As I fired the bullet from the Beretta, I had to acknowledge the fact that this blog has led me to some pretty unexpected situations. But here we all are.


Goodwood. To me, it was a fancy country house and a place that Chris Evans bangs on about A LOT. Something to do with really fast cars. In this instalment of Get Fran Out Of Brighton, I travelled down to discover this estate is far, far more than a riche playground for boys and their toys.

The Kennels

Beautifully ("beautiful" will be overused in this post) furnished and comfortably elegant, The Kennels is the central clubhouse for the estate's sporting members. But even if the idea of sport fills you with horror, social membership is available where you can work, rest, eat and drink. I was so surprised with the fee starting at just £180, which has plenty of additional benefits including access to some wonderful events. Had this been a shorter distance, I would have immediately snapped this up as my new office space, all with a view of Goodwood House, excellent food and a fine gin and tonic. More info.

Afternoon Tea

I think most people would be impressed with afternoon tea in the Goodwood House Ballroom. It's a sumptuous space, walls lined with an outstanding art collection and luxurious furnishings. Again, you'll be surprised with the price tag too; just £25 per person with a tour of the house included, making for a lovely gift and just as good as many others I've had a twice the cost. And it was a very good afternoon tea too with the freshest of finger sandwiches, crumbly scones and a delicious variety of jewel-like cakes. More info here.

Clay Pigeon shooting

I've always wanted to try this but was worried little ol' me couldn't quite handle the weight of the gun and I wouldn't say coordination was a strength of mine. However, following bacon sandwiches and a thorough briefing in the wood lodge, again furnished beautifully and so cosy, we were soon outside taking our first shots. Beginners need not be worried, everything was explained, techniques and tips given, and before long, most of us were hitting the clays, our delighted squeals echoing around the pit. The Beretta was actually quite easy to hold, lighter than expected and the kick back not too bad at all. I left very keen on shooting again, it really was great fun, made so by how good the tuition was. Tailored packages are available to suit beginners or seasoned pros, starting from £144pp. More info

Hound Lodge

I was slightly beside myself with a visit to Hound Lodge, an exquisite 10 bed property, formerly the dog kennels, that you can hire in its entirety for a cool £10,000 a night. However this includes a butler, maid and chef, your food and drink, which when you do the math on potentially 20 guests, isn't too bad at all. The attention to detail was impeccable, from the bedding stuffed with wool from the estate's sheep, to the fragrant floral arrangements in every single room. It had everything you could possibly want, including a fully stocked bar for the party of your life. I was very close to locking myself in the stunning master bathroom and refusing to come out. Book it here (and invite me).

Waterbeach Treatment Rooms

It was during my neck and back massage in the spa, I was mentally rebranding my entire blog to that of a lifestyle one. I could sure get used to this! The Elemis and Elemental Herbology products they use in their treatments are gorgeous.  Have a look at the treatments.

Personal Training

Goodwood Health Club is well equipped, modern and, as I was now expecting, came with the best of personal trainers. A year ago this would have probably had me running away but I have caught the fitness bug so it was a privilege to have been offered a training session with double Olympic gold medallist Sarah Ayton OBE. I've used PTs before and not new to weight training, but I particularly enjoyed the session; informative, effective and fun, as fitness should be, and Sarah was just lovely. I came away from even this first session with tips and exercises to incorporate into my routine. Along with the gym and PT sessions there is a programme of fitness classes, garden studio, a swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam rooms. More info.

Horse Racing

It's nice to leave wanting to spend more time in a place; there's clearly a lot to do and enjoy on the estate, even more than I had seen or experienced and just an hour from Brighton. Flying packages, motor racing, golfing and their famous events like Goodwood Revival and The Festival of Speed. It sure is a playground for all.

And I'll be returning soon to dine in their truly sustainable restaurant Farmer, Butcher, Chef which uses produce from their self-sustaining farm.

Sigh, glorious, glorious Goodwood indeed.

Visit goodwood.com for upcoming events and memberships.

I attended as a guest of Goodwood. Words and thoughts, as always, my own. 

I love the tradition of proper afternoon tea. Impeccable service, starched tablecloths, someone tinkling the ivories, fine china and silverware and an eye-watering bill to finish. But this has always involved a trip up to London where they have a wealth of options for the experience. Brighton just doesn't have the same attitude to luxury, I don't know why, we just don't seem to do it in the traditional sense - if we do it's always with a twist or quirk and that suits us just fine.

Which leads us onto the newly launched Afternoon Tea at The Salt Room, who are still flying high from that glowing review by Jay Rayner. The interior here is refined with a healthy dose of on-trend industrial aesthetic. Everything is well considered and the staff are stylish and professional in equal measure. Instead of a crisp white jacket and a plummy accent, our waitress had soft pink hair and a flower tucked behind her ear and had such a brilliant demeanour, both charming and fun, that she genuinely added to the experience.


Every head in the room turned as the stand was brought in topped with two candy floss (could it scream Brighton any louder??), the visual is certainly impressive and a nod to The Salt Room's now infamous Taste Of The Pier dessert plate. Noone could help being impressed with this, it was absolutely beautiful.


Starting with the fish-based savoury layer, the Crab Scotch Egg was fragrant with tarragon and a nip of chilli and worked perfectly with the sweetness of the crab meat. I think Truffled Grilled Cheese is quite possibly the nicest things you could put in your mouth. Anything truffle and I'm in - this was glorious and such a welcome break from the finger sandwiches you'd expect. The Salmon and Squid Ink Bun was striking but somehow needed something, more seasoning maybe or more of a hit of flavour in the bun as it diluted the salmon and horseradish filling. A pig to eat was the Aged Beef Tartare & Egg Yolk Jam Sandwich, served between two crisp pastry layers that shattered on bite impact, but utterly, utterly delicious. Egg yolk and raw beef is a classic pairing but reworked into this little gem was inspired.


The little scones, served with home-made clotted cream and strawberry elderflower jam were the perfect size, not too filling and the only real nod to tradition. Still, I was happy they were there.


The sweet layer is a picture right? The crowning glory of the event. Present were the Chocolate Pebbles everyone seems to go crazy for - sugar coated chocolate truffles that are too sweet for me but I'm not a huge fan of chocolates (give me another slice of that truffled grilled cheese any day). Sadly our Rhubarb and Custard Macaroon had disintegrated into the plate - maybe we had been talking too long. Shame as they were nicely flavoured and the dehydrated rhubarb shards that topped them deliciously tart in themselves. Disappointing was the slice of heavy and claggy Pistachio & Raspberry Battenberg, I'm not really sure what the issue was here but Paul Hollywood would have pulled one of his faces for sure. Whilst I think they probably need to bring the sweet elements to the same exceptional standard as the savoury, we ended on a high with the most beautiful Orange & Yuzu Posset, really refreshing and light, served in a delicate meringue case.


I have to say we didn't sample any of the tea - why would you when the bar here is one of the best in town and there's a Champagne option. Plus, I was with the effortlessly stylish Alexis from Style Memos - a dear friend and one serious social influencer, and meeting her always calls for a celebratory drink to supplement our hundred mile an hour chatter.

The teas are from JING and there is a reasonable selection or you can opt for a gin and tonic, Champagne or sweet wine (nice to see an ice wine on the list) or a tea-tail which is a cocktail with tea infused gin and vodka.

As the afternoon tea here is fish based I chose a Gin Mare which is becoming a bit of a favourite. It's slightly savoury with Mediterranean herbs and olive notes and served with samphire. Perfect choice for the savoury layer of food.

Price-wise it's a fraction of the cost of what you'd pay in the capital and excellent value for money too, starting at £24.95 with coffee or tea, £29.95 with gin and £34.95 with a glass of Taittinger Champagne.


I always get asked for afternoon tea recommendations in Brighton and historically struggled, but now there are a few decent options (none in the main hotels you would expect). This one here at The Salt Room would certainly be up there, particularly for its celebration of the city and position by the sea.

The Salt Room
106 King's Road

Afternoon tea can be a very swish affair; the starched, white tablecloths, the silver spoons, delicate china and impeccable, glossy patisserie. Sigh, I'm a sucker for it...bye bye £100. Talk of Tea in Brighton however, is none of those things. Despite having the city's largest tea list with some incredibly refined options, it is very much an "everyday" venue (their words). And it suits Brighton to a, well, tee.

Located right in the centre of town just off Western Road, it's an intimate little space, decorated with little trinkets, mismatched lanterns, fluro orange walls and charming it is too. There's also a sweet little yard with hanging seats for when the sun shines.

The tea menu lists Temi Tea (A Royal Tea from the only tea garden in the former kingdom of Sikkim), Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls and some fine organic Darjeeling. They have a superb green tea choice and many flavoured teas, including some rather unorthodox blends, Limoncello or Witch Blend anyone?

I had the Milky Oolong which is unlike any other tea. Refreshing, sweet and fragrant with an unmistakable milky taste. I can't get enough of it.

I sometimes forget London is pretty much on my doorstep and to be honest, haven't really spent much time there other than for business. I'm back on the train to Brighton in a flash, no doubt with a fridge cold station sandwich for company.

So it was lovely to finally go up for a bit of a break. I think I’ve had the most intense work/life periods of my life the last couple of months (exciting though!) and a new bambina on the way soon so I jumped at the chance to spend some quality time and stay over for the weekend with Superbreak.
The Cavendish Hotel is brilliantly located on Jermyn Street and pretty much everything we wanted to get to. Mr GF could stock up on his shirts and I could lie in a bed that was bigger than my first flat, undisturbed, without anyone asking me where their socks are, if they could have a beaker of milk or if the presentation for their new brand was ready. Hea-ven in Egyptian cotton.