David and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary on Friday 10 August 2012.
We wanted to do something special to mark the ocassion but we hadn't been particularly organised about arranging anything.
The day before our anniversary, David had popped over to Nampont in France to play golf with his best friend Jon. Meanwhile I hit google to try and find some inspiration for a romantic night away.
It was obviously difficult to find anywhere that either still had availability or was willing to allow us to stay for only the one evening but I eventually stumbled accross a rather unique sounding place on the Isle of Wight.
Anyway we were in luck as they had availability due to the fact the whole place was booked out from the Saturday for a wedding.
On Friday morning, David and I drove down to Southampton to catch the red funnell ferry, all helpfully arranged by Maggie and Ric. It was a beautiful day so we enjoyed the trip over to the Island and sat on deck drink pear cider and enjoying the breeze. Going accross to the Isle of Wight made it feel like a little holiday and I was pleased we had made the decision to go there.
We had a short thirty minute drive accross the island to the place where we were staying.
It is called the Enchanted Manor and is run by a couple called Maggie and Ric. They have taken the inspiration for their Five Star Bed and Breakfast from the artist Josephine Wall who creates the most colourful and intricate fantasy and fairy paintings. The rooms are all really beautiful and tastefully decorated with four poster beds and lovely furniture and thoughtful touches.
As we came in the large drive way we could see the Unicorn statue and a little group of fairy houses which later on in the evening really came to life when they were all lit up.
Ric opened the door and greeted us by our names which I thought was a lovely personal touch.
The reception area was very nicely decorated and off to the left is the Billiard Room which is decorated in the style of a gentlemans' club with a large snooker table, books and DVDs which guests can borrow.
Through the Games room is the delightful conservatory where guests would usually eat breakfast. As we had the place to ourselves, we were treated to breakfast delivered in our room.
The Manor itself is set in a little woodland area with beautiful pagoda's in the garden where you can relax with a drink and unwind.
The garden is full of hidden surprises and secluded seating areas.
There is a little woodland trail with hidden statues and garden ornaments of fairies and woodland creatures.
There is also a hot-tub in the garden where you can unwind at your leisure.
In the evening Ric and Maggie leave food outside so that guests can watch the badgers and foxes come out to eat.
Our room was the Atalantis Suite. I could tell it would be a nice room when Ric carried my case upstairs and opened the door to our room. The corridor was nearly the size of some rooms I have stayed in before.
The bathroom was off to the left, very tastefully decorated with a wonderful roll top bath.The bedroom was huge and beautifully and comfortably decorated.
We had brought some champagne with us so we popped that into the fridge to cool. Then we made ourselves a drink and went out to the Pagoda's to read for a while.
Later we took a walk over to the nearby lighthouse and sat on the cliff top together enjoying the change to have sometime alone.
There is a lovely Olde Worlde pub literally just around the corner from the pub with live folk music playing. We went there for our dinner. There was a good selection of reasonably priced food to choose from and we had a delicious meal.
After dinner we headed back to the manor and popped outside to try the hot tub before turning in for the evening. Maggie invited us to join them and some friends for a game but we were quite tired and knew we had to be up early to get home.
We had a final glass of champagne and a slice of cake before finally turning in. The bed was very comfortable and we had a good night's sleep.
Ric delivered our Cooked breakfast the next morning. We had bacon, a sausage burger in the shape of a heart, a heart shaped bowl of baked beans (it was almost as if they knew I had a penchant for hearts!) sauted potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes and fried egg with chunky cut toast and organge juice. All cooked to perfection.
We said our good byes and thanked Ric and Maggie for having looked after us so well and for making our anniversary so special and memorable. We would definitely recommend the Enchanted Manor to other couples wanting a different type of romantic break away.
We had another glorious day for our trip home which made us sad that we couldn't stay longer. Somehow David managed to get lost on the way to the Ferry port. We could see our ferry but it was accross the water in East Cowes. Fortunately we were able to get on a chain ferry to get to it. We were a little anxious though as we could see all the cars embarking as we were still on the wrong side!
We were over on the chain ferry really quickly though and soon we were driving up the ramp onto the ferry ourselves. We went up on deck and sat at the back of the ferry so we would have a good view of the Isle of Wight as we returned to Southampton. The sun was beating down and we watched all the sailing boats heading out of harbour for the day. It was a beauitful and breathtaking sight. We drank it all in trying to savour every moment.
What a wonderful anniversary. Goodness knows how we will ever top it for the next special occasion!!
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