Blogs from Holsworthy, Devon, England, United Kingdom, Europe

As breakfast was included, I had advised the B & B owners that I would like to be eating at 7:45, so I could get on the road by 8:30. After yesterday's cycle, rain, and hills, it took some convincing and coersion for me to meet my commitment and put my feet to the floor. Again the B & B owner's outdid themselves, and after a good, simple, breakfast, more enjoyable conversation and a coffee re-boost, I was ready for todays challenge. Tent dried and packed, shoe's dried and bolted to feet, I was on my way. Again, rain was anticipated, but not until the afternoon. As such, and forwarned about hills, I prepared for the climb. And there was a climb or two. As had happen previously, I climb the wrong offshoot of a lane ... read more

We all spent a morning with the subject of herbs used for medicinal purposes. Diana is a medical herbalist so is the perfect teacher. AP loved this part and has had an interest in the old ways of medicine for a long time. Many herbal remedies have been discovered over hundreds of generations of interaction between people and wild plants, though much of this knowledge is now lost in the mainstream of culture. Indeed many medicines are in use today originate from herbal origin. Medical herbalism differs from traditional medicine in that it aims to treat a person holistically - the cause (or more usually a multitude of causes) not just the symptoms. The herbalist will do a thorough interview with the patient - ask them about their diet, lifestyle, daily routines, trauma, digestion, breathing, immune ... read more

Rob showed us the routine for the ducks in the morning of day two so this became AP and RM's responsibility every morning. We feed them their grain, give them water, get their bath going (from a baby's outside tub that Rob found discarded!), and then they go off and forage for slugs through the day, before we put them back in their pen in the evening, so they are warm and safe from any foxes. We enjoy doing this as the ducks keep themselves to themselves and aren't really aggressive at all (except a couple of males to other members of their flock). The ducks lay eggs all year round and we get anything from 4 to 9 eggs a day. They are Khaki Campbell breed of duck, they can't really fly or produce much ... read more

On the first week we spent most mornings sawing firewood. AP's technique was exemplary and beat RM on the first morning 2 to 1 though RM got the hang of it the following day. They use the wood in the rayburn in the kitchen - cutting down on electric and gas bills. The wood provides a stove, and oven, a stand for heating/drying, hot water for washing, bathing and the radiator in the bathroom. It also keeps the kitchen warm. The first week we arrived was very cold - like midwinter, with the temperature falling below zero at night times. We had to have hot water bottles and extra blankets at night to keep ourselves warm. We were ok, but on the first weekend we were here first we were joined by Lars, one of Diane's ... read more

For anyone who doesn't know what Wwoofing is, it stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Organic farmers advertise the opportunities on their farms, these can range from large farms to smallholdings. The organic produce can be a variety of things from meat, vegetables, fruit, dairy, nuts, wood. The organisation has been running since the 1970s. Growing organically means growing without using insecticides, herbicides and artificial fertilisers, which have been used in conventional farming since the second world war. These chemicals have a number of disadvantages - they are made from oil, (a finite resource), they are poisonous and unhealthy to the foods, they damage the creatures which make the soil and the plants and the ecosystems - earthworms, bees, fungi and so on, and they degrade the topsoil, which takes thousands of years to ... read more