Month: August 2025

Next week is Afternoon Tea Week (August 11^th-17^th) – and thanks to a Stratford hotel, the whole family can get involved in the paw-fect sweet celebrations – all year round!

The Stratford Park Hotel & Golf Club team ensure guests’ beloved pampered pooches don’t have to miss out when it comes to the family treat – and are catered for with a Doggy Afternoon Tea, comprising their very own doggy cupcake and doggy chino!

Doggy afternoon teas have been running at the hotel since 2022 and, at just £10, are proving very popular.

Beverley Haynes, hotel owner, said: “We noticed a huge increase in guests wanting to stay with their dogs for overnight stays. So we decided to offer these to attract locals to visit the hotel who wouldn’t necessarily come for an overnight stay.

“We have plenty of space which means dog owners don’t have to share an afternoon tea experience with non-dog owners, so the experience is nice and relaxed for both types of visitors.”

Afternoon tea originated in England in the mid-1840s, introduced by Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford. She felt a gap between lunch and the late evening meal and started having a light meal with tea and snacks in the afternoon, a custom she then shared with friends.

This social gathering quickly became fashionable among the upper classes but, as tea became more affordable, the custom spread to the middle classes in Britain and America.

The Afternoon Teas are served at Stratford Park Hotel & Golf Club Thursday – Sunday between midday and 5pm. Advanced booking is required. Gluten- and Dairy-Free Afternoon Tea is also available and alcoholic drinks can be purchase separately.

Advance booking is required. Visit: https://thestratfordpark.co.uk/afternoon-tea/

About the hotel

The Stratford Park Hotel & Golf Club is the perfect retreat from the stresses and strains of life – a haven of tranquillity located within the picturesque countryside of Shakespeare’s Stratford-Upon-Avon and on the doorstep to Warwick Castle, and a wealth of National Trust Properties.

Inside this elegant 14^th-Century farmhouse, set in over 130 acres of rolling countryside, you’ll find an oasis of calm, comfort and warmth where you can unwind and relax whilst enjoying the highest standards of hospitality, comfort and service.

Whether relaxing in front of one of the many open fires in the comfortable lounges or dining rooms, or strolling in the scenic surroundings, you’ll be struck by the feeling that you have been welcomed into someone’s home.

More than just a business, The Stratford Park Hotel & Golf Club is a testament to a family team with a vision for growth, longevity and excellence.
Established in 1992, it is the only family-owned hotel and golf course in Stratford-upon-Avon and has grown into a respected destination.

From the fairways of the 18-hole golf course to the warm welcome in the 32-bedroom boutique hotel, every aspect of The Stratford Park reflects a dedication to quality, improvement, and community.

Beverley Haynes and her team take pride in their ‘nothing is off the peg’ approach, ensuring that guests, members and residents always feel at home.

Their success is built on hard work, trust, resilience, and adaptability – key qualities that have allowed them to navigate challenges.

Whether through first-class golf facilities, elegant event spaces, or customer service, Stratford Park Hotel & Golf Course remains committed to delivering an unforgettable experience to all who walk through its doors.

Dining and Events

Visitors are welcome to enjoy an evening meal, Sunday Lunch or Afternoon Tea, served in the hotel’s Conservatory Bar or No.19 Restaurant or, weather permitting, al fresco on the patio overlooking the beautiful Warwickshire countryside. They can also be booked for private dinners.

The adjacent Meadow Barn events venue is popular for bespoke weddings, surrounded by a private arrival courtyard with fountain and terrace seating.

The Elizabethan Suite can comfortably seat up to 120 guests for a delicious meal by our resident Head Chef. It’s perfect for any occasion such as a wedding or any celebration.

Golf Course

The stunning 18-hole par 72 championship golf course has UGSA-specification greens and has been designed to test all standards. The par 3 17^th signature hole deserves special mention, reached at 203 yards over water to an island green.

Members and visitors welcomed every day.

An entrepreneur is celebrating his gin distillery achieving the Traveller’s Choice Award, putting his business in the top 10% in the world on Trip Advisor – for the third year in a row.

Warwickshire Gin Company’s tasting experiences have also achieved the coveted top spot locally, being named as the most popular thing to do in Leamington Spa based on more than 150 reviews from visitors.

Founder David Blick who established the distillery at Victoria Business Centre in 2018, said: “Visitor numbers sky-rocketed last year to over 3,700 from 2,100 in 2023, we have already seen very strong bookings for 2025 and had to add more experience capacity to satisfy demand. In 2025 we are expecting again over 3,000 visitors from all around the world to our small craft distillery.”

He added: “I didn’t know the first thing about making gin when the idea to start a distillery first came to me whilst on holiday in Tenby. I got talking to the owner of Tenby Gin who has a shop there and asked him how he made it. He told me he used a third-party distiller – and that’s when the penny dropped. We had a steep learning curve but learned from a multi-award-winning distiller.”

Fast forward seven years and David boasts a clutch of awards for his own gin and rum collection, born from ‘a desire to capture a moment in history, developing flavours to fully represent the county’s own unique story and bringing the range of hand-crafted flavours to life.’

These include Leamington on Parade, inspired by the true story of circus elephant trainer Sam Lockhart in the 1880s; The Kingmaker – named after Richard Neville 16^th Earl of Warwick and Peeping Tom – inspired by the legend of Coventry’s Lady Godiva.

David said: “I’m over the moon that all the hard work my team have put into our various experiences has paid off. We now have many customers visiting Warwickshire and Leamington in particular who can see the reviews and book up ahead of their visit, confident they will have a great time.”

Gin Tasting Experiences now take place on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Afternoon G&Tea on Saturdays and Sundays and Cocktails at the Distillery on Friday & Saturday nights.

He added: “Being in the Old Town area of Leamington is a handy short walk from the train station and also close to all the great bars and restaurants the town has to offer. Many decide to stay overnight or make a weekend of it.”

Gift vouchers for the experiences are also available.

Visit HERE.

A vital outreach service helping to tackle poverty in Coventry faces an uncertain future unless more urgent funding can be secured.

The Pathfinder Project, funded by The Trussell Trust since the pandemic, has proved a lifeline to thousands of foodbank users in the city.

The service, based at Coventry Foodbank‘s headquarters in Binley, works with partners to offers practical and financial support, and has gone on to make a huge impact on reducing the number of local foodbank users from 30,000 to 21,000 a year.

But its loss would also be felt acutely by the man in charge – because the foodbank marked a turning point in his own life.

Project Manager Hugh McNeill sought the help of the charity after being left penniless following the collapse of his restaurant business in 2013.

He said: “My wife had a background in catering and we thought it would be great. Only pretty quickly it turned into a nightmare. It was just like a money pit and we lost everything and ended up in huge debt.

“For me the foodbank is a very personal thing because when I needed it, it was there, and I had the opportunity to transform my life. I thought I was going to open a restaurant and get paid money for giving people food, and now I’m in a situation where I am getting paid, and I’m giving people food, but it’s for free!”

Since then Hugh has been instrumental in building what has become the hugely successful outreach project, working closely with more than 50 local and national referral partners, including in the fields of housing, law, financial services, social care, homelessness, immigration, mental health and an increasingly greater focus on employability. The team are also able to donate essential equipment such as white goods, beds and, in the winter, electric blankets and radiators as well as laptops and mobile phones.

Hugh said: “When we did our research we found that seven out of 10 people coming to the foodbank weren’t getting any further help. So we introduced ways of collecting data from every client. From that data we were able to signpost people to the right practical and financial support they needed.

“We are able to offer each person tailored support so they can make more informed choices until they are self-sustainable. This can be anything from a couple of weeks to several months.”

The drive to secure a future for Pathfinder also comes in the wake of latest statistics which show that emergency food provision is two and a half times the level seen a decade ago. And, last year, foodbank donations dropped off 40% against an increased demand of 13%.

No wonder then that Hugh is proud of the role he has played in generating a whopping £1.4m million in financial gain for those who received Pathfinder’s help since its launch.

He said: “The realisation is that, in the 13 years I’ve been with the foodbank, things aren’t getting better. The problem is, the demand is bigger than we can actually meet. But we are making a difference. For every pound we are given we probably deliver ten pounds back.

“All the good work that we’ve done in turning things around will be wasted. And I think that’s a crying shame. The problem is that charities are all chasing the same pot of money, and unless you’ve got a new project, it’s very hard to get that support. But you can’t run a project with volunteers alone!

He added: “My life was transformed through food bank and that’s why I try and give back as much as I can. But going forward, without the funding, we can only do so much. Pathfinder is now being run very much on a shoestring but thankfully we’ve still got our volunteers, whom we couldn’t do without.

“What we really need is a corporate sponsor or sponsors to step in and offer us a lifeline, enabling us to build on all the good work we’ve achieved for the last four years.”

To enquire about funding or how else you can help contact Hugh at: hugh@feedthehungry.org.uk

Find out how Pathfinder is making a real difference to people here.