The fish man had some amazing fresh produce and I bought a couple of dressed crabs and some samphire. From the Madgett’s farm lady I bought chicken thighs and some chicken breasts for the freezer.

With the crab, I made crab cocktail - finely chop one red chilli (deseeded), and mix it into the white crab meat with the juice of one lime and some chopped coriander. Pile on top of mixed leaves in a cocktail glass. For the dressing, use a good quality mayonnaise, add the grated rind and the juice of one lime, and drizzle over the crab. Sparingly sprinkle a little paprika for colour. I had also bought some crevettes, so I quickly cooked them in olive oil and hung a couple from the side of each glass. You didn’t really need them to add to the crab, as it was superb. 

With the chicken thighs, I skinned and boned each, which was a bit of a pain, cut each in half, sliced some onion and sweated it and two chopped cloves of garlic in a heavy casserole in olive oil until just soft. Then, I added the chicken thighs and push them around a bit for 10 minutes until brown. I added about half a pint of stock, a few halved preserved lemons, some grated fresh ginger, some green pimento stuffed olives and a few coriander stalks. The casserole then went in the baking oven of the Aga for about 20 to 30 mins until the chicken was cooked (probably 170C). Spinkle chopped coriander over to serve. I accompanied this dish with sliced carrots, fresh peas and broccoli, which had all been cooked al dente – 1 minute only for the peas in boiling water – and then quickly stir fried in a wok with a teaspoon of mixed dried coriander, cumin and garam masala. Some couscous with chopped mint and toasted pinenuts completed the table. You could serve sliced oranges with a sprinkling of poppy seeds as an accompanyment. For dessert, we had locally grown strawberries and afterwards, a slice of Penny Hill’s Camembert.

The Fish Man at St Briavels Market

Kishe of Four Seasons Foods serves a young customer

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).

Sitting Room - Cottage 2

Tall ship on the River Severn

This weekend, 29 to 31 May, sees the Gloucester Tall Ships Festival 2009 in Gloucester Docks. I had received a hot tip that two of the square riggers taking part would be passing under the Severn Bridge on Thursday 28 May between 7.30 and 8.30am. Driving over Tidenham Chase at 7.00am, I began to doubt my information as the tide looked to be out in the Severn, and sand banks were poking up everywhere.

I arrived at the lifeboat station just by the Ferry Inn at Beachley at around 7.30am, with a camera, no provisions, and a somewhat reluctant 12 year old. The mud flats were glistening in the early morning sun, and not a tall ship in sight. One other car was parked up, and the owner informed me that he was also waiting for the tall ships, and he had heard on his radio that they were making their way out of Portishead and would be with us in the next half hour. After, a quick visit to the nearest cornershop to stock up, we settled down to wait. In the meantime, the sun disappeared and a dark mist settled over the Severn – not ideal photography weather.

Gradually, other cars arrived, and by 9.00am, I was losing the will to live, and had just reached the sports section of The Times, when said 12 year old spotted a ship. Under engine and with the assistance of the incoming tide, it was hurtling up the river, and without my lookout, I might have completely missed it, which would have been pretty embarrassing. We started up the engine and drove around to the Ferry Inn car park for a better vantage point. Four other cameras were already there beforehand, pointing seaward. We were really lucky, because, in fact, three vessels sailed up in the next hour, with the rest promised for this evening’s tide.

Tall ship passing under the Severn BridgeTall ship sailing up the Severn towards Sharpness

It looks like being an entertaining weekend at the Gloucester Docks, and you can book a tour of one of the vessels on line. Other activities will be carrying on throughout the day. We have a late availability in Cottage 1 at Birchamp Coach House this weekend and are offering a short break for the reduced price of £299. The forecast looks great as well, with cloudless skies and temperatures of up to 24C, so whether you want to come to the Forest of Dean to walk, cycle, sight see or visit Gloucester Docks to see the tall ships, make a spur of the minute decision and contact us.

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.

At May half term and August Bank holiday, volunteers build a charcoal stack, which once alight, has to be manned 24 hours a day to ensure that the correct amount of air enters the stack. Falling asleep on the job can lead to the stack catching fire and the charcoal being ruined! In between checking the burn, Volunteers catch forty winks in the charcoal burner’s hut that has been erected nearby, and cook on the fire. On Tuesday, the stack will be broken open. It is easy to detect someone who has been manning the stack because they smell of kippers and look a little wild from lack of sleep.

The main purpose of coming today was because the Wye Valley & Forest of Dean Tourism Association is preparing a short video to give a taster of the heritage of the area, and the crew from Clikingo were on site to film the charcoal burn.

Click here to see the charcoal stack being erected.

Charcoal Stack at the Dean Heritage Museum

Our area attracts people with diverse interests, and this is demonstated in the eclectic activities on offer. Cottage 1 is still available for the week beginning Friday 29 May, and  so I decided to see what was available during that time.

Well, for a start, you can learn wood-turning, pyrography – no, I didn’t know what this was either – click here to find out – or a little of both at Mamhilad – see www.woodland-turnery.co.uk. On the afternoon of Saturday 30 May at nearby Chepstow, you can hear Frank Gardner, the BBC’s security correspondant, talking about his life and work reporting on issues of domestic and international security, and in the evening, Vince Cable, the “sage of the credit crunch” (Daily Telegraph) will try to enlighten you on the current situation  - see www.chepstowbooks.co.uk.

However, if you have come to get away from all of that, a talk at the Dean Heritage Museum on Sunday 31 May by County Moth Recorder (I bet you didn’t know that we had one), Roger Gaunt, will show the results of a night’s moth trapping and give you some handy d-i-y clues. To end your stay, on the evening of Thursday 4 June, return to Chepstow for an outdoor performance of Shakespeare’s “Twelth Night” in the grounds of the magnificent Chepstow Castle, a norman castle perched on the banks of the river Wye. See www.tlcm.co.uk for details. Fill your time in between by touring local castles, a boat trip down the river Wye, visiting Tintern Abbey or simply walking through the Royal Forest of Dean or along the banks of the Wye.

I would be really interested to know what you think is special about this area, so post away. 

With everyone being more price sensitive due to what the French describe as “Le Credit-crunch”, Cottage 1 is available at a price of £416 for the week as opposed to £476. However, please mention “Blog” when booking.

Caldicot Castle - one of our magnificent local castles

At around 8pm, local crime author Andrew Taylor presented owner, Doug McLean, with the noble certificate, and children’s author, Shoo Rayner  , presented him with a new bookshop cat (not a real one this time) and a bottle of bubbly “to crack open when The Forest Bookshop wins the national prize”.

On the subject of local authors, my daughter, Lucy, loved Shoo Rayner’s beautifully illustrated books, when she was younger. However, I had not read any of Andrew Taylor’s work until I opened “Bleeding Heart Square” last week. My husband being away, I had a strict timetable to ensure that this time on my own was usefully used to wrap up various tasks, such as last year’s accounts. Sadly, as far as my plans went, Andrew Taylor has produced a real page-turner, and for anyone who has not read any of his work, may I suggest that you hot-foot it to your local independent bookseller, preferably, The Forest Bookshop, to redress the situation – or you can order it on line from The Forest Bookshop.

Andrew presents the South West and Wales Regional Winner certificate to Doug

Photograph by Caroline Silverwood Taylor (c)2009

Click here for other photos of the event.

The national prize will be awarded on 1st June, so we are all keeping our fingers crossed until then.

The business began in 1989 as “Bath Green Papers” a a locally-based supplier of green paper, and in 1993, evolved into a national service, operating on the “Schumacher Principle” that small is beautiful. The office is staffed by five knowledgeable, willing and in my experience, cheerful, staff,  who work flexible hours so that they can lead normal lives as artists, campaigners and normal family folk. The majority of the business is owned by Jay Risbridger, who has a degree in the History of Ideas and a working background in overseas development and the recycled paper industry. He has been active in green politics and has dedicated his working life to the development of green and ethical business.

This business knows how to recycle; they use recycled packaging to send out goods, and only produce one black bin bag of non-recyclable waste every two weeks! Visit their website and have a look – The Green Stationery Company.

I still have some late availabiity and special offers for Spring, so Click Here to view.

Birchamp Coach House Holiday Cottages

The positioning of the Walnut Tree could not be better, sheltering under the mighty and distinctively shaped Skirrid mountain. The exterior is typical Monmouthshire vernacular. On previous visits, we have walked up The Skirrid to sharpen the appetite before lunch and to appreciate the panoramic views over several counties and over to the Severn estuary. However, on Friday, we got straight down to business.

We were a little late due to an unplanned detour to giving  my brother-in-law a lift after he had stood at the bus stop in Newland waiting for 15 minutes for the bus that only comes on a Wednesday – see previous entry! However, we were greeted with a smile, reassurance that all was well and a plate of  “amuse bouche”. We decided to stick with the set menu, which is £16.50 for 2 courses and £22.00 for three. I started with Rabbit Cromesqui with caperberries and crisp lemon zest, while two of the others choses Brill with cucumber and Mustard Sauce. When I asked what was a “cromesqui”, I was told that it was a bit like a rissole – you have to be a certain age to know what a rissole is, and fortunately, I am. The humble rissole has never tasted so good, because the inside was full of delicately shredded and seasoned rabbit meat and the outside was beautifully crisp, and sat very well with the capers and lemon. I also tasted the brill, which was sublime.

For my main course, I chose the Grilled Red Gurnard, Tomato and Olive Butter Sauce, whilst the others chose the Grilled Skirt of Beef with Dauphinoise Potatoes and Salsa Verde. Again, my meal was beautifully cooked and well balanced. We didn’t really need a pud, but when has that ever stopped us. My friend and I had the passion fruit mousse and the men had the strawberry and raspberry pavlova. We finished with coffee and home made petit four.

Although only one other table was occupied when we arrived at The Walnut Tree, when we left, the place had filled up and was zinging and full of atmosphere. A large party near the bar were obviously celebrating a birthday, and everyone joined in with “Happy Birthday”.

The Walnut Tree is friendly and unpretentious; the service is excellent and the food is worth travelling for. We are about 24 miles away, but the journey is a treat through Monmouthshire’s most beautiful countryside. When we ate here last Summer, we sat outside under the fig tree. It is great to see that The Walnut Tree has recovered its form. If you are into food, which a lot of my guests are, if you book a short break or indeed a week in one of the holiday cottages at  Birchamp Coach House,  there are so many good places to eat in the area. This one really must be top of your list.

Check here for late availability.

Brother-in-law (“Binl”) and girlfriend asked if they would be able to travel by bus to the pretty little local town of Monmouth to look around and do some shopping. I said that I thought that Newland was the village that public transport forgot, so I was surprised to note that a bus does indeed leave Newland at 11.11am on a Wednesday and it goes straight to Monmouth! The downside is that if you want to do your shopping and travel back, even a supermarket dash type of affair wouldn’t do it, because the bus pauses just long enough to let passengers get off and new passengers get on, and then it heads back to Newland.

“Never mind,” I told Binl. You take the bus down and I will collect you. After some cajoling from his girlfriend, he did manage to arrive seven minutes early at the lychgate, which doubles as a bus stop. This was just as well, because at 11.06am, as I was heading in the opposite direction, I passed the bus careering towards the bus stop.

Binl and girlfriend stepped onto the bus, and not unreasonably, Binl asked how much was the fare to Monmouth. The driver appeared non-plussed by this simple request, and asked, rather defensively, in Binl’s opinion, “what do you normally pay?”. Binl replied that he was over from Poland and indeed, this was the first time that he had used this bus. He asked the bus driver if he didn’t know the amount of the fare. The bus driver looked a little flustered and said “Course I do – it’s £3.57″. Binl duly paid and he and girlfriend sat down.

Stranger things were to happen. As anyone who is familar with the area will know, to get to Monmouth, you head down to the river at Redbrook and turn right. Well, at the junction, the driver started to turn left towards Chepstow, at which point, a chorus of voices shouted “It’s right here, Mate!”, and the bus driver hurriedly corrected himself. The rest of the journey was uneventful.

I don’t want to give the impression that you cannot cope without your own transport here, but it is easier if you have it. I had a party of three ladies who met up here recently, having travelled from three different directions. They arrived at Gloucester station, and took the train to Lydney, which is just over 8 miles away. A taxi brought them to Birchamp Coach House, and then, they spent the weekend walking from the cottages and having dinner in The Ostrich Inn. I took them to Coleford at the end of their stay, and they caught the bus to Gloucester. I asked if they had felt impeded by not having a car, and they said not at all and they had had a brilliant time.

Whether you have your own transport or not, we still have some availability for the Spring, whether you are looking for a short break or a week’s stay. Check out availability by clicking here for Cottage 1 and here for Cottage 2.