'Dr Mortimer looked strangely at us for an instant, and his voice sank almost to a whisper as he answered:

'Mr Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!'

As you take your seat in the baronial dining room of the Baskerville Hall Hotel it is not hard to see where Conan Doyle got his inspiration for 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' from. The huge windows give a fine view of lowering forest-covered cloud capped hills. The magnificent ceiling is dominated by a huge chandelier. You approach the hotel through an avenue of overhanging trees and the entrance hall is dominated by a huge double staircase. Exactly as Baskerville Hall is described in the book. The coat of arms over the door is a wolf's head.

If you ever look at the Restaurant Spy messageboard (see top of home page for a link) you will be acquainted with a quantity called Mark White. He helpfully suggested Fred’s chippy when I was looking for one in Littlehampton in November. Well, I finally took him up on his suggestion during a bitterly cold March Easter.

‘Situated by the banks of the picturesque River Arun,’ says Fred’s website, ‘in the old town of Littlehampton in West Sussex, Fred’s Fish and Chip Shop is a traditional family owned English Fish and Chip shop… Fish and Chip Shop of the Year for 2002 and in SIX previous years, Fred’s has been serving high quality fish and chips for two generations.’

I went here for lunch. This bar, which is at the western end of the palace, must have one of the best dining views in London. Through the large windows you look out across the terrace, with its wrought iron lamps and wooden tables and the whole city is spread out before you, the Gherkin and Canary Wharf clearly visible, until it all vanishes into the mists of North Kent. The inside is almost as good. It is spacy and wooden with a high ceiling and a central bar with mirrored pillars. Tables are marble with metal chairs or wooden. The music is terrible. Sort of sub techno garbage when I was there. Next door there is a huge (and silent!) palm court with sphynxes, fountains and full size palm trees towering into a vaulted sky-lit roof. There are about a dozen tables, maybe less. I had a coffee here the other afternoon and had the whole palm court completely to myself. Talk about a hidden gem. It was wonderful.