hop harvest, apple pressing and the Garden of England at its most generous
Autumn in the Garden of England
This is Kent's season - and it shows
If summer is when Kent looks its prettiest, autumn is when it delivers. The hop harvest is in - and with it comes Kent Green Hop Beer season, a fleeting few weeks from late September when local brewers make beer with fresh-picked hops rather than dried, found nowhere else and gone by November. The orchards are heavy with apples, the presses are running, and the vineyards of the Wine Garden of England are bringing in their harvest.
At our house, the fires get lit, the Kitchen Garden turns out its autumn best and the whole place settles into the season like it was built for it. Which, being a 1638 manor house, it rather was.
Step outside
and into harvest country
The countryside around Bridge is at its most generous in autumn. Wander through hop gardens and orchards, visit a local press, or head to one of the nearby vineyards for a harvest-season tasting.
Simpsons Wine Estate in the Elham Valley, just down the road in Barham, is worth the trip alone, having brought French winemaking expertise back to the chalk slopes of Kent. Smaller and further afield, Barnsole near Sandwich offers free tastings and a proper look at how English wine gets made.
Autumn on the plate
The 25 Mile Menu leans into everything that is best right now - orchard fruit, roots and squashes from the Kitchen Garden and game coming into season.
Autumn here is best enjoyed in two parts.
Half the day out in it - boots on, cheeks pink, making the most of the golden light and the turning leaves.
Then spend the other half by making your way slowly indoors, where the fires are lit and nobody's in a rush to move you along.
Fires, snugs and a house full of stories
Bridge Place was made for autumn evenings - wood panelling, log fires and enough history in the walls to fill a long night's conversation. Claim a corner of the bar, order something local and settle in.
Unwind in the Potting Sheds
Tucked among the gardens, our treatment rooms are the warm heart of a cold-weather stay. A massage or facial after a day in harvest country - it's the right order of things.
