I have never been to Highfield in Driffield before, I have driven past it and didn’t even know it was there. But just on the way into the town, hidden behind a huge old wall, is this amazing place!
Built in 1864, it was 8 years ago that the family started opening it’s doors to the public. Today it is a hotel with beautiful bedrooms, a venue for events such as weddings and parties, or you can just stop in for a coffee and cake, an afternoon tea or a full meal. We went to try their Sunday lunch and had the most lovely afternoon there.
The house itself is beautiful, inside the decor is really interesting and there are lots of quirky features that my kids loved. We ate our meal in the main dining room which had a huge original fireplace inside, and we also had a look around the bar and drawing room. The toilets are also incredible!
Outside the grounds are huge and you can roam around them all, hill rolling is encouraged. Between ordering and having our starters and mains we went outside to play on the lawn. We then took our desserts out onto the patio and enjoyed the sunshine and watching the kids play tig. At the bottom of the lawn is a nature trail through the trees and even a stream at the end. The family have 4 young children of their own and we found all 4 playing in the woods with their grandad, the family were so welcoming and happy to see us enjoying the grounds to.
Onto the food – wow! The children’s menu was good and my daughter had a child’s starter and roast beef, my son had a starter and roast beef from the main menu. The food was all fantastic; very well presented, very tasty and a level up from a usual pub Sunday roast. The kids desserts were huge (we just pinched a bit of theirs as we were too full and had coffee outside!). The staff were absolutely lovely, very welcoming and couldn’t do enough to help us.
It wasn’t cheap and it isn’t a regular meal out, it’s definitely a special occasion or treat place to go for dinner. But we spent 3 hours there and could have spent longer. Dinner was just part of a lovely day running around the lawn and grounds, exploring the house and just enjoying being somewhere so unique.
It is definitely the sort of place I will call in at for coffee and cake, especially if we’re heading to or from the coast, and I am going to treat my mum to afternoon tea there soon. They run special events such as Princess afternoon tea’s for children and a Santa experience so we will be back to try those!
You can also stay overnight in the hotel bedrooms so if you wanted a child free night away, not too far from home, this would be ideal. We have a relatively big wedding anniversary coming up this summer so if I can bag a babysitter I might just be treating Mr Mumbler to a night here to celebrate 15 years of not killing each other!
For more details you can visit their website here or follow them on facebook here. Email enquiries@thehighfieldhouse.com or call 01377 256231.
HIGHFIELD, Windmill Hill, Driffield, East Yorkshire, YO25 5YP
