Just heard there are Art Classes to be held here. Contact 0203 669 6197 for more info.read more

It's strange but like a lot of the local Epsom residents, it rarely crosses my mind to think of the…read moreChalk Lane Hotel as a fine dining venue. Perhaps, it's the fact that it's tucked away up a small lane a little way out of town. This lack of local recognition was confirmed on the night that a friend and I dined there. The restaurant was full of business travellers staying at the hotel eating alone and we were the only diners from outside the hotel. That's a shame as the restaurant does aim to deliver a fine dining experience and the food lives up to that standard, both in presentation and flavour of the dishes. There is a tasting menu available but we stuck to the a la carte as there were several dishes we wanted to try from there. Honey glazed octopus and squid with watermelon and Feta sound like an unlikely combination but the sweet and salty flavours and the contrasting texture actually was fantastic, aided by a sharp balsamic vinegar dressing. I followed with a fantastic cut of full flavoured beef accompanied by some roasted bone marrow. A long fork was provided to pick out the rich bone marrow. The beef was of the highest quality. An apricot souffle was exemplary in lightness, height and fruit flavour, which was accented by apricot compote and sorbet. So, if you live in the area and are looking for a fine dining restaurant for a special occasion, I can recommend the Chalk Lane Hotel.

I must update this as my business fellowship once used this hotel as their start up meetings. It is…read morenot easy to access since that day; not their fault, but traffic restrictions, so as not to lend Chalk Lane into a rat run to avoid the High Street jams. The only access now is via Avenue Road and a narrow Worple Road ,over speed bumps, then turn left.

This year was my second Derby Day spent on The Hill in the middle of Epsom Racecourse. It has to be…read morethe best free family fun day you can get, all for the price of a train ticket down to the course (we actually went down for a birthday so the daytime celebrations continued well into the early morning in Sutton)! I watched every single race, and there's nothing more fun than choosing a horse in the race guide and standing up with the rest of the crowd to cheer it on. My bets are only virtual, my cousin put down £14 and got back £5.80, but I prefer to spend my money in the rows of markets with fresh food, clothes, and other bits and pieces. You can get the usual greasy fun fair food, but we took our own picnic, including picnic blankets and sun shade tents - yeah we actually got a bit of a tan despite the few black menacing clouds! There are lots of rides within the racecourse, although the bigger ones are set up on the outside, and there's a huge music stage as well as karaoke performers throughout the market. The one thing I don't like is at the end of the day when everyone leaves the place looking like a pigsty, I mean c'mon the only reason they employ rubbish collectors is because the public are lazy and uncaring. It doesn't take 30 seconds to carry your rubbish bags to the big skips they have there. Just bin it!

I suppose if you are a race goer you would have this event on your annual event diary…read more If you are not then you might be tempted to put it under "One to avoid"? Friday is Oaks Day known as "Ladies Day" that does not compete with Ascot but try's hard too make a show with various popular music groups coming down later in the month. Of course The Derby now held on Saturday afternoon is the main Hullabaloo, when traffic helicopters and the entire populous appears to come ,well not everyone, not me now, why , well I prefer to watch the telly in the safety and comfort of chez moi!!