I have had the best Christmas break!

The fella and I have been driving all over Britain visiting family and friends. After Christmas Day in Nottinghamshire and Boxing Day in North Yorkshire, we then drove to Pembrokeshire for my friend’s 30th birthday and New Year’s Eve. It was fab! Pembrokeshire is stunning and I spent a lot of time walking up and down beaches or sat in front of a wood burning stove, eating. The fresh sea air was much needed after the excesses of Christmas and New Year.

Here a few photographs of my trip.

The first is of Newgale beach. The sky was really dramatic and looked amazing, soon after though we got caught in a huge hail storm and blizzard.

This is Whitesands beach which is near St Davids. St Davids is the smallest city in the UK I think? (Just checked and it is!)

The best part of the trip however was the pub that we happily stumbled across called The Sloop in Porthgain. It’s everything you could want from a pub in the middle of Winter. Good beer, open fire, warm, cozy and serving great pub food. It was so good we went back twice. The mussels were incredible, served in a coconut Thai sauce with a chunk of bread. I had ham, leek and chicken pie both times I went (it was that good!). It was a proper pie served with lots of veggies and mash potato. Then for pudding sticky toffee and date pudding with custard….. perfection after a night on the sauce and a long walk on the beach.

The whole week away was brilliant. I loved Pembrokeshire and even though it took 6 hours to drive there, it was thoroughly worth it and I got to fulfill a dream of walking on a beach on New Years Day

So back home and back to reality although I got the Cool Camping Wales book for Xmas so I am already planning the Summer’s camping trips – can’t wait!!!!

Happy New Year to you all – I hope you had a lovely time!

“In the spacious and hygienic preparation areas of The Smokehouse, salmon is salted and smoked; bacon, hams and other meats cured and sliced. Elsewhere, the smoke stoves are filled with sweet-smelling chippings of maple and oak which impart the distinctive taste to Cheshire Smokehouse products.”

Doesn’t that just get the old taste buds rolling! I love the thought of the big stoves going on a crisp Winter’s day.

Cheshire Smokehouse is based in Wilmslow in Cheshire, and basically it does what it says on the tin.

As both ‘farm shop’ and national branded producer, The Smokehouse is an oasis of quality and service in a world of blandness and uniformity. What really makes The Smokehouse different is that most of the products you see and eat – even the fantastic smoked nuts! – are made right there on the premises, with all the expertise and attention to detail you’d expect.

The meat is fantastic, I have long been a fan of their smoked bacon which we have virtually every saturday morning with fresh eggs and Barbakan bagels. We recently did a little trip out to the smokehouse to stock up on some meat. The prices are very competitive with the supermarkets and it’s lovely to know that it is all reared and prepared on site. I just have to be really careful that I don’t blow the budget on sticky toffee pudding and other goodies in the Pâtisserie.

So that rounds it up for another year. I know we have be a little sparse for the past few months but the Carry on Britain team have big plans for 2010. So, wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Hidden just round the corner from Penzance you will find a higgledy piggledy place called Mousehole…

I think them there locals pronounce it ‘Mowzel’ but please don’t hold me to that!

Mousehole is a very beautiful and quaint fishing village on the western tip of England, out towards Lands End. Nestled onto the hillside and down to the water, this gorgeous little fishing village retains bags of charm and character and is well worth a visit if you’re in the area.

In the height of summer, I imagine it is a bustling tourist destination with its numerous art galleries, craft shops, little harbour and little white sandy beach. Parking is a bit of a premium so (after a manic squeeze through the tiny, winding streets) we dumped the car at the top of the hill and wandered down to the village centre. Luckily it was a very bright and sunny day so it gave us a chance to top up the tan while taking in the views.

Tempted by the smell of fish and chips and site of cream teas, we decided to stay there for lunch. A little way up the hill we found The Cornish Range which had a very cool, contemporary and relaxing restaurant inside. As it was sunny, we plonked our bottoms in the garden at the back and enjoyed a cool beer/wine for the lady, while tucking into some very well cooked seafood.

Checkout the website for a sample menu and more information about the place. I wasn’t surprised to find out later that this is quite a highly regarded restaurant in the area. They also have 3 guest rooms which would make an ideal place to stay for a cheeky night away. Another place that comes recommended (thanks to Mark Glynne-Jones) is the Old Coastguard. Well worth checking out if you’re looking to stay in ‘Mowzel’.

Overall, Mousehole was a really nice place to visit. However, as heavenly as it looks – after watching a poor ‘L’ plated driver navigating round the one way system, blind corners and crazy tourists – I imagine it’s hell to learn to drive there. Eak!

Saltwater St Ives is a tiny restaurant that Duncan and I found when we stayed in Cornwall a few weeks back.

I was really looking forward to staying in St Ives but I must say I was a little let down. The beaches were lovely, we saw an amazing sunset (the first one I have ever seen), and the shops are great but we didn’t find many restaurants. After what felt like hours (OK it was half an hour) walking around St Ives trying to decide where to eat, Duncan got pooed on by a seagull.

That was the last straw. We needed food and we needed food fast!

Luckily, we happened to walk past Saltwater and it looked like a little piece of heaven. The menu sounded good so we dived in. After sorting himself out (getting rid of the bird poo) Duncan sat down and we checked out the menu in more detail. In a nutshell, I managed to eat lots more shellfish/seafood and Duncan ate lots more fish, but the food really was lovely and the surroundings were very clean and modern. The people who served us were just so polite and very keen to make sure we enjoyed our meal. This kind of service can so often be overlooked in nice restaurants. Anyway, the puddings were brilliant – we had the usual argument of who was going to have the treacle tart, which I lost. I had vanilla panacotta with homemade biscuits and roasted seasonal fruit. It was amazing, so I was happy to lose the treacle tart fight that time!

If you’re in St Ives and stuck for somewhere to eat, we can recommend Saltwater. It is a really small place with only a few tables but this just adds to the cosy atmosphere. We were quite lucky to just walk in off the street but on busier nights it would be better to give them a call to book. It’s located on Fish Street – which has got to be a good sign! Just try not to get pooed on

Sorry but if this blog is turning into a homage to cheese however we all worship it and Britain has some of the world’s finest cheeses – really it does! Its rude not to share the news.

Again back at the infamous Lancashire Country Fair (next to the PotsnPies stall) was a very nice gentleman with a selection of cheeses that I could not walk past and ignore.

Arran’s cheeses are made by the Island Cheese Company on the Isle of Arran. They produce wax sealed flavoured cheddars such as Chilli Cheddar, Hebridean Herb and Hamilton’s choice which is flecked with chives. Or try the Balmoral which is laced with claret and which I bought intending it to be for my Dad but then ate it myself in secret – a true cheeseoholic. Or just have it naked without any flavours.

Anyway the Island Cheese Company sell at Wholesale, Farmers markets or (most convenient for us 21st century kids) you can buy online along with other Arran goodies such as oatcakes, smoked salmon and relishes. All I can say is their cheese is divine and delicious, my drug of choice and I relish the chance to scoff some more! Ha now that really is cheesy……

So, it turns out that the Farm that we were camping at (Trevalgan Holiday Park) rear their own free range beef…

We didn’t actually realise this till the very last day, so we weren’t able to sample the home made beef burgers or steaks on offer. Flippin Typical!

Luckily though, Trevalgan supply their St Ives Beef nationwide so I have placed an order and will keep you updated about how nice it is and whether it is as tasty as the Aberdeen Angus Beef from Cedar Barn in North Yorkshire.

A little about St Ives Beef…

St. Ives Beef comes from Trevalgan Farm which lies on the cliffs just outside St. Ives in an area of outstanding natural beauty. All the free range, traditionally reared cattle are born and raised within 4 miles of St. Ives. During their life at Trevalgan they are allowed to roam freely and graze naturally on grass and home grown forage crops. The lovely people at Trevalgan don’t believe in routine vaccinations or in the force feeding of concentrates to promote speedy growth so their bullocks are allowed to grow at their own pace. To quote them “It’s no wonder the cattle from here produce some of the finest beef we’ve tasted and you don’t just have to take our word for it!”

I certainly won’t just be taking your word for it…bring on that beefy box so I can have a taste

What a load of bullocks…

As Trevalgan Farm is so close to the cliffs and coastal path, they have their own little nature trail which takes in loads of beautiful views and even an ancient burial ground. Lou and I set off across the fields following the signs and that’s how we found out about the St Ives Beef.

Infact we came face to face with it…

Lou’s a bit scared of cows so after ‘the stand off’, we made a hasty retreat over the fence and continued on our little adventure towards the sea and cliffs. As you can see from the photos below, the scenery is absolutely stunning and the weather was fantastic!

Uh Oh…

Did I mention Lou’s a bit scared of cows? Well you can imagine the look on her face when we walked over the top of the hill to be faced with this little lot. Oh Parp! Luckily there were a few fellow walkers on the cliffs that day so with a bit of trepidation, we made our way through the baying mob!

If happy, healthy cows are your thing…

then I can definitely say that this lot are having a loads of fun scampering around the cliffside hills and field’s (don’t worry – they are fenced in so there’s no chance of them making a beeline for the beach and coming a cropper on the cliffs!). They seem really happy even if they do look a bit grumpy up close.

Checkout the St Ives Beef website for more details about the farms and also to place an order for a box of beef containing a variety of cuts. Mooooo!

Sams in Fowey.

It’s definitely on my list of favourite restaurants.

We had a quick search around Fowey when we arrived, to suss out the different restaurants but Sam’s caught my attention straight away. You can’t book a table and you almost certainly have to wait, but this is a clear indication of how good it is.

The people are really friendly and you can get settled upstairs with a drink and order your food from there.

I was in seafood heaven and because the fella is allergic to shellfish, so I just threw caution to the wind and ordered as much as I could.

I had calamari to start, followed by the seafood feast which was OUT OF THIS WORLD. The mussels were just incredible and you got a big chunk of bread to dip in the sauce. I have fantasised about this meal every night since I have had it. It was just brilliant!!!

I really can’t recommend this place enough, it’s well worth the wait and if you love fresh, well cooked seafood then this is the place for you.

It also had a recommendation from Hugh (the God, Fearnley Whittingstall); it doesn’t get much better than that.

PS. No pictures were taken in Sam’s because we were to busy enjoying ourselves, so you will have to look at my ugly mug instead

There is officially nowhere better than Britain when it is sunny.

We have just spent the last week doing a mini tour of Britain, well two places so it was very mini. We firstly went to the Lake District and stayed at a fab campsite called Side Farm featured in Cool Camping which was on the side of Ullswater, via a small slightly scary dirt track. The campsite was lovely, if not a little crowded and having to sleep on a slope was interesting. We arrived on the Friday afternoon and set up camp and then started how we meant to go on and drank a lot of cider. A brief BBQ later and off to the local pub for some more cider, this is always important to us that there is a local pub within a short walk.

The main reason for our trip to the Lakes was the climb our favourite mountain Helvellyn which we had done two years ago. I love this mountain! I always feel like it tests me and with a small hangover from the previous night, it certainly did test me. When we arrived at the top (I won’t bore you will all the details) but Duncan asked me to marry him. The comedy line was “It has taken us a long time to get here” (meaning years), to which I replied “Why, what time is it, I thought it only took 2 hours?” thinking he meant how long to climb the mountain. Then I realised he was on one knee, holding a ring

Anyway the rest of the weekend was spent drinking cider and local ale, eating loads of nice food and then getting back to Manchester to prepare for camp part two….off to Cornwall.

Last weekend I had a lovely weekend with the ladies. We decided to spend the day at Eden Hall day spa  in Newark near Nottingham. I am originally from that area so it is always nice to go home. The spa is lovely, it was so lovely to spend the day immersed in girly chat and we managed to get some sunbathing in. The reason why I am writing this is not to show off about my day spa experience but to tell you about the food, the best bit. It’s always about the food I know. The lunch was superb and all the ingredients were locally sourced. I think I loved it because it was all locally sourced to my home. The meat was from Tuxford (where I went to school), the beer was from Sutton which is down the road, the cheese was from Cropwell Bishop. Just to top it off I had my favourite pudding Eton mess. I was officially the happiest person ever that day, and we topped off the evening with some beer garden action sampling good old English cider.

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Our second destination in Masham was luckily just over the road from the Black Sheep Brewery so it was only a hop, skip and a jump to sampling some more fine ales…

The Theakton’s Brewery visitor centre was much smaller and cosier place than the Black Sheep Brewery which was right up my street. Again, we opted to forego the tour and head straight to the pub (some things never change!)

A little about Theakston’s Brewery…

Way way back in 1827, it all started when Robert Theakston leased the Black Bull Inn and brewhouse in Masham. In 1875 his son, Thomas, built the famous brewery that still stands today on an area of Masham known as “Paradise Fields”, hence “The Black Bull in Paradise” named Visitor Centre.

It’s taken around 180 years for Theakstons’ range of classic and seasonal ales to develop into the legend that they are today.

The brewery has seen numerous changes during that time including ownership battles and development of many of the traditions still in existence today. Scottish and Newcastle took charge of the brewery for a stint, but now it is back in the very capable hands of the Theakston Brothers (Nick, Simon, Tim and Edward) – the fifth generation of Theakston brewers.

The beer…

Classic Ales

Seasonal Ales

Rather than write an account of each beer – please click on the links above to read the tasting notes from the Theakston website who perfectly describe the tasty range of flavours in each brew.

The verdict…

We had to sample a few different ales to try and reach a decision but in the end the panel was still divided. Surprisingly, Lou and Becs (who aren’t really bitter drinkers) really liked the full bodied strong and deep flavour of ‘Old Peculiar’ which is quite rightly known as a legendary ale. Gray was partial to a pint of Best Bitter and I really liked the fruityness of Theakstons XB. Basically, they are all pretty damn tasty and well worth trying!