A Balanced Belly Travels: Gluten Free Foodie Break in the Countryside

Today is the fourth post in my A Balanced Belly travels. I previously blogged about my trip to Jesmond in which we enjoyed a lovely hotel stay and trip to the beach!. We then moved on to OxPasture hall, a dog friendly hotel in Yorkshire, for a seriously luxurious free-from foodie break in the heart of the Countryside.

The Hotel

The hotel is situated around 2 miles outside of Scarborough; one of the most popular seaside towns in the UK and close to the North Yorkshire moors. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to explore it as the weather wasn’t the best during our visit! (It actually brightened up on the day we left: typical!). It also has some lovely traditional villages in driving distance- it was a really lovely drive through these on our way (and we were very tempted to stop at the country pubs for a drink too!)

Luckily, we didn’t need to go far since the grounds of the hotel were more than ample for our dogs to explore. It was truly in the heart of the countryside!

So we spent the day exploring the grounds with our two poodles (who were very happy at having so much space to stretch their legs after a long car ride) It is really remote which is so perfect if you want to get away from things. It does mean you are pretty much restricted to the hotel for dining- but luckily the food was amazing and as always I brought my favourite gluten free travel snacks just in case. The only downside to being so remote is there was no phone signal but luckily the perfect WIFI was great.

The Room

We stopped in a suite and were blown away at how beautiful it was (and how they welcomed dogs into it too) This seemed to be a theme of trip; since dogs were allowed everywhere except the main restaurant.

Our amazing bath that was the perfect place to spend an hour (or five) pampering.

The bed was truly massive (the picture doesn’t do it justice!) and was one of the best night sleep we had ever had.

Overall, the suite was the perfect base for a romantic night away in the countryside- it was spacious, equipped with a stunning bathroom and king size bed. We felt truly in the countryside with views of fields outside our window! The only (very slight) downside is that the bed was right by the front window and so people were often walking past (there was a wedding on). This didn’t bother us but my blind dog is really sensitive to sound so it did unsettle her a bit at first.

The Food

Let’s get on to my favourite part: exploring the gluten free food available. We dined in the hotel’s main restaurant…

And indulged in a whole range of dishes. You don’t tend to think of fine dining being compatible with gluten and dairy free- since dishes are often rich and creamy but it was so nice to explore different dishes (rather than just have the odd one or two to pick from) and be a bit more adventurous than the usual high street chains (no gluten free pasta in sight!)

As you can see, not the average free-from dining. I tucked into…

Smoked salmon and parsnip starter (also served with fresh gluten, dairy free bread and beef dripping)
Fish with potatoes and some of my husbands amazing Wagyu beef.
Strawberry Desert- a refreshing combination of meringue, fresh fruit and sorbet.

The chef was able to customise dishes to our taste and my requirements; in fact he said he even relished the challenge at creating something different for those with allergies and intolerances. So if you have multiple dietary requirements and want something totally different for an evening- I’d really recommend it! It even got my husband and I thinking about how we could be a bit more adventurous in the kitchen back at home!

We were also treated to a great range of free-from choices for breakfast too.

I was offered two types of gluten free bread with smoked salmon. There was plenty of other choices and soya milk was also provided…

Overall, we had a fantastic countryside retreat. If you’re looking for a foodie countryside hotel that will get you experimenting with amazing gluten and dairy food then this is the place for you!