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Breakfast at nine, in the back garden.

Three courses. One long pine table. Fresh eggs, warm bread, three jams, and the day's hot dish — different every morning. We will bring a tray to your room if you'd rather, but most guests come down.

Breakfast at the long table
Served 9 a.m.
The seven-day rotation

Margaret keeps a seven-day plate.

Each morning has a hot dish that runs on a weekly rota — so a guest staying three nights gets three different breakfasts, never the same plate twice. Below is the standard summer rotation; winter swaps in heartier hashes and porridges.

DayHot dishDescriptionPairing
Monday Buttermilk hotcakes Stack of three with blackberry compote and a rasher of Tennessee bacon. The garden-blackberry version runs July through September. WithFresh-squeezed orange & ginger
Tuesday Soft eggs & chives Two soft-scrambled eggs from the back-garden hens, fresh chives, dark rye toast, and a small garden tomato salad in summer. WithPot of Earl Grey or Assam
Wednesday Goat-cheese omelette A fold-over omelette with goat cheese from the dairy at Marshfield, and a summer-squash hash. Sliced peach in season. WithSingle-origin pour-over
Thursday Cherry brioche & lemon curd Soft brioche from the bakery on Fenley Street, baked into a custard with cherries and house lemon curd. Yogurt, honey on the side. WithDark cocoa, French press
Friday Trout cakes & watercress Pan-seared trout cakes from the river, peppery watercress, and hen-of-the-woods on dark sourdough toast. The Friday breakfast our regulars come back for. WithBloody Mary, no charge, on request
Saturday Cottage full breakfast Eggs, bacon, sausage, mushroom, grilled tomato, beans, fried bread. Served family-style, second helpings expected. WithHouse-blend coffee
Sunday Sweet rolls & yogurt A slow-paced Sunday: warm cardamom rolls from the village bakery, soft yogurt with last week's compote, and a basket of fruit. Linger as long as you like. WithMimosa, on request
Three sample mornings

What a breakfast actually looks like at the table.

Three full breakfasts as written into the kitchen book — one each from spring, summer, and the dark side of autumn. Coffee and a tea trolley sit on the sideboard from 7 a.m. for early risers.

Spring · April

An April Tuesday.

Served 9 a.m. — for six guests
  • To startSoft yogurt with rhubarb compoteHouse yogurt, oven-stewed rhubarb from the garden.
  • The hot dishSoft eggs & chives, dark ryeTwo soft-scrambled eggs, garden chives, sourdough rye toast.
  • To finishPot of Earl Grey, lemon shortbreadLoose-leaf, refilled. Two house shortbreads each.
Summer · July

A July Saturday.

Served 9 a.m. — for ten guests
  • To startSliced peach, mint, cracked pepperFrom the orchard up Linden Lane, picked the day before.
  • The hot dishThe cottage full breakfastEggs, bacon, sausage, mushroom, grilled tomato, beans, fried bread.
  • To finishIced coffee, blackberry sorbetFrom the new-this-year ice machine. Sorbet from the bakery freezer.
Autumn · October

An October Wednesday.

Served 9 a.m. — for four guests
  • To startApple, cinnamon, walnut porridgeSteel-cut, slow oven, served with cream and brown sugar.
  • The hot dishGoat-cheese omelette, autumn squash hashMarshfield goat cheese, kabocha & sage hash on the side.
  • To finishFrench-press cocoa, ginger biscuitDark cocoa from the Charleston roaster, two biscuits each.
Tell us when you book

Dietary needs, cheerfully accommodated.

We cook for one table of guests every day, so we have time to make the kind of substitutions a hotel kitchen often cannot. Note your needs in the booking form — Margaret writes them in the kitchen book before service.

What we can do without notice is rare. What we can do with twenty-four hours' notice is almost everything.

VegetarianAvailable every morning. The hot dish substitutes a mushroom-and-greens or tomato-and-feta plate.
VeganYes, with notice. Plant yogurt, oat porridge, plant butter, sourdough, fruit, no-egg pancakes Mondays.
Gluten-freeHouse gluten-free bread on request. Hotcakes Mondays go to a buckwheat batter.
Dairy-freePlant butter and oat milk on the sideboard. Goat-cheese omelette swaps to garden-vegetable.
Nut-freeDefault. Walnuts only appear in the autumn porridge — we can leave them off.
OtherHalal, kosher-style, low-FODMAP, allergies of all kinds — please tell us, with as much notice as you can.
Where it all comes from

Six suppliers, most within twelve miles.

The cottage doesn't have a delivery contract with a wholesaler. Margaret drives the village circuit twice a week and buys from these six places — they make breakfast what it is.

Hens

The back garden

0.0 mi · four hens

Buttercup, Daisy, Speckle & Hen — the only suppliers who'll let us pet them in the morning. They lay six to eight eggs a day in season.

Bakery

Fenley Street Bakery

0.4 mi · Fenley St.

Sourdough, brioche, cardamom rolls. Frances bakes from 4 a.m., delivers warm at 6.30 a.m., six days a week.

Farm

Marshfield Dairy

7.1 mi · Marshfield Rd.

Cow's and goat's milk yogurt, butter, cream, soft fresh goat cheese. Family farm, four generations.

Coffee

Halfmoon Roasters, Charleston

11.4 mi · King St.

The Azalea breakfast blend — a custom roast they cup with us each spring. Two days a week, fresh.

Butcher

Wilson & Son, Butcher

0.8 mi · Mill Hill

Bacon, sausage, occasional black pudding. Peter cures his own — the Tennessee streaky is the same recipe his grandfather used.

Orchard

Linden Lane Orchard

0.2 mi · up the lane

Apples, peaches, plums, cherries — whatever's on. Pick-your-own runs September; we pick early for the kitchen.

Come for breakfast

Pick a room — and a seat at the table.

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