Hugh, Rick and the Hairy Bikers

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One of the motivations, other than to see the beautifulDevon, Dorset, Cornwall and Somerset countryside was, like in Plockton, to experience some of atmosphere we see on our favourite foodie shows.

A current favourite, especially for Andy, is the River Cottage series and its focus on the combination of good food, resourcefulness and sustainability. Our first stop was Bridport, near where the first series was filmed. Bridport the town was not inspiring but where we stayed overnight at West Bay was – our first fishing village, rather than tourist resort. The weather was wild, lashing the steep cliffs. A complete contrast to the day before in Bournemouth. The wild weather continued along the Jurassic Coast until we detoured to find the current River Cottage.

We found the River Cottage off one of those narrow English roads that were possibly going to be the end of us. Through the drizzle and mist we viewed the cottage from a nearby hillside through the drizzle and mist. It was just like on TV, a stone cottage set amongst green rolling hills with a variety of animals grazing on the nearby fields. You can see why Hugh loves this part of the country.

We then went to the nearby town of Axminster once famous for its wool carpets but now better known for the location of Hugh Fearnely Wintenstall’s River Cottage canteen. We enjoyed the lunch of local produce accompanied by hedgerow brews.

Next on the list was Padstow in west Cornwall, the home of Rick Stein’s empire. Probably the prettiest seaside town we visited. Padstow has the narrow cobbled streets but also sits on a channel that empties into the sea framed by those continuous rolling hills.

Rick has 2 restaurants, a fancy fish and chip shop and a produce store occupying different parts of the village. By the time we found the fish and chip shop it was closed and we had to satisfy ourselves with fish and chips from a village pub while watching the working boats manoeuvre in the harbour and a few souvenirs from Rick’s shop.

The Hairy Bikers, the 21^st century equivalent to Two Fat Ladies specialise in visiting the different “shires”and highlighting the “taste” of each shire they visit. Our last stop on the foodie pilgrimage was to . According to Andy this was a Somerset town visited by the Hairy Bikers cooking up a storm in the historic marketplace.

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