Wonderful Wivenhoe (or Why We Wish We Would Walk Weekly to Wivenhoe’s Wondrous Wharf)

Wow! Wicked! I am in love with Wivenhoe! It isn’t anything too fancy like Cambridge, but is instead the quaintest place I’ve ever been. I went with some friends to get lunch there. At first we were a bit wary: it cost 2 pounds 20 to get a return ticket* and we passed a single pub called The Horse and Groom, a grocery store, and a lot of houses. Still, we decided that Wivenhoe had to have some redeeming qualities and so decided to look around. We had heard that The Rose and Crown was the pub to go to, so decided to find it. Unfortunately, we walked about a mile to the Horse and Groom where we asked which way The Rose and Crown was. (The groom wouldn’t tell us, but the horse was friendly enough. Ha!) We found out that it was a bit over a mile back the way we came. We were so sad! We were so famished! Life was looking bleak.

It was about 13:00(heh, 1:00, I just wanted to look cool. Did it work?) when we finally got there. We ordered and found out it would take 45 minutes for the food to arrive. We wept like wimps. Then we went out to look at the beautiful, picturesque river complete with boats. I took some pictures (ok, I took about 50 pictures. I was snap-happy. It was lovely!) and then we walked around for a few more minutes.



Here's the View From The Rose and Crown. Nice!





When we got back we still had to wait around 15 minutes. But then the food came. Glorious, divine, and heavenly only begin to describe it. We got and shared two orders of fish and chips and an order of shepherd’s pie. Even the girl from London loved the fish and chips! It was that good. I’ve heard a rumor, in fact, that The Rose and Crown was rated as the third best fish and chips place in the UK. The fish had a glistening, crispy breading shell which melted away to reveal to the taste buds perfectly cooked, tender fish. The chips had a perfect texture, and even the peas were tasty, in their own way.

The shepherd’s pie was a joy to behold. It was even better to eat. The garlicky mashed potatoes were golden on top and had beef, vegetables, and spices like rosemary underneath. It was so tender that it would be fine to eat even if one had no teeth, which might not sound too appetizing. It was, though! It was!

Finally, we had dessert: Chocolate pudding with frozen clotted cream. I thought it would be jello-type pudding, but no! It was moist chocolate cake with a sort of chocolate pudding inside. On the side was incredible ice cream that tasted like it came straight from the cow. (Of course, it tasted like it was sugared and frozen first.) Yum!

The Rose and Crown was full of people drinking and talking to each other about the weather and about the happenings of Wivenhoe. It had the feel of a family gathering, complete with kids wandering around and asking for chips before their parents came to collect them. When I had my hands full with three glasses of water a man pointed to my watch, which was facing downward, and asked the time. He proceeded to laugh and say he was just kidding when I started laughing and looking afraid. Phew! I guess that there are a lot of places like Wivenhoe around England. I wish I could visit them all!

*a return ticket, as you might have guessed, is a round trip ticket.