A Trip to St Briavels Food Market and some great produce

Last Saturday, being the first Saturday in the month, I trundled along to St Briavels in the Forest of Dean, just a couple of miles from my holiday cottages, for the monthly food market to buy fresh produce for a dinner party. Many of the faces there were familiar – Kishe from Four Seasons Foods [...]

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Richard Wilson – Britain’s Best Drives

Tomorrow on BBC 2 at 10pm – see Richard Wilson on Britain’s Best Drives – featuring the Wye Valley & Forest of Dean – click here for details
Then try it for yourself – Cottage 1 is available from Monday 8 to Friday 12 June – special offer for last minute availability – £299 (normally £333).

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Last of the Bluebells in the Forest of Dean

 Sadly, the Bluebells are now past their best in the Forest of Dean, but yesterday, the scent in the woods around Soudley was overwhelming.

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So Much to Do in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley

We have a very dear German friend coming to visit at the beginning of September, and I am really looking forward to taking time off to show him what is on offer around here. Visitors are spoilt for choice and a week is not quite long enough.
Our area attracts people with diverse interests, and this is demonstated in the eclectic [...]

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Celebrations for Forest Bookshop’s Award

Last Wednesday evening, saw a gathering  in The Forest Bookshop in Coleford, to celebrate the bookshop’s award for Best Independent Bookshop in the South West & Wales. Kick off was at 7pm, with drinks and nibbles kindly provided, and a rather frisky beer barrel threatening to dowse anyone who stood near it. By 7.30, the place was [...]

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More Green Matters at Birchamp House

I have previously blogged about Ecotricity, the Green and innovative electricity company that supplies to the holiday cottages, so I thought that I ought to sing the praises of The Green Stationery Company, who supply my paper, envelopes and other office essentials. The Green Stationery Company, like Ecotricity, is one of those businesses where you get to [...]

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A Lunch at The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny

On Friday, we met up with some friends for lunch at The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny. It used to have a great reputation under Franco Taruschio, when queues for a lunch time table used to wind out of the door, but then it went through a sticky patch under new ownership and was even featured on [...]

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A Visit to the Forest Book Shop

I was reading an article in one of the Sunday Mags by Mary Portas of “Mary Queen of Shops” fame; it was about her visit to a long established book shop, and how she had hoped that it would have stood out from the rest because of a high level of personal service. She was [...]

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Dean Outdoor Festival – 4th Year – 2009

Guests comment that they never knew that there was so much to do in this area. Just to prove the point, along comes the 4th Dean Outdoor Festival which runs between Saturday 25 April and Sunday 3 May 2009. We have a short break available at Birchamp Coach House from Monday 27 April to Friday 1 May [...]

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Spring Arrives in Forest of Dean?

This is possibly a sign that Spring is on its way – a sea of purple crocuses under the tree in our meadow.
We do still have availability for next weekend 27, 28 and 29 February at Birchamp Coach House, and we have a special offer – book two nights at £165 and get an extra night [...]

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