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 [...]

Read Full Post »

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 [...]

Read Full Post »

Affordable holidays in Britain (In the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley)

I have just returned from a (mostly) business trip to France and I was amazed at how little we can buy for our pound at the moment. Usually, we would go over on the car ferry with as little diesel as possible in the tank in order to fill up cheaply as soon as we [...]

Read Full Post »

The Crown at Whitebrook

We are lucky enough to live about 7 miles from the only restaurant in Wales which has a Michelin Star, The Crown at Whitebrook. Obviously, I can’t afford to eat there every day, but it is a marvellous treat for special occasions. Yesterday, was a special occasion – we went with friends who were celebrating [...]

Read Full Post »

SPECIAL OFFER FOR SHORT BREAK

Did you see Jeremy Paxman’s programme – the Victorians – last night on BBC1? Cardiff isn’t far from here; we are about 42 miles from the centre of Cardiff – less than an hour by car or you can go by train from Lydney. To my shame, I have never visited Cardiff Castle. The website [...]

Read Full Post »

Annual Concha Y Toro Wine Dinner at Glewstone Court with Hannah Wiggins

In my struggle on your behalf to review all of the local restaurants, I attended the Annual Concha Y Toro Wine Dinner at Glewstone Court near Ross-on-Wye, about 20 minutes – 12 miles – from Birchamp Coach House. Bill and Christine Reeve-Tucker have owned Glewstone, an elegant but comfortable country house, since 1987. It is true [...]

Read Full Post »

Breakfast Packs with Local Produce

As a result of requests that I have received from holiday cottages guests, I am now offering a breakfast pack containing quality local produce at a cost of £28.00 suitable for 6 persons. It will have everything for a cooked breakfast including sausages and bacon produced within the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley.  It [...]

Read Full Post »