On what appears to be the hottest day of the year so far what better way to ‘keep cool’ than have lunch out somewhere with a beer garden!  Having just parked up to meet Ian at our Cirencester office he suggested we make a short drive down the road to the picturesque village of Ampney Crucis and have a bite to eat at The Crown of Crucis hotel.

This contemporary and stylish country inn and hotel is in a lovely setting with picturesque beer garden sitting next to the Ampney Brook, a tributary of the River Thames which flows through the village.

Fortunately as we arrived just after 12.00pm we were still able to bag a table in the riverside garden under one of the large shades and sit down with a cool drink to peruse the menu.  The bar menu had a very varied and substantial choice but due to the heat we both opted for something a little smaller from the lunch menu.  I chose avocado, rocket, tomato and hummus on a stone baked sourdough roll and Ian ordered cumberland sausage with caramelised onion served with sourdough roll, both of which came with fries and salad garnish.

The food arrived quickly and we both thoroughly enjoyed our choices.  The only downside to coming here is it’s far too relaxing!  How hard it was to depart and go back to work leaving behind the view, the refreshments and the sunshine not to mention being sorely tempted to sit on the edge of the wooden bridge and dangle my feet in the water, oh well maybe next time.