already left the square before they reached him, but weren't called wide. Then he got his eye in and played some decent shots before retiring on 13. Jack faced a similar challenge but struck the ball hard and retired after an excellent 10. Colin McCord came out in a belligerent mood, belting Peter Steven's first ball half way back to Pangbourne, one of three fours in a quick knock of 20, before retiring as well. Harry Browing (cap't) struck the only 6 of the day, Callum demonstrated excellent foot movement - chasing one particularly errant delivery some 20 yards in order to drive it to long leg - and Horningsham reached a reasonable total of 87.

The Bath Arms innings was very wet. That is not an insult, just a statement of fact.  The rain really lashed down. Harry Browning, keeping wicket, attempted many stumpings, the bowling was pretty straight, and early wickets fell regularly. Peter Stevens and Paul fought back, though, and put on about 50 together. With two overs to go and 22 needed, the game was in the balance. Then a mysterious decision was made to retire Paul. Momentum was lost and even Peter's defiance was brought to and when he skied a catch in the last over.

The Bath Arms made a great effort and indeed might have won, but in the end, the winner was the human spirit, refusing to be detered from an evening's cricket by mere gales.

Magnificent party in the in Bath Arms afterwards, our thanks to Christophe and all the guys from the pub and from the wider group for laying it all on.

I'm not sure how many more rain-swept games we can put up with, though.”

We are pleased to announce the arrival of our new General Manager Tommy Whitty. With Peter moving on to take the helm at The Elephant in Pangbourne, Tommy has joined us from The Fontmell, just outside Shaftesbury, where he resided as both House Manager and deputy to the Head Chef.

Previously he was the Manager at the King John Inn, part of the Rushmore estate and on the edge of the Cranborne Chase. Tommy says he is basically a fat guy in a skinny body, who loves good food, good wine and entertaining - we think it will be a good fit!

A very big thank you to all those that took part – The Arc Angel Frome, The Beckford Arms on the Fonthill Estate, The White Hart at Trudoxhill and The Bath Arms.

Bar Tenders, Managers even a Mixologist from across the region joined in to take part in The Bath Arms first Annual Ultimate Bloody Mary Competition on Friday 18th May at 11.30am situated on the Longleat Estate in Horningsham.

The Bloody Mary Competition was the brain child of Manager Peter Stevens who has a personal passion for well-made, high quality Bloody Marys. The Bath Arms, passionate about sourcing locally - Godminster horseradish infused vodka was the obvious choice when choosing a local supplier. It’s made locally with Bloody Marys in mind.  The idea to invite like-minded local bar tenders from hotels and pubs with a similar passion, creating the ultimate Bloody Mary - after all it’s the perfect hangover cure!

Once mixed and created the Bloody Marys were judged by the expert panel of judges – Viscount Weymouth, Yvette Thomas – Wiltshire Magazine, Barry Harding - Frome FM and The Taste of Somerset and Richard Hollingbery, Director at Godminster. The criteria – taste, texture, innovation and presentation.

Congratulations to The Arc Angels - surprise mixologist Shane Turner who certainly set the standard for next year, said he loved the support and competitiveness from The Beckford Arms and The White Hart.

Next year's annual competition is scheduled for May 2013 hosted by the winning team at The Arc Angel Frome. 

Contact clairew@hillbrooke.co.uk to register your interest.

We just wanted to wish Adrian a huge congratualtions on his recent promotion to Assistant Food & Beverage Manager - truly deserved!

The Bath Arms donated a cheque for £300 to Horningsham Primary School's Headmistress, Carole Andrews, along with 10 pupils who make up the schools council. The donation is made twice a year around Easter and Christmas time by The Bath Arms, which is situated on the Longleat Estate. The money generated comes from every child's meal ordered at The Bath Arms; for each meal sold, a donation of 50p is placed into the fund, until a sizable sum is met. Peter Stevens, General Manager, comments "It was great to have the children visit The Bath Arms - there was much excitement! A lot of the children frequent the hotel with their parents but never get the chance to see the bedrooms, so we thought we'd show them around. Their favourite room was our Peacock Room, complete with peacock light fittings which they loved!"

After the tour, hot chocolate & hot cross buns we laid on before taking the pupils out to introduce them to our newest residents - ten 10 week old saddleback piglets! As you may imagine there was quite a bit of excitement both sides of the fence. The Saddleback piglets are bred literally a few yards up the road at The Square Garden - a local grower who supplies the hotel with most of their fresh seasonal vegetables and flowers.

The children set about spotting their favourite piglet, giving them individual names, whilst Peter Stevens presented Carole Andrews and her pupils with a cheque for £300. The children will be discussing what and how they'll be spending the money at their next School Council meeting - rumours knocking around vary from a slide to a zip wire for their playground!

Come along and visit our saddleback piglets over the Easter Holidays - they'd love to see you! Take part in our Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday 8th April at 3.30pm.
For further information call or visit our website.

T: 01985 844 308 www.horningsham.schnet.org

For Further information & images contact:
Claire Waters
T: 01225 872 640
M: 07837 344 618
E: clairew@hillbrooke.co.uk

Thank-you to all those that came along to support Burn's Night this year, especially Angus (from The Square Garden) our resident Scot for addressing the haggis - it was a fantastic success, and we are looking forward to next year!

We were the first of the Hillbrooke Hotels to see snow this year, and we're pretty sure this isn't going to be the last we see of it!

We are very proud to announce we are once again the owners of Hillbrooke's Mystery Fish for the wonderful customer service we offer our guests. It's truly well-deserved by the team, even if we do say so ourselves!

Well that's it, 30 days later and before the Movember efforts were shaved off we managed to get a quick picture!

We would like to offer a warm welcome to Tracey in Reception, as well as welcome back house-keeper Dave who is back from his travels through India & Thailand (we are looking forward to hearing all about it!)

It was certainly a 'treat' for Halloween at The Bath Arms this year - several ghosts, ghouls & witches joined us in the evening for a pumpkin carving competition, followed by some delicious hot chocolate! The winning 'castle' pumpkin by Emmanuelle (aged 9) can be seen below.

Our new cuddly pigs all the way from Kenya are selling really well - 3 different sizes all made by hand by a company called Kenana Knitters (set up in Njoro, Kenya in 1998 to help rural women find some much needed form of income using their spinning and knitting skills.)

We received such a lovely thank-you card a few days ago, we simply had to share it!

Sunday 19th June saw us host a fabulous Mini Beer Festival right after the Horningsham Fete. A delicious Hog Roast was accompanied by some fantastic live music, and of course the day wouldn't have been complete without some refreshing local ales and cider. The Square were there as well with a stall providing the opportunity to stock up on delicious fresh veg. We are already looking forward to next years!

Angus won the toss for Horningsham and decided to bat first to make the most of the lighter conditions.

BA decided to gamble and open the bowling with the raw pace of Christoph B & Richard Hollingberry. Horningsham got of to a flyer scoring 45-0 off of just 4 overs with some big shots from openers H.Browning & T.Evans. With both batsmen retiring on 25 runs it saw the introduction of R. Robinson & Jack Crossman. John Crompton was next up to bowl but did not fill the captain with confidence as he said ‘I'm not sure about this as I have all the gear but no idea', however he proved to be a dark horse with the ball making it difficult for the batsmen to hit it off the square and it was at this point the BA got a break through the introduction of Mark Dymond who bowled R. Robinson for 7 runs.

The BA began their innings with the ‘Big Guns' of Richard Hollingberry & John Crompton, unfortunately both were ran out early doors (John by the slightly over exuberant H. Browning behind the stumps). Next up was Mike Bird who assured Peter Stevens (Captain) that he only dealt in 6's & 4's. However after a few swings & misses he was cleaned up by Paul Grudgeon for a Duck. Drew Beaumont was joined by Peter at the crease who was able to play some big shots with Drew playing a solid sensible innings. Peter retired on 25 and passed the reins onto Mark Dymond who played a magnificent innings to also retire on 25. Next in was Jamie Dyer, Nick Jefford & Adrian Webster who all played a solid part in scoring a few runs and opting to give their wickets away to get the retired batsmen back in.

Christoph Brooke & Chris Hayward were the last 2 batsmen in with Christoph in particular looking in good knick who got bowled by ball of the day for 9 runs. Chris followed him back shortly afterwards as he was worried that someone would drink his Jack Daniels if he spent too much time at the crease. This saw Mark & Peter back at the crease but with 45 required from the last 2 overs at this stage it looked ominous. A few runs were added but Peter was caught out for 31 on the final ball of the innings from the spin of Angus Hilleary leaving Mark stranded there unbeaten on a excellent 28. BA scoring 101 all out from their 20 overs.

So congratulations to Angus Hilleary's Horningsham team for a great victory and a very well contested game, we'll have em next year!

Angus from The Square in Longleat popped by recently to personally drop off some of the delicious vegetables we use from his fantastic farm just down the road (it doesn't get more local than that!) We thought it a good opportunity for a quick photo, and Angus seen here with Peter our GM and Chris our head chef also supplied us with our Saddleback piglets who are growing up quickly (one which can just be seen in the background sniffing around all the fresh vegetables!)

Last weekend, The Bath Arms played host to the wedding reception of Dan and Amanda Lacy. Following a ceremony at the village church, the wedding party returned to The Bath Arms (with the bride and groom travelling in style in a vintage Morris Minor!) to Pimms on the Terrace, and a fantastic wedding feast served in The Shepard Room. They celebrated late into the night with karaoke, and as you can see a fantastic night was had by everyone!
The next morning we saw the happy couple off on their honeymoon in Thailand...everyone at The Bath Arms the new Mr & Mrs Lacy a very long and happy life together.

With every children's meal purchased at The Bath Arms, 50p goes towards the local Horningsham Primary School. The total this year amounted to £300 which was presented by General Manager Peter Stevens to the school, who were absolutely delighted with the money raised.

We are currently awaiting the arrival of a new litter of Saddleback pigs from a local farmer, which we rear ourselves to make our own delicious sausages &

bacon - it doesn't get much more local than that!

It looks set to be a fantastically busy Summer if the last week is anything to go by...with the re-opening of Longleat after their Winter break we have seen plenty of visitors through our doors and it is full stream ahead!

We are also very pleased to welcome back Adrian, one of our valuable front of house team, who has been off sick for a while but is now back to full health!

We dusted off our kilts on the 25th January and fully immersed ourselves into celebrating the life of the famed Scottish poet. We were privileged to have the blessing of the haggis performed by local Scot Angus Hillary, and the haggis made a suitable replacement for black pudding at breakfast - a somewhat fitting antidote for the whisky induced sore heads!
Following on from the great fun had by all our guests we are hoping to do the same again next year...just that bit bigger!