Issuu

AUTUMN / WINTER

NO 9

2026

Hogwash THE SEASONAL DISPATCH

15 FABULOUS YEARS Look back on the journey so far Local stories from our trusted suppliers Step inside our exciting new PIG!

+ hotel guide + news + outings + recipes HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

PIGGY BITS

It’s been a long time coming… WE’RE INCREDIBLY EXCITED TO SHARE the latest on our very special project, THE PIG-on the farm, set just outside Stratford-upon-Avon. After quietly waiting in the wings for a few years, this new addition to the PIG litter has been evolving behind the scenes – and will be opening its doors in late summer 2027! If you’ve been following the journey for a while, thank you for sticking with us. This has truly been one of the most sensitive planning journeys we’ve ever undertaken at THE PIG, and we have been working carefully through every detail to make sure we do this extraordinary property justice. The good news? It’s going to be so worth the wait. Nestled within Warwickshire pasture and farmland, this is a proper working farm at heart, with a beautiful old farmhouse that’s watched over the land for centuries. It’s the sort of place that already has a soul; we’re simply lucky enough to become its next custodians. When you arrive, the first thing you’ll see is the Kitchen Garden – it felt only right that the beating heart of THE PIG should take pride of place. From there, you’ll wander into one of the most special restaurants we’ve ever created – and the biggest! – housed within a beautifully restored farm barn. And the bedrooms will be tucked throughout the farmhouse and surrounding buildings – each one full of the sort of character that only centuriesold buildings can offer. There’s still plenty to do. But after waiting so patiently, we thought you deserved to read a sneak peek from behind the doors by the women at the helm of our newest home (on page 4). Thank you for coming along for the ride! To be first in line to book a visit, sign up to our newsletter at thepighotel.com

Let’s get together At THE PIG, we love nothing more than welcoming everyone over to ours – especially at the most wonderful time of the year. So, round up the gang and come inside to our cosy corners where we’re putting on a fantastic line-up of unmissable events across the patches we call home, from wild foraging to wreath-making. We’d love for you to join us; find out more and book your space at thepighotel.com/events. Looking to host your own shindig? You’ve still come to the right place. We have heaps of special PIG spaces for private hire this winter – find your perfect spot on our Gather & Celebrate page at thepighotel.com

LOCAL GUIDE: TURN TO THE CENTRE PAGES FOR EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO ENJOY YOUR STAY. ALL YOUR ESSENTIAL

HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

•H

•

TO •

• H OW

OW O

TO • H O W

WINTER SQUASH

It’s the season f or. . .

While winter squash can take a long time to grow, our gardening teams will proudly tell you that this versatile veggie is well worth the wait. Sure, it’s a real workhorse for our kitchens and gardens throughout the colder months… but, truthfully, there’s nothing quite like the joyful surprise of finding these harvest-ready fruits in our veg beds on a frosty morning walk. Our PIGs’ teams plant many varieties of fabulously named winter squash: from Crown Prince and Spaghetti to Candy Roaster and Goosebumps; Polar Bear and Blue Hubbard to Piacenza Beret and Musquee de Provence. Each one can be worked into soups, stews, gratins and tarts, mixed with grains and salads, or simply enjoyed on its own. See what else we’re growing across our patches right now, with a free guided tour of our Kitchen Gardens. We’re always happy to show you around and answer any questions you have – especially if you’re a secret squash obsessive like us. Speak to our reception team or visit thepighotel.com/events/kitchen-garden-tours-at-the-pigs

Growing your own S q u a sh is a m a st e r cla ss in th e im p orta n ce of p a tien ce – a n d a g ood rest Start in spring If you sow squash seeds in April, you can expect a good harvest throughout October. At THE PIG, we sow our seeds in 9cm pots and let them germinate in the greenhouse. After about a week, we move them outside into garden cold frames to grow a little bigger and, in the meantime, we prepare their beds ready for planting in June. Preparation is key Winter squash is big, hungry and thirsty, so make sure you prepare its planting area well. Dig a hole and fill with a generous amount of manure (it’s rich in nitrogen and the squash roots find their way towards it), and cover with a mound of compost. Plant the veg on top of this. Don’t forget to hydrate Your squash will grow through the heat of summer and will need lots of water. If you have a small patch, you can water by hand. For our larger plots, we use drip line irrigation pipes to slowly soak the ground.

SO IT’S AL ON EAS THE S G… INDIN FOR F

, winter b apples a r c , s ip eh rt, ries, ros ennywo Sloe ber rooms, p h s u , m s e e ell tercr s chanter hairy bit t, o o r h is ing horserad lic, sting ered gar n r o -c e s e thr wer gorse flo nettles,

Room to breathe Squash are sprawling plants that need a lot of space. One trick our gardeners use is to to lean wooden pallets against a post to help give the vines something to climb up.

Your gift list, sorted

Need some inspiration for a gift or two? Our online PIG Market is full of some serious treats for true PIG fans that they’ll love to unwrap this winter. From gift vouchers to redeem during a stay, a supper or a seriously relaxing Potting Shed treatment, to exclusive Bramley bathroom goodies you’ll only find at THE PIGs – give them something to really look forward to when they need it most. Visit gifts.thepighotel.com

Here comes the cure After harvesting your squash in autumn, the trick is to give it time to cure – this really enhances the flavour to its full potential. Let it rest in a warm, well-ventilated area at about 27-29°C for around a month. The skins will harden and protect the flesh inside from rotting, helping your squash last for months.

HOTEL INFORMATION, ROOM GUIDE, TOP TIPS FROM OUR PIG TEAM, THE BEST OUTINGS, LOCAL HEROES AND THINGS TO DO.

HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

W O R K I N PRO G RE S S

Bet the farm on it “IT’S WHAT THE PIG teams do best, really; we make those old buildings sing like they used to,” says Nancy Neville, Lead Interior Architect at THE PIGs. She’s chatting about the ongoing teamwork that she has been a big part of, in order to bring guests our soon-to-be newest member of the family, THE PIG-on the farm. This unique and genuinely extraordinary property just outside Stratford-upon-Avon will bring a mid-16th-century listed stone manor house back to life. Set in 53 acres, our exciting new PIG was once a proper working farm, and includes part of a deserted medieval village and a major tributary to the River Dene. “This is quite different from any site we’ve ever done before, because it really is on a farm, rather than simply being a country house. The restaurant is a stand-alone building, in a big old former cattle barn with huge high ceilings,” explains Nancy. “It was particularly challenging because we began with a dilapidated farmhouse in extreme disrepair, but clearly with lots of beautiful architectural details to uncover. The main house can now be seen for what it is: really beautiful, with windows and floors that are a little wonky, and big exposed timber beams everywhere. The ground floor is going to be the reception, and the upstairs will have incredible views. Some of the other bedrooms are housed in newly converted stable blocks.” “What I find most exciting about this property is that it already has such a strong identity,” says Nancy’s colleague Lauren Radford, our PIG Interior Designer. “The surrounding landscape and its agricultural heritage gave us a really rich starting point, so rather than imposing a design style, our focus was on uncovering what was already there and translating that into the interiors.” “Lauren is a very visual person, who can imagine a space as it could be and help others to do the same,” says Nancy. “I think part of the PIG

We can’t wait to open THE PIG-on the farm, just south of Stratfordupon-Avon – possibly our most epic PIG transformation yet

ethos is not overdesigning, but having a good instinct for the feeling you get from a place and sourcing these items and antiques to make each PIG feel like a home away from home.” The pair worked closely with other team members, including THE PIG’s Head of Property, Gemma May-Brown, on this new addition to our litter. “We’re always designing through the eyes of the guest,” adds Lauren. “We think about how someone arrives, where they’ll have their morning coffee, where they’ll gather with friends or quietly retreat with a book. Those seemingly small moments are what make a place memorable. For me, the most beautiful room in the world doesn’t work if people don’t want to sit in it, linger in it and come back to it.” As for how she achieves that in practice? “A big part of my role is sourcing and curating furniture, lighting and objects that give each space its own personality. We use a mix of vintage, reclaimed and bespoke pieces because they bring a level of individuality and imperfection that’s almost impossible to manufacture. They help the interiors feel as though they’ve been collected over many years, rather than installed all at once, which is such an important part of creating an authentic sense of place.” Ultimately, says Nancy, “Working with these kinds of heritage buildings means reinstating them and making them a public entity once again, so that everyone can enjoy them. There is so much joy to be found in the details of a historic site and the details of the craftsmanship. It’s lovely to reinstate those crafts.” The project is also close to her heart in another way: “My brother actually lives on the next farm over, so I know this landscape well. It’s so distinctly British, and I just know that guests are going to absolutely love discovering this setting and how these buildings have been transformed into a PIG.” THE PIG-on the farm is due to open in late summer 2027. Discover more and sign up to our mailing list for updates at thepighotel.com/on-the-farm

“There is so much joy to be found in the details of a historic site”

HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

GUEST BO OK

Guest Book with F earne Cotton The b roadcaster, podcaster and au thor on how she keeps thing s cool and cosy in the au tu mn and winter months – inclu ding with pals at TH E PIG - on the b each A musician I like to listen to as the seasons change is Joshua Burnside. He is a brilliant Northern Irish artist who has such beautiful lyrics and atmosphere in his songs. The Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi is also good for any changing season, somehow. I love Seven Days Walking [his project of seven volumes of music released over seven months, in 2019] especially Campfire Day 4. What brings me happiness around the kitchen table is having loads of mates over on a Sunday. You just need good wine, lots of sharing dishes and music playing. I first stayed at a PIG during a Glastonbury weekend, so my memory of that is a little blurry. I’ve since had many a gorgeous meal at THE PIG-on the beach. Me and my girlfriends stayed there and laughed until we couldn’t breathe. What fun! In the colder months, my must-have dish on the 25 Mile Menu is anything hearty, comforting and veggie. THE PIG has so many good veggie dishes. My kids love the piggy bits, too.

I’ve been known to host some very long lunches. My last started with bellinis at midday and finished at 10pm! I felt very rough the next day and had Joseph Fiennes to interview first thing. Not my usual style, as I think of myself as organised and professional, but the lunch was too much fun – Rylan wouldn’t leave. The outfit that brings me joy in party season is anything with sequins on. I’m a clichéd mid-forties magpie. I love sparkly dresses, trousers, tops, bags – half my wardrobe is sequins that I don’t wear as I don’t go out enough. That needs to change. Read along with Fearne’s Happy Place Book Club at happyplaceofficial. co.uk/pages/happy-place-book-club-fearne-cotton. Look out for a special Happy Place Book Club event coming to THE PIG-near Bath this October

My go-to tipple at the bar is a negroni. And my friends and I discovered a cocktail we love at THE PIG-on the beach called Electric Daisy. The daisies are hand-picked from the Kitchen Garden, which makes it even more special. One must-do tip for a PIG guest is to go on a huge walk. I’m always ready for a big old walk after breakfast. Coming back to THE PIG afterwards is always the cosiest experience and you really feel you have earned a nice glass of wine. The travel essentials I always pack relate to me being a bad sleeper. So I bring my Tempur pillow, eye mask, ear plugs and various sleeping vitamins. I’m also common as muck and have always preferred instant coffee to regular, so I bring that too. Judge as you will. My favourite book to delve into as the nights draw in is usually a big new fiction release. Past favourites include All Fours by Miranda July and Three Women by Lisa Taddeo. 6

HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE; OUR ELECTRIC DAISY COCKTAIL; FEARNE RELISHES A COSY PIG INTERIOR IN THE COLDER MONTHS; FEARNE LOVES THE PIG’S HEARTY VEGGIE FARE; SINGER-SONGWRITER JOSHUA BURNSIDE; THE PIG-ON THE BEACH

INFO & GOINGS ON ~ ESSENTIAL INFO & HOTEL GUIDE ~ CORNWALL CALLING: THINGS TO SEE AND DO

~ THE INSIDE STORY ON VISPRING MATTRESSES

We lc o m e t o

THE PIG - AT

OUR CORNISH PIG’S HOME IS HARLYN HOUSE, which for centuries has been one of the most prominent houses in an area of the county justly famed for its rugged beauty, sandy coves and great produce from sea and land. Its name is said to be derived from the Cornish for “important place by the water”, and we are very proud to be its current custodians. Before we picked up the keys in 2018 and opened two years later, in its 600-year-history, only three families had owned this dramatic stone property, set on a breathtaking stretch of coast overlooking Harlyn Bay. The first owners of this 15th-century farmhouse were the Tregoyes or Tregewes (one of whom, Richard Tregew, became MP for Cornwall in 1448), followed by “gentlemen-farmers” the Hellyars. The house became ever grander over the years, as new architectural details were added. When a Captain Millar purchased Harlyn in 1947, he thankfully ignored architectural advice that it was “past saving”, instead bringing in master craftsmen to restore it to its former glory. Among the surviving features, although it was heavily overgrown and neglected when we arrived, is our Kitchen Garden. It’s been here for almost 200 years, enclosed by three sides of Cornish slate wall. Our team has lovingly restored it and works year-round to keep it flourishing with vegetables, fresh salads and herbs. We also grow our own rock samphire, sea kale and sea beet. The many lives and eras of the house are displayed in the exterior stonework, as well as in the flagged floors, heavy wood doors and gorgeous details throughout. Harlyn House has a moody charm all of its own – and simply by staying here, you’re now part of its story.

HARLYN BAY THE PIG-AT HARLYN BAY \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

r your o f o f n i Useful ?

stay PIG PICKS

ION Q U E ST H AV E A ialling 0. tion by d p e c re ll Just ca T ge in NG OU the chan DIALLI wait for , 9 d. l e ia ir d er requ please ide line, nd numb a ts u e o d o n c a To call e area n dial th tone, the - F I ettings ARY W I ur wi-ﬁ s IM E NT o L y P n M o ” O c C Publi “THE PIG t select s ou go! ju y , y te a a and aw To activ

E R D DINN y, The F AST AN or eater K o A td E er u R o B r u O 3 Octob t. l n pm) unti restaura 3 e – th fy m m in p d ur co ch (12 All serve across o n for lun available d, is ope e is se call h u a S n r le e p te Lobs razing M t more, G u r o u d o n d ﬁ 2026, an 5pm). To ng 0. (12pm n by dialli lounges receptio OU T CH E CK at 11am. is t u Check o call M E NTS , please TRE AT ing Shed ent tt o tm P a r e u e full tr ent in o th tm d a n e fi tr n a you ca To book . lling 0 – edroom n by dia o ti ur PIG b p o e y c in re u n e m

Wander through the Kitchen Garden... ... and wildflower beds, and into our warm, rustic retreat: a Potting Shed treatment room that is quiet and calm, and designed to help you escape it all. Take inspiration from the garden surroundings and experience deeply relaxing full-body and facial treatments using products by Tribe517, a family-run natural skincare brand that handcrafts its products in the beautiful South Wales countryside. Like us, Tribe517 is passionate about using homegrown or ethically sourced or botanical ingredients that care for the planet as well as mind and body – and is dedicated to recycling and using up everything it can.

Good to know Our therapists have been professionally trained to offer safe and effective spa treatments for guests recovering from or undergoing cancer treatments. Just ask at reception to speak to one of the Potting Shed team if you would like to know more.

LOCAL TOP TIPS FROM OUR

Sommelier, Odie WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS AREA IN AUTUMN AND WINTER is the coastal path near Harlyn. It can be dramatic, with Atlantic storms, waves crashing against the cliffs and constant in-betweens of dark clouds and bursts of sunlight. This coast feels wild and wonderfully untamed, yet peaceful at the same time. MY FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THIS PIG is the people. Being surrounded by talented, passionate people makes every day more enjoyable. MY GO-TO DISH ON THE 25 MILE MENU I’m always drawn to the seafood – I love seeing the names of the boats that have caught the fish. Knowing it’s as fresh as can be and cooked by our great chefs – you can’t go wrong. Oh, and there will always be a side of tobacco onions on the table, too. A MUST-VISIT LOCAL PUB is The Pagan Arms in Newquay. It feels relaxed, friendly and unmistakably Cornish. There’s always something on – jam nights, quizzes or live music. A LOCAL GEM for me has got to be Plonk’d in Wadebridge. It’s a small tapas bar with great cocktails, wine and beer. WINTER WILDLIFE TO LOOK OUT FOR includes grey seals. Walking near Mother Ivey’s Bay gives you the best chance of spotting them in the surf or resting along the rocky shoreline. BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW the tale of a powerful local “white witch” called Mother Ivey who cursed a wealthy pilchardmerchant family living in the area (in what is now THE PIG-at Harlyn Bay). Locals still link the story to stormy nights when the sea turns violent between Harlyn and Mother Ivey’s Bay.

SH E

D • P SH

E D • POT

OTTIN

E D

•P

SHED MEETS SPA ING TT

Old tobacco tins, gardening tools, balls of twine … Unlikely as it may seem, the décor of our Potting Shed treatment rooms was inspired by Beatrix Potter’s grumpy gardener, Mr McGregor. It was dreamt up by THE PIG’s former Creative Director, Judy Hutson, whose vision was to “ﬁll the shelves with the sort of things I’d imagine Mr McGregor would have. Oil lamps, vintage bottles, old mugs – and, of course, no shed is complete without a few potted plants. And the massage table is dressed with a big picnic rug.”

THE PIG - AT HARLYN BAY \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

Bedtime story Skilfully handmade from many natural materials, Vispring mattresses are one of our secret ingredients for an unmatched night’s sleep at our PIGs

SLEEPER HITS: OUR PIG BEDROOMS ARE KITTED OUT WITH SUPER-COMFY VISPRING MATTRESSES

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED why your bed feels so incredibly comfy when you check into a PIG? It’s not just that, if you are staying at ours, you have probably finally managed to get away and take some time for yourself (though that definitely helps). It’s also that all of our PIG bedrooms – including those here at THE PIG-at Harlyn Bay – are kitted out with luxury Vispring mattresses, which are made to an exactingly high standard. “It all started back in 1899, with a guy called James Marshall, a British engineer living in Canada, who invented the pocket spring,” says Martin Gill, Managing Director of Vispring. “His wife had become ill, and he wanted to ease her pain and give her a better night’s sleep. A traditional mattress is one piece; but what he invented was individual springs that sit in pockets, which, as your body moves on the bed, simultaneously move within the mattress. It’s really good for supporting your body in all the right places.” THE PIG-AT HARLYN BAY \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

“The brand turns 125 years old in 2026, and we still make our beds almost exactly the same way”

It turned out that James Marshall’s wife wasn’t the only one who appreciated this gamechangingly comfy bed – as our PIG guests can testify. “Vispring was the first brand to bring pocket-spring luxury mattresses to the UK,” continues Martin. “The brand turns 125 years old in 2026, and we still make our beds almost exactly the same way. We use calico [cotton mix] pockets, nested in a honeycomb shape, to allow the mattress to move with your body. As you move, only your springs are responding rather than the other side of the bed, where your partner could be sleeping at the time – so it also benefits the person next to you.” Another reason for getting a better quality of sleep here than on your average massproduced bed is that you’re far less likely to feel sweaty and overheated at night. “The pocket springs act almost like bellows, and the calico lets the air through to vents to the side of the mattress, to push any moisture outside,” says Martin. “Whereas on a foam mattress with no vents, the foam is almost like a sponge soaking up any moisture.” In terms of production, “Everything is made in the UK, in our Plymouth factory, where about 200 craftspeople are based. “All the mattresses are still built by hand: all of the pockets are hand-sewn together, and then they’re sidestitched into the frame of the mattress,

for support right the way up to the edge of the mattress.” Long before anyone, anywhere, talked about sustainability in terms of corporate responsibility metrics, the long-established mattress brand was using natural materials that were, where possible, locally sourced – and that remains the case today. “We’ve always used natural materials, we’ve never used any foams, any glues, any chemicals,” says Martin. “It’s all naturally sustainable materials. Roughly 78% of our materials come from the UK, including wool from the Shetland Islands. More than 300 tonnes of wool per year go inside our mattresses; we also use horsetail, cotton and silk. It’s a bit like a cake mixture of different ingredients.” Martin feels the Vispring brand shares many values with THE PIGs: “The emphasis on sustainability, local expertise and the use of natural materials are all values that are really key to all of us, at Vispring and at THE PIGs. We also have a shared appreciation for the value of authenticity. When I stay at a PIG, the experience that I get there is a level of luxury, but without feeling over the top. It’s the luxury that comes from giving genuine care and attention to every detail.” You can sleep on Vispring mattresses in all of the rooms at our PIGs, including here at THE PIG-at Harlyn Bay

GET EXPLORING... F rom the lov eliest b ike rides to the b est local pu b s, we lov e to share ou r local intel. See ou r cu rated list online and ask at reception f or ou r map of local walks.

Q R codes you ’ll want to scan Go straight to Things to Do on our website

VISPRING’S MANAGING DIRECTOR, MARTIN GILL (RIGHT )

HOGWA THE PIGSH - AT\ HARLYN SUMMERBAY \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

Download one of our favourite walking routes

INFO & GOINGS ON ~ ESSENTIAL INFO & HOTEL GUIDE ~ DEVON CALLING: THINGS TO SEE AND DO ~ THE INSIDE STORY ON TEN YEARS OF THE PIG AT COMBE

o t e m o We lc

COMBE MEANS WOODED VALLEY – in the Domesday Book, you’ll find the Welsh word for this, “Cwm” – and this leafy part of Devon certainly lives up to the name. This building is probably our “poshest PIG”: a Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house set in 3,500 acres in the Otter Valley, with expansive views towards the Blackdown Hills and plenty of pheasants pottering about. All sitting on land whose first recorded owner, in 1086, was Bishop Odo – the half-brother of William the Conqueror. We picked up the keys quite some time after that, in October 2015, and worked on restoring, renovating and redesigning the hotel – Combe House has been a hotel of one kind or another since 1968 – as well as what has become one of the loveliest Kitchen Gardens of all of our PIGs. The terraced garden, set within a mature pinetum, retains original features lovingly renovated by our team, including two Victorian greenhouses. In one, you’ll find a Black Hamburg grapevine that is thought to be more than a century old. We also have a Mushroom House where we grow and harvest our own mushrooms, and a Smokery for curing and smoking meat and fish. We’ve handled the house and its grounds with great care, breathing new life into the building’s old bones, but seeking never to over-restore. We especially love the Folly, our rustic hideaway restaurant that sits in the gardens, and the bedrooms we created in the stable yard behind the main house. We have made the most of other features, such as the original Georgian kitchen and cavernous cellar, where we sometimes host wine tastings – do ask us to show you if you’re curious – and the Elizabethan great hall, dating from 1580, which now holds our lively bar. And while we’ve had plenty of new guests, we’ve also been careful not to bother some of the residents who were already on site, including a colony of bats. After all, they found the place before us.

COMBE THE PIG - AT

THE PIG-AT COMBE \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

y our sta y r o f info ? Useful S TION

0. A Q U E dialling HA V E tion by p e c e r ll Just ca in U T change IN G O for the it a . D IA L L w d , ial 9 equire lease d mber r e line, p and nu id e s d t o u c o a an the are To call en dial gs tone, th WI- F I fi settin TA R Y N E your wiM I n L o P ” c M li C O Pub HE PIG elect “T s ou go! t y s y ju a , w ate and a To activ N E R D D IN rant C HA N N r restau u U o L t , u T o S . d A n F fi ialling 0 nt. To B R E A K on by d estaura ti f our r p o e e e c h t n e ed in e call r ak to o s e a p s le p – All serv , Folly mes. g times in The ening ti openin ay’s op ed daily d v r o t e s t u o als o find o Food is teams t friendly K OU T C HE C t 11am. out is a Check S call M E N T please TR E A T otting Sheds, ent m t P trea the full t in our n d e n fi m t n a ou ca k a tre . g0–y To boo edroom y diallin b r PIG b n u o io t y in u n recep me

Wa n d er th r ou g h th e w a lled K i tch en G a r d en ... ... past the raised beds and fruit cages and into the Herb Garden, where you will find our two warm, rustic retreats: the Potting Shed treatment rooms, quiet and calm and designed to help you escape it all. Take inspiration from the garden surroundings and experience deeply relaxing full-body and facial treatments using products by Tribe517, a family-run natural skincare brand that handcrafts its products in the beautiful South Wales countryside. Like us, Tribe517 is passionate about using homegrown or botanical ingredients that care for the planet as well as mind and body – and is dedicated to recycling and using up everything it can.

G ood to k n ow Our therapists have been professionally trained to offer safe and effective spa treatments for guests recovering from or undergoing cancer treatments. Just ask at reception to speak to one of the Potting Shed team if you would like to know more.

PIG PICKS

LOCAL TOP TIPS FROM OUR

R ec ep ti oni st, C al l u m WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS AREA IN AUTUMN AND WINTER is heading to Dartmoor National Park for a walk then finishing at a pub for a warming mulled cider. MY FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THIS PIG is the huge open fire in the bar. Nothing beats a brisk walk around the grounds and local village, then being rewarded with a roaring fire, a board game and a delicious cocktail. MY GO-TO DISH ON THE 25 MILE MENU is our celeriac risotto with burnt butter & crispy sage. It’s hearty, layered with flavour and perfect with a glass of chardonnay. A MUST-VISIT LOCAL PUB is The Anchor Inn in Beer. This quaint fishing village with a stunning beach is enough of a reason to visit, but add a great pub serving fresh locally caught fish into the mix and it’s an all-round winner. A LOCAL GEM is Finns Devon, a boutique deli, bakery and coffee shop in Colyton, a 25-minute drive from us, which handbakes a range of pastries and goodies each day. WINTER WILDLIFE TO LOOK OUT FOR includes pheasants and roe deer grazing in the frosted fields. BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW that the nearby town of Honiton has a quirky, centuries-old tradition called Hot Pennies Day. In late July, locals would put pennies in a hot oven or fire, then throw them out of the windows at noon, when people competed to collect the most. It still happens, but pennies are only gently warmed now.

SHED MEETS SPA S H E

•P

IN TT

OTTIN

S HE D

• P

G S H

E D

• P O T

THE PIG - AT COMBE \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

Cheers to 10 years Time flies! We’re proud to be celebrating a decade of your home from home, here at Combe

EVEN BY PIG STANDARDS, Combe is a stunner: The first glimpse of the hotel from the long, sweeping driveway is, says Hotel Director Chris Charles, “like nothing else I’ve seen”. A Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house – all honey-hued stone and a layout so labyrinthine it is said to include priest holes and tunnels that have yet to be found – our fifth PIG is the grandest in the litter by a Devonshire country mile. Chris considers himself incredibly lucky to work here. As does Mark Perry, our Head Groundsman, who has been at the hotel since it opened 10 years ago and has fond memories of the opening celebrations, “with jugglers, stilt walkers and all sorts going on”. Word of the new hotel got around to Chris, who at the time owned a local pub, and he joined the team the following year. Although the main house hasn’t changed much since those early days, due to its listed status, three refurbished thatched cottages and five Stream Wagons have been added to the accommodation mix and the Kitchen Gardens have grown “exponentially”. But despite the beauty of both the house and its Otter Valley setting, both Chris and Mark agree that it’s the team that makes Combe such a special place. THE PIG-AT COMBE \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

THE PIG-AT COMBE’S ENTRANCE AND BAR (LEFT ). HEAD GROUNDSMAN MARK PERRY WITH ONE OF HIS RARE-BREED PIGLETS (ABOVE)

“Colin Farrell took so much time to talk to the staff, the girls were just besotted with him” “When we’re up against it, or when there’s a problem, everyone jumps to it,” says Chris. He recalls seeing even the senior team helping to lug sodden hay bales after Combe’s first Smoked & Uncut Festival in 2017 turned into a mud bath. “Everyone gets stuck in,” he says, adding wistfully, “Those parties were very cool.” Indeed, there’s something about the peace and quiet here that makes people want to let their hair down. It might be the local villagers invited to the annual mince pies and mulled wine Christmas do in The Folly or the guests who call Mark from the surrounding fields in the middle of the night, needing help finding their way back after one too many drinks. A particularly memorable shindig was the party THE PIG team threw for the NHS post-lockdown, when about 70 local key workers were given a room and a meal for the evening. “To do that on the first opening night after lockdown was amazing. The atmosphere was really emotional, as we hadn’t done a service in a long time,” says Chris. Later that night, the porters helped a guest back to his room, when they found him wandering the hallways dressed only in a hotel rug. As Mark says, “I think the NHS were ready to let off a bit of steam!” The hotel has also hosted many a famous guest. Devon lad and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has stayed, as have Marcus Mumford and Carey Mulligan – who are apparently partial to a game of Dobble. Then there was Colin Farrell, who charmed the whole team. “He took so much time to talk to 10

the staff, the girls were just besotted with him.” Many of our guests are similarly enamoured with our resident wildlife. From the cows that often wander in from surrounding fields to the rare-breed piglets, chickens and lambs in our own little farm. “We offer guests, especially children, to pop down of a morning and help us feed the animals,” says Mark. “We have a little orchard with an apiary in the corner, and some rare-breed chickens that lay lovely multicoloured eggs for the restaurant.” Some new arrivals seem keen to join the fun: Mark recently spotted a couple of young beavers nearby. The big-toothed mammals were recently reintroduced to the River Otter, for the first time in “probably 400 years”, and had made their way upstream. There are certainly worse places to call home. After a long day’s work, Chris loves to head to the Folly to watch the sunset and take in the view: “You can sit on the lawn and – wow – it just doesn’t look real.” He finds the garden especially lovely when there’s live music on in the Folly on a Friday night. “The sound travels, this really nice acoustic music and you’ve got the fire pits going outside. It’s a lovely atmosphere,” he says. So what will the next 10 years bring? Mark has a yearning to add some ducks and geese to the menagerie, and there’s a handful of exclusive-use weddings planned, which Chris says will be “really fun big parties”. We’re sure they will be. And who knows? Perhaps someone will finally find those priest holes – perhaps after some late night wanderings.

THE PIG - AT COMBE \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

GET EXPLORING... From the loveliest bike rides to the best local pubs, we love to share our local intel. See our curated list online and ask at reception for our map of local walks.

QR codes you’ll want to scan Go straight to Things to Do on our website

Download two of our favourite walking routes

INFO & GOINGS ON ~ ESSENTIAL INFO & HOTEL GUIDE ~ SOMERSET CALLING: THINGS TO SEE AND DO ~ THE INSIDE STORY ON LOCAL DISTILLERIES PSYCHOPOMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE

We lc o m e t o

NOWHERE ELSE MARRIES MELLOW ENGLISH countryside and buzzing creative energy quite like Somerset, where a dairy farmer invented the world’s most famous music festival and cutting-edge galleries sit amid dreamy meadows. The local cheese isn’t bad, either. THE PIG’s suitably laid-back and impossibly romantic home here is Hunstrete House, a Grade II listed building built in creamy Bath stone and set in 30 acres of deer park. Known hereabouts as The Lodge, it dates from 1820, but the estate’s roots lie far deeper. In the Anglo-Saxon era, it belonged to the Abbey of Glastonbury – reputed resting place of King Arthur – and it was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086. The origin of the name Huntstrete is unclear, but might derive from the Old English hund (hound) and street. And the area has been inhabited since the earliest times, as confirmed by a flint axe head found in Common Wood. A manor house was first mentioned in 1258, and at the start of the 17th century, the estate was acquired by the family of Sir John Popham. While we find The Lodge more than comfortable, Sir John’s descendants evidently wanted something grander – look out from our gardens and you’ll see the ruined arches of a mansion they tried (but ultimately failed) to add here in the 19th century. The family owned Hunstrete House until 1977, when it was sold to John and Thea Dupays, who converted it into a hotel. The features in the Kitchen Garden at our Somerset PIG, including the original greenhouses, were lovingly renovated by our team – ensuring the design laid out by gardeners past was not lost. The Kitchen Garden has also grown with demand for its wonderful produce, and is now double the size it was when we opened in 2014. Our historic property is definitely enjoying a whole new chapter.

BATH THE PIG - NEAR

THE PIG-NE AR BATH \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

your fo for

l in

Usefu

stay

? S TION 0. A Q U E ialling d y HA V E b n io t p ll rece Just ca T ange in G OU the ch N r I o L f L it D IA , wa uired. e dial 9 number req s a le p e, nd side lin code a an out e area h t l ia To call gs F I hen d ﬁ settin Y WItone, t ur wiN TA R o y E n M o I L lic” C OM P IG Pub “THE P t go! c u le o e y away , just s e d t n a a iv t R To ac IN N E A N D D H C N . , L U urant K F A S T in the resta imes, B R E A d ening t e v p r o t n a All se r u ing 0. esta by diall t our r u n o io d t n p ce To ﬁ call re please K OU T . C HE C at 11am out is Check S e call , pleas M E N T s T d t A e E h S TR atmen ting full tre ur Pot e o h t in d t atmen can fin . – you k a tre droom To boo by dialling 0 PIG be r u o n y tio in recep menu

Wa n d er i n to th e w a lled K i tch en G a r d en ... ... through the raised beds, out past our berry house and fruit cages, and into our warm, rustic retreats: the two Potting Shed treatment rooms, quiet and calm, and designed to help you escape it all. Take inspiration from the garden surroundings and experience deeply relaxing full-body and facial treatments using products by Tribe517, a family-run natural skincare brand that handcrafts its products in the beautiful South Wales countryside. Like us, Tribe517 is passionate about using homegrown or botanical ingredients that care for the planet as well as mind and body – and is dedicated to recycling and using up everything it can.

G ood to k n ow Our therapists have been professionally trained to offer safe and effective spa treatments for guests recovering from or undergoing cancer treatments. Just ask at reception to speak to one of the Potting Shed team if you would like to know more.

PIG PICKS

LOCAL TOP TIPS FROM OUR

R ec ep ti on Team WHAT WE LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS AREA IN AUTUMN AND WINTER is when it’s a cold day and the fires are roaring, seeing guests come back from a long local walk and make themselves totally at home. We also love the PIG menu at this time of year – it’s game season, so there is lots of local game and hearty root vegetable dishes, soups, risottos and stews. OUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THIS PIG is the people: our guests and the whole PIG team. OUR GO-TO DISH ON THE 25 MILE MENU is a good, hearty gardener’s broth. A MUST-VISIT LOCAL PUB is The Compton Inn – it’s within walking distance, does a good pint and is really quaint in its own charming way. A LOCAL GEM is The Beckford Bottle Shop in Bath. It’s a real find, on a lovely little side street called Saville Row. It has a great selection of wine and amazing small plates to share. WINTER WILDLIFE TO LOOK OUT FOR includes starling murmurations, bitterns (known as “booming bitterns” for their loud call), red kites and lapwings. The best place to see them nearby is Avalon Marshes. BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW that Anna Chancellor (aka Duckface from Four Weddings and a Funeral) was part of the family that owned this hotel for many years.

SHED MEETS SPA S H E

•P

IN TT

OTTIN

S HE D

• P

G S H

E D

• P O T

THE PIG - NE AR BATH \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

Spirited away How a Bristol-based former doctor went from gin-making hobbyist to national award-winner with his fabulously named distilleries, Psychopomp and Circumstance

LIAM HIRT HAS BEEN CRAFTING interesting and innovative spirits for almost two decades. Perhaps unusually in his current line of work, Liam is a former cardiologist. Having begun as an amateur distiller, making limitededition batches of seasonal gins using a makeshift still in the basement of his house, he soon found that he could sell out of his stock almost instantly. This was in 2014, some years before the large-scale craft gin boom was even a twinkle in anyone’s eye. It wasn’t long before the hobbyist needed to licence his cellar. “Back then, that was pretty unusual,” he grins. “The operation certainly grew quickly from that point and my wife soon kicked me out of the basement, arguing that if I was going to do this, I had to do it properly.” In 2016, Liam bought a little premises on St Michael’s Hill in Bristol. He installed two stills, and Psychopomp Microdistillery was born (the trippy-sounding name comes from the ancient Greek word for a mythological spirit guide). He and his small team continued to focus on gin – their signature gin, Woden, remains extremely popular – but they also began to up the experimentation. Alongside what they believe is the first English aquavit, and a punchy

AN ARRAY OF CRAFT GINS (TOP). PSYCHOPOMP’S HOME ON ST MICHAEL’S HILL, BEHIND AN OLD SHOPFRONT (ABOVE). THE PIG’S FAVOURITE COFFEE DIGESTIF (LEFT )

THE PIG-NE AR BATH \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

LIAM HIRT (FAR LEFT ) AND THE TOOLS OF HIS TRADE (LEFT )

“If you’ve got an excellent spirit going into the cask to start with, you don’t need to wait 20 years” Bristolian absinthe, they also created an extraordinary single-origin coffee digestif that we’ve been serving here at THE PIG-near Bath for about as long as we can remember. “We don’t put sugar in anything.” says Liam, careful to stress that, for this reason, the spirit in question is not a liqueur. “We use single-origin coffee beans and a really gentle extraction process similar to cold brew, so that you get the coffee flavours and a little bit of the sugars from the bean without getting the bitterness. Once you start adding the heat and the pressure, the bitter flavours start to disappear, and without those there’s no great need to chuck in a load of sugar. Plus, we use a wheat spirit, which is quite sweet anyway.” Liam would likely say it’s best served neat over ice, which we do highly recommend, but we also use it in our espresso martinis or even poured over vanilla ice cream for an elevated affogato. In 2018, Liam founded Psychopomp’s sister distillery, Circumstance, in order to expand into whisky production. “There is very little snobbery in English whisky,” he says, “and we make whiskies that mix well and that bartenders enjoy working with.” Indeed, the distillery’s “flavour first” philosophy depends on the freedom to experiment with fermentation times, ageing techniques, hybrid stills, lesser-known cereals, AI and machine learning. It’s an approach that seems to be working: Circumstance was named Best New English Distillery at the English Whisky Awards 2026.

“We focus on the new make spirit [unaged whisky] and making sure that is as flavoursome as possible,” says Liam. “If you’ve got an excellent spirit going into the cask to start with, you don’t need to wait 20 years and then finish it off with a Pedro Ximénez to make it taste great. Our three-year-old whisky goes up against 12-year-old Speyside [a Scottish region for whisky] and often comes out on top.” It’s a brave new world in spirits, and Liam and his team have worked hard to be a key part of it. Here at the PIGs, we also couldn’t help but notice Psychopomp’s impressive response to the COVD-19 pandemic. In 2020, they pivoted to gin-based hand sanitiser to combat nationwide shortages. “There must have been very few people in the world who owned a distillery and had the medical expertise to make a safe and effective hand sanitiser. We were the first distillery in the world to do it and showed others the way,” says Liam. “As a result, I worked with governments and distilleries as far afield as Canada and Oman to switch their production to hand sanitiser.” Liam says he was proud that these efforts “not only aided communities in need but also sparked legislative change”. It all comes back to the same values that remain at the heart of the small Bristol-based business today. “The experience reinforced our belief in the power of compassion – and the power of innovation.” Try Psychopomp’s Single Origin Coffee Digestif at the bar or when you eat with us here at THE PIG-near Bath. Learn more about Pschopomp at microdistillery.co.uk

THE PIG - NE AR BATH \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

GET EXPLORING... From the loveliest bike rides to the best local pubs, we love to share our local intel. See our curated list online and ask at reception for our map of local walks.

QR codes you’ll want to scan Go straight to Things to Do on our website

Download three of our favourite walking routes

INFO & GOINGS ON ~ HOTEL & ROOM GUIDE ~ THE COTSWOLDS CALLING: THINGS TO SEE AND DO

~ THE INSIDE STORY ON PLANT-POWERED SPA BRAND, GROUND

CLOSE YOUR EYES and visualise the perfect Cotswolds hotel – we reckon that the newest member of the PIG litter will be exactly what you have in mind. Tucked away in Barnsley, a quintessential honey-stone village just four miles from Cirencester, THE PIG-in the Cotswolds is a handsome Grade II listed house with wisteria winding across its façade, mullioned windows, Arts and Crafts-style gardens and – a first for us – its very own classic country inn, the Village Pub. Barnsley House was built in 1697 by Brereton Bourchier, whose family had acquired a manor on the site from Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr, in 1548. If it looks a little unassuming from the main road, that’s because the back of the house was originally its front – at the end of the 17th century, said main road was merely a lane running through the grounds and veg gardens. From the 18th century, Barnsley House served as the rectory for medieval St Mary’s Church, next door, but its glory days were still ahead of it. When Rosemary Verey moved here with her husband, David, in 1951, she decided to remodel the grounds herself – and so began a horticultural journey that saw her become one of the 20th century’s most famous garden designers, with a client list that included the future King Charles and Elton John. Her laburnum walk, Tuscan temple and knot garden epitomise the style popular at the time, while the potager, or ornamental kitchen garden, positively screams PIG. Indeed, we like to think of a stay at this cosy, homely house as a visit to your great-aunt Rosemary’s. After Rosemary passed away in 2001, Barnsley House became a boutique hotel (the vegetable beds in the back field were planted in 2004) with a small but perfectly formed spa near the gothic summerhouse, where we’re excited to extend our PIG treatment offerings. Then there’s The Village Pub, with beamed ceilings and open fireplaces, where we hope you’ll also join us for a pint and some seriously good-quality grub. That notorious bon viveur Henry VIII would doubtless have approved.

We lc o m e t o

THE PIG - IN THE

COTSWOLDS THE PIG-IN THE COTSWOLDS \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

your fo for

li Usefu

stay

? S TION 0. A Q U E ialling d y HA V E b n io t p ll rece Just ca s WI- F I setting r wi-ﬁ TA R Y u N o y E n M ”o L I Public C OM P THE PIG u go! “ t c le o se ay y e, just and aw activat K OU T C HE C 11am. out is k c e h C

go l 0 or TS ase dia eam. TM E N le A p E , R e t s T hou ndly r Field ur frie e of o t in ou n n o e o m t t a ak k a tre to spe To boo eption c e r o t down

A new chapter at Fieldhouse We’re delighted to welcome GROUND to our Fieldhouse Spa. The founder-led Irish house of wellbeing (see article, right) is inspired by the natural world and the simple belief that looking after ourselves shouldn’t feel complicated. Each GROUND product is lovingly created using naturally derived botanicals. And together, we’ve curated a collection of thoughtfully reimagined treatments and rituals designed to help you escape the day-to-day. Every treatment begins with a conversation, allowing our therapists to tailor your experience to exactly what you need on the day. Whether you’ve arrived after a morning exploring the Cotswolds, a busy week at work or simply because you fancied a little time to yourself, you’ll leave feeling rested, grounded and just a little more like yourself. F IN D Y OU R C OP Y OF THE F U L L F IE L D HOU S E TR E A TM E N T M E N U IN Y OU R P IG B E D R OOM

Wa n d er i n to ou r n ew es t r u s ti c r etr ea t... … follow the winding path at the back of the main house of THE PIG-in the Cotswolds to find our Fieldhouse – deeply relaxing treatment rooms with extra-special offerings, including our first nail treatments, a hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room and outdoor terrace in the heart of the English countryside. The Fieldhouse is open 9am–7pm and you are welcome to use the peaceful spaces inside and outside – even if you haven’t booked a treatment with us. All you need to do is pre-book a free 60-minute slot with reception. If you’re staying with us at The Village Pub, you can also enjoy the spaces in Fieldhouse for 120 minutes for a charge of £60 per person. Call reception by dialling 0 for more details.

G ood to k n ow Some of our therapists have been professionally trained to offer safe and effective spa treatments for guests recovering from or undergoing cancer treatments. Just ask at reception to speak to one of the Fieldhouse team if you would like to know more. HOU L D

S E

• F

•F

• F HOU L D

S E

• F

Carefully designed as the big sister to our PIG Potting Shed treatment rooms, Fieldhouse is a first for us – a small but perfectly formed relaxing retreat in a secluded spot under the trees, filled with even more peaceful spaces to help you switch off. Fieldhouse has the familiar, cosy décor of old tobacco tins and rustic reclaimed wood that you can expect to find across the litter at THE PIGs, with even more treats to offer.

LOCAL TOP TIPS FROM OUR

R ec ep ti on Team WHAT WE LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS AREA IN AUTUMN AND WINTER is going for a long walk around the lakes at South Cerney. The views are beautiful over the water and there is a fantastic pizza place, called Pizzeria 720. OUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THIS PIG is how much of a story the décor has. There’s a beautiful botanical wallpaper in the guest bathroom that is inspired by the gardens here, designed by the one-time owner of this house, Rosemary Verey. OUR GO-TO DISH ON THE 25 MILE MENU is the braised red cabbage – so homely and warming. A MUST-VISIT LOCAL PUB is The Woolpack Inn in Slad. Its outdoor seating overlooks the Stroud Valleys and offers fantastic views, especially as the trees change with the seasons. A LOCAL GEM is Woodchester Park, a National Trust site about 30 minutes’ drive from here. There are so many winding walks you can take. It’s a breathtaking spot, with a mansion and lake.

S E

HOU L D

S E

HOU L D

OUR FIRST PIG TREATMENT HOUSE

PIG PICKS

THE PIG - IN THE COT SWOLDS \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

WINTER WILDLIFE TO LOOK OUT FOR includes the otters that are active in the nearby Cotswold Water Park – especially in the quieter, lessdisturbed corners in the early mornings when they’re looking for food. BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW that there is a mysterious signpost at a rural crossroads a few miles away, near Poulton, with a sign for Betty’s Grave. It’s been a feature of local maps since 1830, but who Betty is, remains a mystery ...

PEÍGIN CROWLEY (BELOW LEFT ). GROUND’S BOTANICAL SPA PRODUCTS (ABOVE)

Well grounded The founder of GROUND, Peigín Crowley, built her celebrated wellbeing brand with a truly holistic approach to self-care that suits our Fieldhouse perfectly “I’M KIND OF INSTITUTIONAL: I’m spa to the very core,” says Peigín Crowley, a massage therapist of 30 years’ standing who started her own wellness brand, GROUND, from her Cork kitchen table in 2020, back when the world was deep in lockdown. She took a conscious decision “to go forward to basics, in a celebratory way”, blending massage oils by hand and packaging up those first orders with the help of her family “bubble”. Today, her award-winning products feature in some of the finest spas in the world – including the Fieldhouse at THE PIG-in the Cotswolds. “In my early career, I massaged thousands of bodies and spent time designing spa journeys, so I knew what therapists needed,” Peigín says. At 20, she took a job as a spa therapist on a cruise ship, mastering advanced massage techniques from global experts, before returning to Ireland to work with Elemis and Estée Lauder. She became a sought-after spa consultant. Then came her epiphany: she THE PIG-IN THE COTSWOLDS \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

“The products allow you to ground yourself, to come out of the thinking mind into a breathing body” saw that real self-care was about more than mere indulgence – it had to be easily accessible, deeply therapeutic and rooted in everyday life. “I realised it wasn’t just products,” she says. “That’s why we’re a therapist-centric brand. Training and protocols are more important, allowing us to deliver nervoussystem regulation. We approach it via biology, harnessing the power of essential oils to bring treatments to life.” Our Fieldhouse Spa menu “might not be War and Peace, but it’s comprehensive”, Peigín says. “The onus is not so much on guests picking the right treatment for them, it’s on understanding how their body is right now, where they’re at in their life and how they would like to feel afterwards.” Each treatment is chosen in consultation with the therapists, who are “trained and empowered. We let them jigsaw-piece together the best treatment for that person.” As a brand, Peigín says, “GROUND is sincerely holistic” in its plant-based approach to issues such as sleep, anxiety, hormone fluctuations and gut health. “We work from the ground up with essential oils – these perfect plant messages that can sedate the body or cleanse, help with clarity or focus or memory. The products allow you to ground yourself, too, to come out of the thinking mind and into a breathing body, so that the nervous system can move from solutionbased, cognitive thinking into relaxing.” And in the ultimate virtuous circle, that relaxation allows the products to do their work all the more effectively. What is it about THE PIG-in the Cotswolds that resonates with Peigín’s philosophy for GROUND? “As brands, they feel so similar,” she says. “THE PIG’s identity organically 10

emerges through the most incredible buildings, wonderful gastronomy – it doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not. It feels like a hug, which I love. So this is an absolute meeting of two sincere brands that do what they do really well.” For seasoned spa-goers, the GROUND/ Fieldhouse experience might seem a little different to their usual treatments. “Our therapists’ approach to a facial is through skin function and wellness: it’s about how comfortable we are in our skin and how our skin feels, rather than how it looks to others. We’re a brand that doesn’t concern ourselves with cellulite or wrinkles or pigmentation. We believe how we feel on the inside is going to show up on the outside. Which is why, in a consultation, we ask how you are in your body right now.” When it comes to Peigín’s favourite products, it is, she jokes, like being asked to choose her favourite child. “It’s almost impossible... I guess my go-tos at home would be, first, our brilliant Magnesium Spray for the feet and legs – because I get restless legs. And our Cleanse Castor Oil, blended with cardamom, ginger, marjoram and caraway, which is great for belly bloating.” Ultimately, Peigín believes GROUND is “going forward to the truth. The truth has always been there. When you look at principled ideologies – ayurveda in India, traditional Chinese medicine – they understood the microbiome thousands of years ago. We’ve been so marketed to that we’ve lost trust, we’ve lost that connection to our own bodies. We have to keep learning, we have to keep moving ourselves forward: the truth is out there. We’ve just got to figure it out.” Experience GROUND products and treatments at our Fieldhouse Spa at THE PIG-in the Cotswolds. Discover more at groundwellbeing.com

THE PIG - IN THE COT SWOLDS \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

A GROUND/FIELDHOUSE TREATMENT (ABOVE LEFT ) AND THE HYDROTHERAPY POOL (ABOVE)

GET EXPLORING... From the loveliest bike rides to the best local pubs, we love to share our local intel. See our curated list online and ask at reception for our map of local walks.

QR codes you’ll want to scan Go straight to Things to Do on our website

Download two of our favourite walking routes

INFO & GOINGS ON ~ HOTEL & ROOM GUIDE ~ DORSET CALLING: THINGS TO SEE AND DO ~ THE INSIDE STORY ON DORSET CHOCOLATE BRAND CHOCOCO

o t e m o c l e W

PEOPLE OFTEN SAY that the manor house at THE PIG-on the beach looks like a gingerbread or fairy-tale house – and we do have a slightly unreal setting, perched on a cliff, looking out to Old Harry Rocks. Studland is where Enid Blyton used to go on holiday, and this area has a hint of The Famous Five to it, with golden beaches and bays that spell adventure, and a history of pirate stories. Although Studland is part of the mainland, the area is called the Isle of Purbeck, and it certainly has an island vibe. The house was built in 1825 as a seaside bolthole by George Henry Bankes MP, who had a family of 14 children to take on holidays. He spent his retirement enlarging and improving it, hence its higgledy-piggledy appeal. George was a descendant of “Brave Dame Mary” Bankes, who defended Corfe Castle against Cromwell’s troops. Some of the medieval carvings here are believed to have come from the castle. Others were, shall we say, “rescued” by the MP from the Palace of Westminster after the fire of 1834. The Bankes family also had a seat at nearby Kingston Lacy, where architect Sir Charles Barry (of Palace of Westminster fame) worked on alterations – many similar gothic revival details can be seen in the hotel. In World War Two, the house was a base for senior military personnel, and in 1944 an observational bunker called Fort Henry was built into the clifftop at the bottom of the garden. George VI, Winston Churchill and President Eisenhower were among those who came here that year to watch the biggest full-scale invasion exercise using live ammunition carried out as a prelude to D-Day. Fort Henry is now open to visitors and run by the National Trust, and it marks the start of the Jurassic Coast Unesco World Heritage Site, which stretches west along the coast to Devon. Since the 1950s, the house has been run as a private hotel, though it closed in 2012. We opened as THE PIG-on the beach in summer 2014 and haven’t looked back since. While you’re here, make sure to take some time to enjoy our Kitchen Garden. Here, nestled between the more traditional crops, you will find beds of native sea vegetables such as sea kale, oyster leaf and sea orach. With some of the best views around, we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

THE PIG - ON THE

BEACH THE PIG-ON THE BE ACH \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

your fo for

l in

Usefu

stay

? STION 0. A QUE ialling d y HAVE b n io t p ll rece Just ca T ange in G OU the ch N r I o L f L it DIA , wa uired. e dial 9 number req s a le p e, nd side lin code a an out e area h t l ia To call gs FI hen d ﬁ settin Y WItone, t ur wiNTAR o y E n M o I L lic” COMP IG Pub “THE P t go! c u le o e y away , just s e d t n a a iv t R To ac INNE AND D H C N . , LU urant KFAST in the resta imes, BREA d ening t e v p r o t n a All se r u ing 0. esta by diall t our r u n o io d t n p ce To ﬁ call re please K OUT . CHEC at 11am out is Check call TS please TMEN Huts, p tment TREA e a e e r h full t our S e h in t t d n atme can fin . k a tre – you droom To boo y dialling 0 PIG be r b u o n y tio in recep menu

Wander down through the gardens... ... out towards the cliffs and into our warm, rustic retreats: nestled away in the grazing fields with the best views out to sea, our two Sheep Hut treatment rooms are quiet, calm and designed to help you really escape it all. Take inspiration from the green surroundings and our coastal location, and experience deeply relaxing full-body and facial treatments using products by Tribe517, a family-run natural skincare brand that handcrafts its products in the beautiful South Wales countryside. Like us, Tribe517 is passionate about using homegrown or botanical ingredients that care for the planet as well as mind and body – and is dedicated to recycling and using up everything it can.

PIG PICKS

LOCAL TOP TIPS FROM OUR

Receptionist, Hannah WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS AREA IN AUTUMN AND WINTER is when all the leaves turn crimson red and vibrant orange. MY FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THIS PIG is The Bothy – our cosy little dovecote cottage, overlooking the Kitchen Garden. I love its romantic privacy and the colourful view of our flowers and veggies. MY GO-TO DISH ON THE 25 MILE MENU is the crab bake starter – it’s always my favourite. A MUST-VISIT LOCAL PUB is the Scott Arms in Kingston, a lovely little spot with a view of Corfe Castle. A LOCAL GEM is Love Cake café in Swanage, one of my favourite places to go with my family for a breakfast treat – the pancakes are amazing! WINTER WILDLIFE TO LOOK OUT FOR includes red squirrels. I recommend a boat trip to Brownsea Island to see them. It’s a car-free nature reserve, and one of only a few places in the UK to find these lovely, but endangered creatures. BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW that at the bottom of our garden is Fort Henry – a World War II observation bunker that is now a Grade II listed building – just like our hotel.

D • P SH

ED • POT

G S

OTTIN

HED

•P

HUT MEETS SPA ING SH TT

Old tobacco tins, gardening tools, balls of twine … Unlikely as it may seem, the décor of our Sheep Hut treatment rooms was inspired by Beatrix Potter’s grumpy gardener, Mr McGregor. It was dreamt up by THE PIG’s former Creative Director, Judy Hutson, whose vision was to “ﬁll the shelves with the sort of things I’d imagine Mr McGregor would have. Oil lamps, vintage bottles, old mugs – and, of course, no shed is complete without a few potted plants. And the massage table is dressed with a big picnic rug.”

THE PIG - ON THE BE ACH \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

CL AIRE AND ANDY BURNET (BELOW ) SET UP CHOCOCO NEARLY 25 YEARS AGO

Out of the box thinking Building the independent British chocolate brand Chococo has been the extraordinary passion project of Dorset-based Claire Burnet and her husband, Andy

“IF YOU ASK SOMEONE, ‘What does chocolate mean to you?’, you realise it’s not just about a gift box,” says Claire Burnet, founder of Chococo, The Purbeck Chocolate Co. “It’s about a treat for yourself when you’re feeling blue. It’s about that hot chocolate as a pick-me-up in winter, it’s gelato in the summer to cool down. Everyone will tell you something different.” Claire and her husband, Andy Burnet, have been making artisanal chocolates on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast since 2002 – and supplying them to THE PIG-on the beach almost since its inception. Their ethos is profoundly local. “Now it’s deeply trendy – everyone has local ingredients, local suppliers – but we’ve been doing it since the beginning,” Claire says. “It’s part of the DNA of our brand, helping to create something very special. We’ve always worked with the same dairy farmer, Trevor Craig, near Weymouth, for milk and cream, and the same beekeepers, Field Honey Farms, in Swanage.” In the mid-1980s, the boxed chocolates of choice in the UK were still Milk Tray and Black Magic. It was around this time that Claire began travelling regularly to Belgium, where her parents had relocated. Like others before her, she marvelled at the relationship the Bruxellois had with confectionery. “We’d go to the chocolatier and the chocolates would be made on the premises. They’d have fresh-cream ganache filling, and producers would talk about where the cocoa actually came from. It was mind-blowing.” THE PIG-ON THE BE ACH \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

“No one was making chocolate with a short shelf life and no additives” By the mid-1990s, Claire had established a successful career in marketing, but “a roundthe-world yacht race completely redefined my definition of risk”. She married Andy in 1999 in Dorset, had her first child, Lily, and the family moved down from London “to do our own thing. No one was making chocolate like I remembered, with a short shelf life, no additives, no preservatives. The default was still, you make it last as long as possible. So we bought a hairdresser’s in a back street in Swanage. On the ground floor we put a 200 sq ft kitchen and on the first floor a little shop that opened three afternoons a week. That was the beginning of Chococo.” Their business model is unlike the traditional “broken” idea of a low-income cocoaproducing country exporting dried beans, with the value added in the West. “Those cocoa farmers are obviously not being paid enough,” says Claire. “We work directly with companies based in the country of origin – Colombia, Ecuador, Madagascar – producing chocolate there from the beans, using local sugar and employing highly skilled labour. They’ve created factories that are making a finished product and exporting that, so it’s a much more equitable partnership.” Chococo flavours are seasonal – summer favourites include Guava & Lime, and Strawberry & Pink Pepper & Mint – while Dorset Sea Salt Caramels are the kind of hardy perennial favoured by THE PIG-on the beach. “It’s one of our bestsellers, and a multi-award winner,” says Claire. “Jethro Tennant, of the Dorset Sea Salt Company, said to me, ‘I’m going to hand-harvest 10 1 0

CHOCOCO’S SIGNATURE 47% AND 72% CHOCOL ATES HAVE WON GREAT TASTE AWARDS

sea salt off the Isle of Portland,’ and I was like, ‘Brilliant, because we’re working with Cornish sea salt now, but that’s too far away. Can you do a smoked one, too?’” THE PIG-on the beach also uses Chococo’s signature milk and dark chocolate when creating dishes for the restaurant. “This is bespoke chocolate that’s unique to us,” says Claire. “The 47% is our milk chocolate produced for us in Colombia, and that won a gold Great Taste Award in 2023. As did our 72%, which is made for us in Ecuador.” You’ll also frequently find the brand’s sweet treats on the menu. Today Chococo has six “chocolate houses” in the UK – Swanage was followed by Winchester, Exeter, Horsham, West Dulwich and, most recently, Westfield Stratford – plus two new ones in New York. “We don’t describe them as chocolate shops,” Claire says. “They’re places where you can have a hot chocolate, an iced chocolate, a gelato or a cake – enjoy chocolate in all its different forms. They’re very humancentric: you get a person who’ll smile and welcome you in, and be able to talk about the different flavours, give you some guidance. My ambition is to spread the Chococo love.” The Burnets have a long history with THE PIG-on the beach. “It’s our go-to for celebrations, and we know the PIG family very well,” Claire says. And with a relationship measured out in Heavenly Honeycombe Milk Chocolate Clusters, Cherry Bakewells and Dorset Sea Salt Caramels, it couldn’t be any sweeter. Enjoy Chococo chocolate and sweet treats when you dine or stay with us at THE PIG-on the beach. To find out more, visit chococo.co.uk

THE PIGSH - ON THE BE ACH \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER HOGWA \ SUMMER

GET EXPLORING... Fr om the l ov el iest b ik e r id es to the b est l ocal pu b s, w e l ov e to shar e ou r l ocal intel . See ou r cu r ated l ist onl ine and ask at r eception f or ou r m ap of l ocal w al k s.

QR cod es y ou ’ l l w ant to scan Go straight to Things to Do on our website

Download one of our favourite walking routes

INFO & GOINGS ON

THE NEW FOREST IS UNLIKE ANYWHERE else in Britain, and as the home of our very first PIG, it couldn’t be closer to our hearts. It was created by William the Conqueror as a royal hunting ground in 1079, with special laws protecting the hunted deer and wild boar. To this day, ponies, donkeys, cows and even pigs roam freely in the ancient woods and sandy heathland, sometimes pottering through the village streets. As for our setting of Brockenhurst – the name comes from the Celtic for badgers’ home – we’re still very much in love with it. There are fascinating places to visit, such as Beaulieu (home of the National Motor Museum) and the sailing town of Lymington, but there is plenty to enjoy here at home. Our house is one of the many lodges built for the groomkeepers who protected the Forest – the original building dated from 1602. With its thick stone walls and handsome proportions, it has a very particular, cosy charm. After 1853, it became a private residence, and from 1950 was a (different) hotel, once run by Brigadier John Doyle of the Conan Doyle family. So much of what we do at THE PIGs started here. It was the lovely old walled Kitchen Garden that inspired us to grow so much of our produce ourselves, and the richness of the local food scene feeds directly into our 25 mile menu. Explore the grounds and you’ll find huts and outhouses, the Potting Shed treatment rooms and, of course, our animals.

~ HOTEL & ROOM GUIDE ~ HAMPSHIRE CALLING: THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN THE NEW FOREST

~ THE INSIDE STORY ON 15 YEARS AT THE PIG

We lc o m e t o

THE PIG IN THE

NEW FOREST THE PIG IN THE NEW FOREST \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

ur stay

for yo eful info

ION? Q U E ST . H AV E A dialling 0 y b eption c re ll a c Just T hange in NG OU for the c DIALLI it a w , 9 quired. se dial umber re line, plea n e d id n a ts u e o od To call an e area c n dial th tone, the s Y W I- F I ﬁ setting E NTAR M I L your wiP n o ” c COM li b PIG Pu ct “THE o! just sele , te ay you g a w v a ti c d an To a E R D DINN NCH AN U L , t. T S n F A restaura BRE AK d in the g times, All serve nt openin ra u ta s . re r ut ou dialling 0 To ﬁnd o ption by e c re ll a please c OU T CH E CK am. is ut at 11 Check o all M E NTS please c TRE AT g Sheds, in ent tt o tm P a r e e full tr nt in ou e th d tm n a fi e a tr u can To book g 0 – yo room. by diallin n PIG bed o r ti u p o e y in rec u n e m

Wa n d er i n to th e w a lled K i tch en G a r d en ... ... through the raised beds, out past our greenhouse and beehives, and into our warm, rustic retreats: the two Potting Shed treatment rooms, quiet and calm and designed to help you escape it all. Take inspiration from the garden surroundings and experience deeply relaxing full-body and facial treatments using products by Tribe517, a family-run natural skincare brand that handcrafts its products in the beautiful South Wales countryside. Like us, Tribe517 is passionate about using homegrown or botanical ingredients that care for the planet as well as mind and body – and is dedicated to recycling and using up everything it can.

G ood to k n ow Our therapists have been professionally trained to offer safe and effective spa treatments for guests recovering from or undergoing cancer treatments. Just ask at reception to speak to one of the Potting Shed team if you would like to know more.

PIG PICKS

LOCAL TOP TIPS FROM OUR

H ou se M anag er, G ab y WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS AREA IN AUTUMN AND WINTER is the way the New Forest slows down. Crisp mornings, golden leaves underfoot, mist hanging between the trees and the occasional pony wandering past – it feels like stepping into another world. MY FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THIS PIG is the Kitchen Garden in winter. It might not be bursting with summer colour, but there’s something special about seeing what thrives through the colder months and knowing it’ll soon find its way onto our guests’ plates. MY GO-TO DISH ON THE 25 MILE MENU is whatever’s celebrating the season: comforting dishes, rich slow-cooked flavours and garden-grown veg such as our many different types of squashes. A MUST-VISIT LOCAL PUB is The Snakecatcher. It’s everything a New Forest pub should be – cosy corners, roaring fires and plenty of local character. A LOCAL GEM is Beaulieu. It’s known for its historic estate, abbey and motor museum, and it’s beautiful to explore during the quieter winter months. WINTER WILDLIFE TO LOOK OUT FOR includes the New Forest ponies, of course, but keep an eye out for deer moving through the trees at dawn and the brilliant colours of fungi that appear across the forest floor after autumn rain. BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW that many of the New Forest’s ponies aren’t wild at all, they’re owned by local commoners whose families have grazed animals here for generations.

SH E

D • P SH

E D • POT

OTTIN

E D

•P

SHED MEETS SPA ING TT

THE PIG IN THE NEW FOREST \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

Pig pig hooray! As our original PIG celebrates its milestone birthday, the team look back over 15 years in the New Forest, where it all began

WHAT A DIFFERENCE 15 YEARS MAKE: A DECADE AND A HALF OF FUN AND FEASTING AT THE PIG

WHERE DID THE LAST 15 YEARS GO? We can hardly believe a decade and a half has flown by since we first opened our doors here in the New Forest in July 2011. Our founder, Robin Hutson, had come to check out a slightly faded hotel, with a view to helping to bring it back to life. But it was when he wandered into the walled garden of the old house – originally an early 17th-century hunting lodge – that he had his “eureka” moment. Despite there only being a few sad carrots struggling along there, the idea of a comfortable restaurant with rooms, with menus built around the Kitchen Garden, took root – and the rest, as they say, is PIG history. THE PIG was pretty much an instant hit with guests, locals and travel journalists alike. It’s hard to imagine now, but the notion of a relaxed country house hotel, gorgeously comfortable but determinedly unstuffy, with a restaurant serving delicious, unpretentious menus based around ultra-local produce, was groundbreaking. Gary Orris has been here (almost) from the very start: “I joined six, seven months after we opened. I’d been made redundant from my bookbinding career, and I just came in to ask for a few bar shifts to tide me over – and I never left!” He still sees lots of the original guests here today. “To them it’s a kind of extended home from home – no airs and graces, just giving people what they want,” he says. Fourteen years on, Gary is now a Duty Manager and welcomes many familiar faces through the year: “We’ve got one guest who comes every Christmas. There’s a couple who have come for the past decade, from the first year of their marriage when she was

THE PIG IN THE NEW FOREST \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

“The New Forest is a very laid-back place full of beautiful things. And it’s the same with THE PIG” THE VIEW ACROSS THE POND TO THE POTTING SHED (FAR LEFT ), AND RICH PICKINGS IN THE GREENHOUSE (LEFT )

pregnant. They always come back with their child and we see how much she’s grown. And with lunch guests, there are probably 30 or 40 couples who’ve been coming from the start.” Our current Hotel Director, Guy Freedman, started as Restaurant Manager in 2014. “It was in at the deep end. Then I did three years as Deputy Hotel Director here.” He moved on to get the top job at THE PIG-at Bridge Place when it opened, returning to Brockenhurst in 2023, with a wife and two children. Guy understands why for many people this remains such a special hotel: “The New Forest is a very laid-back place full of beautiful things. And it’s the same with THE PIG. It’s maybe a bit more rustic than some of the other hotels, every window has such a pretty view. You can just be when you’re here, potter around the Kitchen Garden, look at the animals – and the rest of the New Forest is an extension of that. There’s no big tourist trail to hit, it’s a deeply relaxing place.” Guy also thinks there’s something special in the spirit of this original PIG that persists: “When it opened, it was with that attitude of ‘will it/won’t it work; we’ll get through it together’, and that’s knitted into the place. Even new starters inherit that spirit, there’s a real resilience and bond to the Brockenhurst team.” Lots of the people who work in senior roles across all the hotels started here – from our Group Training and Development Chef Kamil Oseka and Group Head Chef Andy Wright to Ollie Hutson, our Group Head Kitchen Gardener. So much of what we all think of as the PIG way of doing things started here, even if it’s tweaked and added to with every new hotel: the greenhouse restaurants, animals in the grounds, 25 mile menus, Potting Shed treatment rooms, eclectic interiors and the oversized shepherd’s huts. Even the multicoloured glasses in the window of the bars started here, simply because there wasn’t room for a glasses cupboard so someone had the bright idea of putting glass shelves into the casement of the window. 10

As Guy points out, each PIG has its own character and charm, and there is plenty of friendly rivalry. “All the hotel directors appreciate each others’ hotels, but we also wind each other up. And the guests are as opinionated as us. Some do THE PIG tour, going from hotel to hotel, and we all compete to be the most loved. But it’s like naming your favourite child, impossible! Or PIG Top Trumps – each PIG has something that can’t be beaten.” Alongside the many first dates, proposals, anniversaries and birthdays celebrated along the way, there have been some standout moments. The first Smoked & Uncut festival was one, with just 150 people, which Guy remembers as a seat-of-the-pants affair. The festival later grew to host 4,000 people, and this year has returned to Brockenhurst as the three-day Garden Party. “It was great,” says Guy, “and one lovely thing was that lots of parents whose kids had worked at The PIG over the years when they were younger came along – they just wanted to come and experience it and felt a connection. And because Gary and I have been here for so long, we remembered them all. That was great, very nostalgic.” Gary’s big standout moment is even more rock’n’roll: one night in the early years, he was on shift at 1.30am, “and the door opened and in walked Oasis, singing Wonderwall. They were staying and I think were recording locally.” The night was young (at least to the Gallagher brothers), so in the end, Gary actually opened up the bar again and served them drinks. But the charm of THE PIG remains the simple things. For Gary, it’s the view across the reeds in the pond to the Potting Shed, “for lots of people, that view is THE PIG, it tells you everything”. As Guy sums up, “It’s a country house with great food, served by lovely people.” And when he’s having a particularly stressful day, he just walks outside, looks at the lovely old oak tree on the lawn at the front of the house, “and I feel very lucky to be here”.

THE PIG IN THE NEW FOREST \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

GET EXPLORING... From the loveliest bike rides to the best local pubs, we love to share our local intel. See our curated list online and ask at reception for our map of local walks.

QR codes you’ll want to scan Go straight to Things to Do on our website

Download three of our favourite walking routes

INFO & GOINGS ON ~ ESSENTIAL INFO & HOTEL GUIDE ~ WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE ~ SOUTHAMPTON CALLING: THINGS TO SEE AND DO

~ THE INSIDE STORY ON THE GARLIC FARM ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT

WE NEVER REALLY INTENDED TO HAVE a city hotel, but when we came across our historic townhouse, a truly unique Grade II listed private residence tucked into Southampton’s ancient walls, we just fell for it. Our hotel was originally built as a private residence around 1820 and owned by the Countess Elizabeth Craven, an author and playwright, although she never actually lived here. In the late 1880s, it was a brewery, then a cosy pub, the Royal Standard. To create THE PIG-in the wall, we also purchased the adjacent house, adding more bedrooms. The Western Esplanade, on which we are nestled, once fronted right onto the water. To the right of our hotel (as you face it), you’ll find the city’s West Gate, built in 1338. It’s through this archway that Henry V and his troops marched on their way to Agincourt in 1415. Along the city walls, you’ll find all manner of plaques and signs leading you on a historic trail through Southampton. From here, it’s effortlessly easy to dip into the city’s storied past at venues such as the Tudor House & Garden, the Medieval Merchant’s House and the ruins of Holyrood Church. THE PIG-in the wall is yours to enjoy as a characterful base for making the most of the city and its surroundings. Should you fancy taking to the water, we’re also just a short ferry ride from the Isle of Wight.

o t e m o c l e W THE PIG - IN THE

WALL THE PIG-IN THE WALL \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

We do things a little differently to the rest of the PIGS... ... We are all about relaxed deli dining here at THE PIG-in the wall, rather than the full PIG restaurant experience. Being tucked away in the city of Southampton, we don’t have a Kitchen Garden on site, but we are still totally committed to homegrown and local produce! Daily deliveries from the Kitchen Garden at THE PIG in the New Forest – which is only 20 minutes’ drive away – and our local suppliers from Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight mean that our menus change just as regularly. Our menu is a pig’n’mix selection of freshly prepared deli-counter salads, hearty larger plates such as the pie of the day, quiche, snack boards, Piggy Bits and sweet treats.

PIG PICKS

LOCAL TOP TIPS FROM OUR

n er

eth

WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS AREA IN AUTUMN AND WINTER is our location. We’ve got the best of all worlds here, with the buzz of the city, as well as winter walks along the coastline and in the New Forest right on the doorstep. VISIT OUR NEIGHBOURING PIG If you’ve enjoyed lots of the fresh, seasonal produce in our Deli-bar dishes, the chances are some of it was grown in the Kitchen Garden at THE PIG in the New Forest, just down the road. Our very ﬁrst PIG is situated in the most bucolic of settings – a lovely old stone house in the leafy countryside outside Brockenhurst, alongside its abundant walled Kitchen Garden. If you have time, head over there for lunch, dinner or just a drink in the bar – followed by a mooch around the veg beds!

MY FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THIS PIG is one of our bedrooms, Room 4. It’s nestled right next to the Westgate, and has old beams and a freestanding bathtub overlooking the city. MY GO-TO DISH FROM THE DELI-BAR is our pork belly with gooseberries & mustard sauce. A MUST-VISIT LOCAL PUB is the lively UNITY Brewing Co taproom. It’s just a half hour walk from us – and their beers are so good, they’ve been on the drinks list here at THE PIG-in the wall since we opened.

for your o f n i l u f Use

stay

lling 0. on by dia ti p e c re Just call

in e change wait for th uired. , 9 l ia d e req ne, pleas number outside li code and a re a To call an e n dial th tone, the ttings r wi-ﬁ se ” on you c li b u P E PIG ! elect “TH y you go te, just s and awa To activa es, ervice tim nd out s ﬁ To r. a 0. e Deli-b y dialling d from th eption b c re All serve ll a c please am. ut is at 11 Check o to then pop or facial, ent. e g tm a s a s e a xing m Shed tr la g in re tt a o y P c n re. for a If you fa d out mo w Forest g 0 to fin in the Ne in ll IG ia P d E y H T ption b Call rece

A LOCAL GEM is Robins Nests Emporium, which has lots of great antiques and furniture. THE PIG’s former Creative Director, Judy Hutson, used it quite often to find special items for the hotels. WINTER WILDLIFE TO LOOK OUT FOR includes peregrine falcons, which can be seen swooping at superfast speeds over many of Hampshire’s cities and towns. BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW that in 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers initially set off on their journey to the New World from a spot just a short walk from here – although they had to turn back twice for repairs before finally setting sail from Plymouth, down the coast.

Thanks a bunch

NATASHA EDWARDS (BELOW ) IS A THIRD-GENERATION GROWER AND CO-OWNER OF THE GARLIC FARM

The family team at The Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight – one of our favourite local suppliers – share their tips for growing and cooking with these tasty alliums VAMPIRES AND ALLIUM-PHOBICS, BEWARE: garlic is one of the delicious ingredients grown in THE PIG in the New Forest’s Kitchen Garden, which supplies the Deli-bar here at THE PIG-in the wall. As is our preference, we source our seeds from a local supplier that prides itself on sustainability as well as superb produce – in this case The Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight, just across the Solent. The Boswell family have been growing garlic there for 50 years, beginning, appropriately enough, in Granny Norah’s kitchen garden. She and her husband, Martin, moved to the Isle of Wight in the 1950s to start a mixed farm, with a side hustle in crops such as watercress and sweetcorn. The couple also grew garlic, at one time a fancy “foreign” ingredient in a British kitchen. When their son Colin joined the business with his wife, Jenny, in the 1970s, Norah mentioned how well her garlic was growing. The couple, who had spent time in France, saw the potential and garlic became the farm’s focus, with Jenny selling homemade chutneys from the stable door. Fast-forward to today and the business is going great garlicky guns – as well as seeds and bulbs, it sells a range of 60 products, from butters and mayos to beer and even ice cream. Building on Colin’s enthusiasm for THE PIG-IN THE WALL \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

Natasha’s recipe for smoked garlic dauphinoise Serves 4 • 1kg waxy firm potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced • 500ml full-cream milk or milk mixed with cream • 6 fat cloves oak-smoked garlic • 1 teaspoon nutmeg • 50g butter • Sea salt and black pepper

“Black garlic is a surprisingly perfect partner for chocolate” eco-friendliness, The Garlic Farm has been “organic certified by the Soil Association since 2022 and B Corp certified since 2023”, explains Natasha Edwards, co-owner of the farm and one of Colin and Jenny’s five children. “Dad’s always been big on conservation, but but it’s the next generation who have sought to underpin that with certification,” she recalls. “When we were doing succession planning, we balanced conversations about what the business was for with the need to keep it on an even keel – you can’t be green if you’re in the red.” In 2025, The Garlic Farm won a King’s Award for Enterprise – a prestigious accolade made all the more special by Charles III’s long-standing commitment to conservation. “It was extremely exciting,” says Natasha. “His values align with ours and a lot of the things he has been working on, we have adopted.” Building on this royal seal of approval, the next step is to “convert all

THE GARLIC FARM GROWS AND SELLS VARIETIES SUCH AS RHAPSODY WIGHT AND CAULK WIGHT

products to organic within three years”, part of an overall strategy of achieving a “net positive” outcome in all areas of the business. As the author of three books devoted to “the magic bulb”, Natasha is something of a garlic guru, and makes the perfect guide to its unique properties. She explains why an uncut clove lacks the pungent smell with which garlic is synonymous: “When you cut into it, it sets off garlic’s defence mechanism, a chemical reaction that creates a sulphur compound called allicin.” This is responsible for garlic’s myriad medicinal benefits – an antioxidant, it can boost heart health and the immune system – and creates the “amazing power and punchy spiciness”. If such pungency is not for you, smoked garlic brings complexity and lovely layers of flavour to your cooking (see Natasha’s favourite recipe, above right). Uncut cloves can be scrumptiously sweet – roasting a whole bulb brings out all the latent sugars. And to enjoy maximum “balsamic-y, umami” flavour, try black garlic, which is heat-aged “for about six weeks so it caramelises completely”, and is a surprisingly perfect partner for chocolate. For keen chefs planning to grow their own, The Garlic Farm’s varieties include Rhapsody Wight (“really good for cooking, with lovely large cloves”) and the stronger-flavoured Caulk Wight, a heritage hardneck variety with edible scapes (delicious in a risotto, or in tempura batter with a sweet chilli sauce). And if you want to give the garlic-lover in your life something they’ll relish, Natasha recommends the zingy A Wight Little Pickle and Black Garlic Ketchup – “My kids literally can’t get enough of it. We have to have cases in the house.” Taste garlic grown by THE PIG from Garlic Farm seeds at the Deli-bar at THE PIG-in the wall; thegarlicfarm.co.uk

THE PIG - IN THE WALL \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

Preheat the oven to 190ºC, 170º fan (370ºF). Lay half the sliced potato in a buttered ovenproof dish. Season and add the nutmeg, then grate the garlic cloves on top. Tip the rest of the potato slices into the dish, spreading them out evenly. Season again, then pour over the milk and cream, and dot with the rest of the butter. Bake until all the liquid has been absorbed and the top has browned, usually about 1-1½ hours.

GET EXPLORING... From the loveliest bike rides to the best local pubs, we love to share our local intel. See our curated list online and ask at reception for our map of local walks.

A QR code you’ll want to scan

Go straight to Things to Do on our website

INFO & GOINGS ON

THERE’S A QUINTESSENTIAL ENGLISHNESS and gentle grandeur to the South Downs in this part of Sussex, where the villages don’t get much more hidden away than Madehurst. But if you know where to look, you’ll find our elegant Georgian house, not so far from the more prominent Arundel Castle. Historically, Madehurst Lodge, as the house was previously known, was part of the neighbouring Dale Park Estate. Land for the estate was purchased piece by piece in 1780 by the then MP for Arundel, Sir George Thomas (grandson of the governor of Pennsylvania), who planted extensive woodlands. He is buried beneath the altar in St Mary’s, the village church, where there are also monuments for George and his wife, Sophia, who remained in the house after his death. For many years, Madehurst Lodge was owned by the Barron family, who were champions of organic farming and early supporters of the Soil Association. They sold the house to the Tod family, who remained here from 1971 to 2017, when the PIG’s story here began. Our move included a long and careful process of converting the house and outbuildings, and making sure we could gather a plentiful daily harvest from our carefully tended Kitchen Garden, as well as planting our first-ever vineyard, before we proudly opened to guests in September 2021.

~ HOTEL & R OOM GU ID E ~ S U S S EX CAL L ING: THINGS TO S EE AND D O ~ THE INS ID E S TOR Y ON S EAS ONAL EATING AND

F EAS TING

o t e m o c l e W

THE PIG - IN THE

SOUTH DOWNS

THE PIG-IN THE SOUTH DOWNS \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

your fo for

l in Usefu

stay

? S TION 0. AQ U E ialling d y HAV E b n io t p ll rece Just ca T ange in G OU the ch N r I o L f L it D IA , wa uired. e dial 9 number req s a le p e, nd side lin code a an out e area h t l ia To call gs F I hen d ﬁ settin Y W Itone, t ur wiNTAR o y E n M o I L lic” COM P IG Pub “THE P t go! c u le o e y away , just s e d t n a a iv t R To ac INNE AND D H C N . ,L U urant K F AS T in the resta imes, B R EA d ening t e v p r o t n a All se r u ing 0. esta by diall t our r u n o io d t n p ce To ﬁ call re please K OU T . CHEC at 11am out is Check S e call , pleas M ENT s T d t A e E h S TR atmen ting full tre ur Pot e o h t in d t atmen can fin – you k a tre room. To boo by dialling 0 IG bed P r u o n y tio in recep menu

Wander through the walled Kitchen Garden... ... past the raised beds and fruit cages, and into our original lean-to Victorian Greenhouse, where you will find our warm, rustic retreats: the two Potting Shed treatment rooms, quiet and calm, and designed to help you escape it all. Take inspiration from the garden surroundings and experience deeply relaxing full-body and facial treatments using products by Tribe517, a family-run natural skincare brand that handcrafts its products in the beautiful South Wales countryside. Like us, Tribe517 is passionate about using homegrown or botanical ingredients that care for the planet as well as mind and body – and is dedicated to recycling and using up everything it can.

PIG PICKS

LOCAL TOP TIPS FROM OUR

Housek eeping S upervisor, K im WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS AREA IN AUTUMN AND WINTER is that you are never too far from the woodlands and wildlife. Watching the colours change and hearing the crunch as you walk is so refreshing. MY FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THIS PIG is the view from over our vineyard, closely followed by the fields where our sheep and pigs live. MY GO-TO DISH ON THE 25 MILE MENU is something warm and hearty. If there is a cottage pie on the menu, the decision has been made! A MUST-VISIT LOCAL PUB is the Six Bells in Lyminster. There are plenty of cosy fireplaces, a great beer garden – and the food is amazing. A LOCAL GEM is Arundel. It’s only a 10-minute drive from the hotel and is full of quirky antique shops and little cafés, and the castle has spectacular grounds, too.

Good to know

WINTER WILDLIFE TO LOOK OUT FOR includes many birds of prey. You can occasionally spot red kites, common buzzards and kestrels in the skies above.

Our therapists have been professionally trained to offer safe and effective spa treatments for guests recovering from or undergoing cancer treatments. Just ask at reception to speak to one of the Potting Shed team if you would like to know more.

BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW that our Alpaca Block wines are so called because, when the grounds here were farmland, the field that is now our vineyard was occupied by alpacas.

D OTTIN • P G

G S

HED

• P

SHED MEETS SPA ING S H TT

S H

• PO

THE PIG - IN THE SOUTH DOWNS \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

Eat, drink and be merry

THE GARDEN ROOM (ABOVE) IS IDEAL FOR PRIVATE GATHERINGS. HEAD CHEF CRAIG L ASHLY (BELOW)

Autumn and winter at THE PIG are all about cosy fun and feasting – and menus bursting with delicious local produce, thanks to our chef and gardening teams THERE’S NOTHING LIKE TUCKING INTO a 25 mile menu looking out over our bucolic vineyards and gardens to ground you in the here and now. But for our team, making sure there’s always something fresh, local and delicious on the table is less about living in the moment than about serious planning. “It’s literally nonstop thinking about the menu,” says Craig Lashly, our Head Chef here at THE PIG-in the South Downs, who spends much of his time pondering how to “make sure your food looks happy and exciting” all year round. Each October, Craig gets together with our Head Kitchen Gardener to decide what they’re going to grow for our patch-to-plate menus for the following year. And even though our West Sussex site boasts an orchard, a nuttery, greenhouses, polytunnels and a vineyard, quite apart from the walled Kitchen Garden, it’s quite the challenge. THE PIG-IN THE SOUTH DOWNS \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

“It’s a menu designed around big, eccentric family dinners, as if you were round at your grandmother’s house” WE LOVE GATHERING EVERYONE AROUND THE TABLE AT OUR HOUSE (FAR LEFT ). THE PIG-IN THE SOUTH DOWNS REALLY COMES INTO ITS OWN AT CHRISTMAS (LEFT )

So what delights can guests expect to see on the menus over the coming months? For a start, there’s a bumper harvest of “upwards of 200 kilos of apples”. Many of which will end up in a classic kitchen crumble – “Who doesn’t love a crumble?” – and any that are too small, “we’ll just slice them very thinly and preserve them in a pickle liquor, and they’ll be used in different salads or on a pork garnish,” Craig says. Nothing goes to waste. Right now, his efforts to “get something up our sleeve for when everything is dark and gloomy” are paying off. One of his tricks is making a different hot sauce each year. “I’ll take one specific pepper and a berry. Last year it was tequila pepper and blackberry; the year before that it was apricot chilli and raspberry. We can make 20 litres and that will go on a wide variety of dishes.” New in the veg patch this season is “a smaller, skinnier variety of parsnip”, which Craig plans to “get into a little starter with some blue cheese and probably the pickled apple”. Game is another highlight of the winter table, and from partridge to pigeon, there’s a lot of it around in these parts – all sourced from our network of fabulous local suppliers. “The venison around here is phenomenal. And we really get our pick” he says. Christmas, of course, is when all this planning really comes into its own (Craig devises these menus in February). Whereas many of us struggle to produce a Christmas lunch for our extended family, Craig is in charge of keeping 160 lunch guests happy. Stressful? “When it’s organised, it’s incredibly straightforward,” he insists. For those who don’t think eating out on Christmas Day can ever come close to homecooking, rest assured. “It’s very much a menu designed around big, eccentric family dinners, as if you were round at your grandmother’s house,” he says. “Everything that anyone might expect to see on the Christmas table, it’s going to be on there. It’s traditional Christmas food done to the absolute best that we can do it.” The turkey, of course, is “reared to incredible standards” by our friendly local farmers and then there’s “the 1100

porchetta or the beef fillet or whatever else … You know, a feast for the eyes as well as the bellies”. Indeed, Christmas at THE PIG is so good, many of the team choose to be here. “It’s the most wonderful time, because everyone is in such good spirits – nine times out of ten, they’ll ask to work Christmas Day,” says Craig, adding, “We typically do a big fancy Christmas morning for the staff.” Of course, the Big Day is just one of many celebrations, large and small, that we host here over the autumn and winter months. There’s New Year – “it’s much more organised, more focused on the small details because of the heightened expectations from … everyone!” – as well as countless work dos, family dinners in the restaurant or private hire parties. “With the exclusive hire events, it’s a case of, ‘We’ll do everything we can to make sure you have what you like,’” says Craig. “We’ve had ones where it was effectively a curry night, and others where they had a five-course meal with canapés and petits fours.” And for those looking for a special spot for their party, there’s plenty of choice, from the atmospheric wine cellar, which seats 14 for an intimate dinner, to the semi-private Garden Room. What does he think makes THE PIG-in the South Downs such a special place for celebrations? “It’s the way you’re greeted from the front door to the moment you leave. It follows this fantastic theme of, ‘you’re the star of the show, this is your meal.’ A lot of opinions are given by the front of house team on what they think and what they’ve tasted – you know, what is coming out of the garden. It’s more than just a plate of food.” And for Craig, seeing guests enjoy the fruits of all the hard work and planning is the best part of the job. “There’s nothing better than when you’re up against it, and someone says, ‘Thank you so much, you’ve done a phenomenal lunch for us. It’s our first year without grandma,’ or something like that. You know, that’s why I cook, it’s that emotional connection to people and food.” For events and parties, ask our friendly team for info or contact gatherings@thepighotel.com

THE PIG - IN THE SOUTH DOWNS \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER HOGWA SH \ SUMMER

GET EXPLORING... F rom the loveliest bik e rides to the best local pubs, w e love to share our local intel. S ee our curated list online and ask at reception for our map of local w alk s.

Q R codes you’ll w ant to scan Go straight to Things to Do on our website

Download a few of our favourite walking routes

INFO & GOINGS ON ~ ESSENTIAL INFO & HOTEL GUIDE ~ KENT CALLING: THINGS TO SEE AND DO ~ THE INSIDE STORY ON LILY’S SOCIAL KITCHEN

We lc o m e t o

THE PIG - AT

IT’S FITTING THAT THE FIRST OWNER of Bridge Place should have been known for the good table, good wines and good company he kept. Bridge Place was built in about 1638 by Sir Arnold Braems, the first manager of Dover Harbour. It was a society attraction – the Dutch painter Willem Schellinks visited in 1661 and reported that Sir Arnold kept a princely table and had many visits from knights and high-born gentlemen and ladies. Second only to Chilham Castle in east Kent, it was painted by society artists Jan Siberechts and Adriaen Jansz. By the early 18th century, the house was falling on hard times and was sold to neighbouring landowners, who pulled down much of the property – the current building is just one wing of the original. Glory days returned in the 1960s, when it became a much-loved music venue. The arched wooden door to the sitting room was once the entrance to a nightclub where Led Zeppelin, The Kinks and The Yardbirds all played early gigs. The rural location meant there were few neighbours to disturb. These days, we also use this idyllic Kentish location to nurture our Kitchen Garden, accessed via a bridge and practically on its own island. Here, you will find productive raised beds brimming with vegetables, our Alitex Mottisfont greenhouse and our polytunnels, which help to nurture tender crops with heating and lighting. Today, the knights and rock stars have departed – or not, depending on who your fellow guests are. But with plenty of lovingly refurbished original features to soak up, a stunning countryside setting and THE PIG’s emphasis on the best local Kentish produce, this remains a special house where the good times always roll.

BRIDGE PLACE THE PIG-AT BRIDGE PL ACE \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

ur stay

for yo eful info

ION ? Q U E S T . HA V E A dialling 0 y b eption c re ll a c Just T hange in N G OU for the c D IA L L I it a w , 9 quired. se dial umber re line, plea n e d id n a ts u e o od To call an e area c n dial th tone, the s Y WI- F I ﬁ setting E N TA R M I L your wiP n o ” c C OM li b PIG Pu ct “THE o! just sele , te ay you g a w v a ti c d an To a E R D D IN N N C HA N U L , t. T S n F A restaura B R E A K d in the g times, All serve nt openin ra u ta s . re r ut ou dialling 0 To ﬁnd o ption by e c re ll a please c OU T C HE C K am. is ut at 11 Check o all M E N TS please c TR E A T g Sheds, in ent tt o tm P a r e e full tr nt in ou e th d tm n a fi e a tr u can To book g 0 – yo room. by diallin n PIG bed o r ti u p o e y in rec u n e m

Wa n d er th r ou g h th e w a lled K i tch en G a r d en ... ... past the raised beds, alongside the river and into our warm, rustic retreats: our Potting Shed treatment rooms, quiet and calm and designed to help you escape it all. Take inspiration from the garden surroundings and experience deeply relaxing full-body and facial treatments using products by Tribe517, a family-run natural skincare brand that handcrafts its products in the beautiful South Wales countryside. Like us, Tribe517 is passionate about using homegrown or botanical ingredients that care for the planet as well as mind and body – and is dedicated to recycling and using up everything it can.

G ood to k n ow Our therapists have been professionally trained to offer safe and effective spa treatments for guests recovering from or undergoing cancer treatments. Just ask at reception to speak to one of the Potting Shed team if you would like to know more.

PIG PICKS

LOCAL TOP TIPS FROM OUR

R ec ep ti oni st, E l eanor WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS AREA IN AUTUMN AND WINTER are the opportunities for walks to country pubs. Nothing beats a crisp afternoon stroll through the fields, followed by a glass of red in front of the fire in a good old English pub. MY FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THIS PIG is all the different floors and levels. Each staircase leads to another room to explore. I have to give a special mention to our lower snug area – it’s the perfect spot for a mulled wine and a board game. MY GO-TO DISH ON THE 25 MILE MENU is the celeriac schnitzel with caper brown butter (with a side of chips and buttered greens, of course). When vegetables taste that good, you know the chef is doing something right. A MUST-VISIT LOCAL PUB is The Bridge Arms. Great food and only a five-minute walk from us. A LOCAL GEM is The Goods Shed in Canterbury. It is an indoor farmers’ market and food hall with lots of independent stalls and its own high-quality restaurant. Great for finding some local goodies. WINTER WILDLIFE TO LOOK OUT FOR is best discovered at Blean Woods National Nature Reserve. I was once lucky enough to spot some bison, which were reintroduced here by Kent Wildlife Trust. There are also otters and beavers to look out for nearby. BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW that a lot of the artwork in our bar and lounges was left by previous owners of the house. Reframed and restored where needed, these pieces give us a glimpse into the building’s history and personality.

SHED MEETS SPA S H E

•P

IN TT

OTTIN

S HE D

• P

G S H

E D

• P O T

THE PIG - AT BRIDGE PL ACE \ HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

Kitchen confident Lily’s Social Kitchen is a collection of Kent cafés training and empowering people with neurodivergent differences – and it is our chosen local charity partner here at THE PIG-at Bridge Place

T WO MEMBERS OF THE TEAM HONE THEIR BARISTA AND FRONT-OF-HOUSE SKILLS

“THE STARTING POINT was to showcase neurodivergent people’s skills and talents at work,” says café founder Zoe Rodda, “and to offer a supportive environment for helping people – especially young people with special educational needs or disabilities, but also adults in social care – to gain experience and skills to transition into the world of work. Since then, we’ve only grown and expanded what we do.” As well as a doing a strong line in hot cups of tea and generous slabs of cake and baguettes, Lily’s Social Kitchen has a distinct point of difference. Founded in 2017 by former social care worker Zoe, the small group of Kent cafés offers valuable training and work opportunities to people with neurodivergent differences, including autism (of which Zoe has extensive professional experience) and learning disabilities. As a community interest company or CIC, the business is focused on maximising social good rather than profit, and receives some government grants and charitable support. Lily’s has expanded since opening its original and largest site, just off

THE PIG-AT BRIDGE PL ACE \ HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

“It’s about creating a space and building a culture where staff are treated with compassion and kindness”

Canterbury High Street, to other café sites, including in Maidstone and Hythe. A new café will be opening in Folkestone’s town centre in late 2026 or early 2027. Lily’s also has a production kitchen in Ashford, where team members can focus on food prep for the goodies that will be delivered to stock the cafés, where staff focus on customers and gaining front-of-house skills. “We’ve focused the back-of-house tasks in one site, where you can learn to bake the cakes and do the food prep and learn food hygiene,” says Zoe. “What that means is that in the cafés, the trainees and staff can really focus on the customer service or barista skills. Some trainees move between those different sites.” Crucially, says Zoe, “Young people can come to us even if they don’t want to work in hospitality; what we do is very much about recognising the transferable skills you learn when you’re in hospitality.” Zoe has seen first hand just how powerful that impact can be. “What we hear from our feedback, and see from our outcome measures, is that [a benefit of training with us is] increased confidence,’” she says. “It’s about giving young people support to transition them out of school and make them feel confident to face the world. We’ve got one young person that’s been with us for a few years now, and his mum has talked about how that increased confidence has spread to every part of his life. He became more competent to cook at home. He started going out independently, going horse riding, going swimming. That’s the stuff that’s really hard to capture.” Training young people in the practical and social skills is at the core of Lily’s Social Kitchen, but that’s not all. “We now offer workshops to help employers, especially in hospitality, to be better informed and more neuro-inclusive,” explains Zoe. “We’ve delivered neurodiversity training as a 10

workshop for several of the PIGs, including the team at THE PIG-at Bridge Place, which focuses on increasing understanding and awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace.” THE PIG’s team in Kent and PIG guests have also supported Lily’s Social Kitchen with some cold hard cash, thanks to optional £1 donations from the 25 mile menu. “That support made a meaningful difference to what we can deliver as an organisation and we hugely appreciate it,” says Zoe. Oh, and as for the name? “Lily was my grandmother’s name, and I started our cafés by working with both my mum and my daughter, so the name of our cafés was a nod to her,” says Zoe. “We wanted an atmosphere I associate with her; like a cosy country kitchen where you feel safe to sit and chat.” Ultimately, says Zoe. “The best examples of neuro-inclusion mean creating a space and building a culture where staff are treated with compassion and kindness, and can bring their best selves to work. I’m trying to model to our trainees what a good workplace is, because they’re vulnerable and potentially open to exploitation, so we want to show them what a good, inclusive organisation does. Whether you’re neurotypical or not, you want to bring your best self to work.” You’re not far from Lily’s Social Kitchen in Canterbury when you stay with us at THE PIG-at Bridge Place. Learn more, including about neurodiversity inclusion training, at lilyscommunity.org

GET EXPLORING... F rom the l ov el i est b i k e ri d es to the b est l oc al p u b s, w e l ov e to share ou r l oc al i ntel . S ee ou r c u rated l i st onl i ne and ask at rec ep ti on for ou r m ap of l oc al w al k s.

Q R c od es y ou ’l l w ant to sc an Go straight to Things to Do on our website

CANTERBURY, THE SITE OF LILY’S FIRST CAFE (ABOVE). TRAINEES CAN GET TO GRIPS WITH PATISSERIE SKILLS (ABOVE RIGHT )

THE PIG - AT BRIDGE PL ACE \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

Download one of our favourite walking routes

ST ORIES FRO M 1 5 YEA RS O F T HE P IG

MAGIC NUMBERS: TABLE FL AGS HAVE BEEN A HALLMARK OF OUTDOOR DINING AT THE PIG-ON THE BEACH SINCE IT OPENED

Flying the flag The quirky handmade flags that mark your table at THE PIG-on the beach are handmade with care, repurposing fabrics from across all of our PIG hotels in loving, sustainable style WHEN THE PIG-ON THE BEACH OPENED back in 2014, it was an instant hit. Such a hit, in fact, that there were always more people trying to get a table for lunch than there were spaces. Hardly surprising – there are few lovelier ways to while away an afternoon than gazing out at Old Harry Rocks from the hotel’s sunny lawn. The wood-fired pizzas from the Garden Oven were especially popular, so we hit upon the idea of letting people bring a picnic rug and be served on the grass if all the tables were full. As Beach, as everyone calls our gingerbread house perched above Studland Bay, is all about old-fashioned English charm, our original interior design queen, Judy Hutson, came up with the idea of beach-inspired numbered flags, and the system instantly became part of the hotel’s relaxed, seaside vibe. A decade (and many thousands of pizzas) later, those original, hastily made flags were looking a little the worse for wear, so Darryl Harris, one of the team at THE PIG-at Bridge Place, came up with an inspired plan to update them. “I’ve worked for THE PIG for 13 years,” he explains, “and I was working with Judy, before she retired, as part of the interiors team, so I got a peek behind the curtain and saw her process – the thousand details that make THE PIG what it is,” he says. He decided that, with another busy summer approaching, the flags needed a reboot. Darryl’s idea was to re-use remnants of fabrics used in PIG interiors to make the new flags. “It might seem like a small detail,” he says, “but to me it tells a story about what THE PIG’s all about.” To kick off, he tracked down as many old broom handles as he could. Next, “I spent the day going through the fabric store at our New Forest HQ – an Aladdin’s cave of PIG! I piled it all into my car and drove back to Bridge.”

Darryl remembered that Siahn, the partner of THE PIG-at Bridge Place’s Restaurant Manager, Liam, was a very good seamstress. He got in touch and, although the job needed turning around in just two weeks, Siahn was delighted to help. “I love projects like this,” she says. “I was so excited, I stayed up the first night till 12, working out the pattern and the best way of doing it.” Taught to hand-stitch by her stepmother, Siahn has always loved sewing and now, alongside her day job working for a dancewear company, she often does her own craft projects. “I gave Siahn some little rectangles of fabric that were used in the very first hotel and at THE PIG-in-the-wall,” says Darryl. “Then there were fabrics from our newest hotel in the Cotswolds and the new bedrooms at Bath. A particular favourite is one we used in the bedrooms in the New Forest – Judy chose it because she thought the bird looked cheeky!” Just ten days later the flags were ready to collect – all 35 of them. In a gorgeous array of PIG fabrics, with the numbers hand-stencilled on by Darryl, and stiffened with lollipop sticks inside so they would stand proud, the flags were delivered to THE PIG-on the beach and immediately put to use. “Guests love them,” says Darryl. “A few people have even asked if they could buy them, or recognised a fabric from a bedroom they’ve stayed in. If you lay all 35 on the floor, you can walk through the story of THE PIG chronologically.” Darryl would love to work with Siahn again. “She’s so talented. And I love the fact it was a way of keeping it in the family. We could have got one of our fabric suppliers to make them, but why wouldn’t I go to the Restaurant Manager’s partner? That’s the PIG way!” Look out for our flags when you sit down to eat with us at THE PIG-on the beach

“It tells a story about what THE PIG is all about”

HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

•

C OC K T A

TA IL C K S

• C O C K

F O OD & DR INK

Brock eggs TA

• C

IL S

In a P i c k l e Serves 1 · 40ml Sapling Gin · 20ml Cocchi Extra Dry Vermouth · 15ml cucumber juice (this

the skin) or simply muddle a couple of 1cm-thick discs of fresh cucumber in the cocktail shaker, and double-strain to remove the skin at the end.

lasts 2 days in the fridge – add a little citric acid to extend the life to 4 days) · 5ml pickle brine (juice from shop-bought pickles works) · 2 drops dill oil (recipe below. Alternatively, infuse

For the dill oil, blitz a good handful of fresh dill with extra virgin olive oil in a blender (add in a little spinach if you want this extra green) and strain through a coffee filter.

some of the vermouth with a little dill for 2 days beforehand)

This is our homegrown spin on a classic martini – nice and savoury with great flavour pairings and freshness! To make the cucumber juice, either put a cucumber through a juicer (which will remove

Then place all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake hard and finely strain to serve straight up in a chilled Nick and Nora cocktail glass or a classic martini glass. Garnish with a cucumber ribbon. Learn how to rustle up even more of our simple PIG classics by watching our YouTube series PIG Tales – visit youtube.com/ @ThePigHotel/videos

Makes 12 For the ham hock

For the breadcrumb coating

• 1 ham hock

• 100g ﬂour

• 4 pig cheeks

• 2 eggs, whisked

• ½ onion, ½ leek, ½ carrot,

• 100g breadcrumbs

and ½ stick celery, chopped • 1 bay leaf • 1 thyme sprig • ½ teaspoon black peppercorns • a good pinch chopped parsley • salt and pepper

For the Brock eggs

• a sprinkle of celery salt

For the mustard dressing • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar • 1 tablespoon Colman’s mustard • 250ml rapeseed oil • salt and pepper

• 12 quail eggs • salt

Put the ham hock and pig cheeks in a large pan with the veg, herbs and peppercorns, and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil then turn down to simmer on a medium heat for 2½ hours or until the meat falls off the bone. Remove from the heat and leave the ham to cool in the cooking liquor for about 30 minutes – until it is cool enough to touch. Drain and discard the veg. You can keep the stock to use in other dishes, for instance to enhance a soup or sauce.

What to drink with this dish…

While the meat is cooking, place the quail eggs in a pan of boiling salted water and cook for 2½ minutes. Then place them in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. When they’ve cooled, peel off the shells, taking care not to split them open.

Our PIG Group Beverage Director, Luke Harbor, recommends three perfect pairings for these tasty bites

Once the ham has cooled enough to touch, pick off the meat and shred it by hand into a large bowl (don’t eat it all now!). Add the chopped parsley and season to taste.

P i not N ero B ressan, 2 0 2 1

Divide the meat into 12 pieces, then spread out each piece into a thin circular shape, about the size of a saucer, on your work surface. Very gently wrap the quail eggs in the meat, being extra careful not to squeeze them.

Earthy, savoury and a little bit wild – just the thing for ham hock, pig cheek and crispy crumbs. This is a red with enough freshness to keep these Brock eggs properly moreish.

P anorá m i c o “ O” B l anc o R i oj a, 2 0 1 4

These are everyone’s favourite. They were on our first menu 15 years ago – and we still get through thousands each month! Back when we were coming up with the idea of little nibbles to eat with a drink – which we now call piggy bits – we had a crack at making the ultimate Scotch egg. We do a punchy Colman’s dressing to go with them, as there’s nothing better than a Scotch egg with mustard.

Leave to set on a tray in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Golden, textured and nutty, this white rioja loves the richness of the meat and the punch of mustard. A unique wine for one of our legendary little dishes.

Now for the breadcrumb coating. Roll each ball in flour then dunk it in the whisked egg, roll in the breadcrumbs and deep fry. If you want, you can also colour them in a non-stick pan and flash through the oven, if needed.

C hap el D ow n “ K i t’s C oty ” B l anc d e B l anc s, K ent 2 0 1 4

When they’re crispy, season with celery salt and serve with the mustard dressing.

An extremely special English fizz from a historic Kent vineyard. Bright, chalky and toasty, you’d be forgiven for thinking it had come from our neighbours over in the Côte des Blancs.

To make the dressing, put the vinegar and mustard in a food processor and, while mixing slowly, add the oil until it starts to thicken. Season with salt and pepper and put a nice big dollop under the Brock eggs.

HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

E THO S

OUR

PIG

PEOPLE ARE THE FUTURE OF

C A R IN G A N D C ON S I D E R E D HOS P I TA L I T Y AT HEART, THE PIGs are restaurants with rooms where everything starts with the Kitchen Garden. Our gardeners and chefs work hand in hand to create menus brimful of the freshest seasonal flavours. What we can’t grow ourselves, we source from our local heroes – the best farmers, fishermen and foragers we know, who are the foundation of our 25 mile menu. We are obsessive recyclers and restorers: from vintage fabrics and china to DIY on-site smokeries and upcycled chicken sheds, we love anything homemade and ultra-local. Each of our PIGs is totally different – we always go with the grain of the place, taking our lead from the spirit of the building to create somewhere that feels lived in and well loved. The bedrooms are pretty comfy, too! Rooted in some of the most stunning parts of the English countryside, the places that we are lucky enough to call home are pretty special – with endless things to do and see, tight-knit communities and loads of talent all around. It’s important to us to play a positive role, whether it’s providing employment, sourcing local ingredients, forging links with nearby schools and charities, or simply being the go-to place for our neighbours to celebrate their special moments. It’s a privilege to work so collaboratively with all of these local heroes that we count as friends and to play our part in these strong, supportive local communities. Our PIG people are what really make us tick. We believe that our team of almost 1,000 talented professionals working across the hotels – chefs, kitchen gardeners, waiters, sommeliers, bar staff, housekeepers and everyone behind the scenes – is helping to shape the future of caring and considered hospitality. From the newest apprentice to the most experienced manager, they are what make THE PIGs a happy place to be and the reason our guests enjoy their time with us. We couldn’t be more proud of them – and you couldn’t be more welcome here! 14

HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER

THE PIG IN In 2 0 2 6 , w e p rou d l y m ai ntai ned ou r three- star F ood M ad e G ood rati ng from The S u stai nab l e R estau rant A ssoc i ati on

5,000 The nu m b er of trees ( to d ate) that w e hav e p l anted b y w ork i ng w i th ou r g rou p sp i ri t p artner, S ap l i ng

S · NE

· NE

Together against hunger

NUMBERS

300, 000 Ov er

Here at THE PIGs, we are long-standing supporters (14 years and counting!) of Action Against Hunger – a global humanitarian organisation dedicated to ending world hunger. One of the ways that we at THE PIGs offer our support is by getting behind the charity’s annual Restaurants Against Hunger campaign. Every September and October, we add a voluntary £1 donation to all restaurant bills, offering our guests a simple and accessible way to make a meaningful difference. For the 2025 campaign alone, our guests’ generosity helped raise £25,506, contributing to the charity’s vital work in preventing hunger and malnutrition. So, when you head down to one of our cosy restaurants this autumn, as well as enjoying some wholesome and hearty homegrown dishes from our kitchen, you can also help to make a positive impact as a force for good.

seed l i ng s p rod u c ed at ou r C entral N u rsery i n 2 0 2 5

1 7 0 ,7 6 2

THE P IG s’ l i feti m e c ontri b u ti on i n £ to ou r g rou p c hari ty p artners, A c ti on A g ai nst Hu ng er HOGWASH \ AUTUMN / WINTER

THE PIG-at Harlyn Bay

THE PIG-at Combe

THE PIG-on the farm

THE PIG-in the Cotswolds

THE PIG-near Bath

THE PIG-in the wall

THE PIG-in the South Downs

Designed and edited by Uncommonly, 30 - 32 Tabard Street, London SE1 4JU (uncommonly.co.uk). Printed in East Sussex by Pureprint, a CarbonNeutral ® Company. The paper is carbon balanced with the World Land Trust, an international conservation charity. With special thanks to all of our partners and those in THE PIG team that have contributed to this issue.

THE PIG in the New Forest

THE PIG-on the beach

nd out more here

THE PIG-at Bridge Place

OVER AND OUT

HOGWA SH \ AUTUMN/ WINTER