Cornwall Spring Feast

Well spring has well and truly sprung here in North Cornwall, four weeks now of the most amazing weather, daffodils in abundance, birds singing their song, wild garlic raising its first leaves and the grass ready for its first cut !!!
And whilst the weather is so great, its best to make the most of it…so this week we decided to have lunch out and enjoy the bursting fresh flavours of the new season with one of Cornwall’s Spring Feast menus at award-winning chef Nathan Outlaw’s Seafood and Grill….and it could not have been better a stunning view out across the estuary, the sun shimmering on the water, blistering sunshine…and great food. 
And apparently in the new edition of the Lonely Planet guide innovative cooking plus organic, locally sourced and ethically produced food put the south-west well ahead of anywhere else in the UK, including London.  So check our availability and get yourself a top table before the summer rush and enjoy a culinary tour of Cornish food…..

Enjoy some of Cornwall's great restaurants and produce!!!!

Buying Local

We know that supermarket shopping is both a way of life and a necessity – the six largest supermarkets in the UK account for 80% of the money we spend on groceries. Some items you just have to go there for and it can’t be avoided – and some supermarkets offer better options than others.  But Cornwall is fortunate to have a lot of great local produce and many places to allow people to buy local and whilst at Tredarrup – even if you buy just the odd item locally…it still can make a difference. North Cornwall has very much become the ‘gourmet coast’ with lots of great places to go to eat and farm shops in abundance so we recently created for our properties our Tredarrup Food Finder to help find where to shop and eat during your stay (but we didn’t forget the local supermarkets)….  And from the beginning we have offered our visitors the chance to recycle and compost so that we can try and make some small steps that might make a difference…
Using local produce is:
Better for the local economy: Every £1 spent on local produce at local shops or producers generates £2.56 in the local economy, which is about twice as much as spending the same £1 in a supermarket. That means more jobs for our young people and more wealth for our community.
Better for the Environment: Consuming local produce reduces your ‘Food Miles’ and carbon pollution and increases our food and energy security, as well as typically requiring far less packaging (don’t get me started on food packaging!!!!!).
Better value for money and better deal for our farmers, fishermen and all our local producers.
Better quality, fresher food – higher in nutrients, lower in saturated fats and additives.
Buying local food directly from our local shops and producers is a very effective way of expressing our support for the local economy, safeguarding and creating jobs and indirectly supporting Cornwall.

Cornish Christmas present ideas…..

So that time of year has come around when we are all trying to think what to buy…..so here are a few Christmas Gift ideas from Cornwall.

Great glasses at the Green Glass Co  made from recycled wine and beer bottles at nearby Wadebridge
Cornish Food Hampers
Yummy Trenance chocolate – the jumbo chunk bars are one of our favourites
Smite, a great local game enjoyed by our cottage visitors
Lovely organic skincare, made in Cornwall at Trevarno or Spiezia
Local skincare from just up the road at Camelford from St Kitts Herbery 
The best Cornish Cider at Cornish Orchards
For those that love a good pint…Sharp’s Doom Bar or IPA
A cheers from award-winning Camel Valley vineyard, just up the road – we love a glass of white, try the Rose and Brut is fab….
Some great ethical ideas from The Eden Project

And not quite Cornwall but Devon and Dartmoor, if you’ve never heard of Seth Lakeman, check him out

HAPPY FESTIVE SHOPPING……….. 

Catching Up – Things To Do…

July has been a busy month…so apologies for no posts at a time when I know our visitors are catching up with our news….It has been a busy summer so far at Tredarrup with many choosing their holidays in the UK.  So as well as visitors coming and going in the cottages we have had our own visitors which has given us a chance to go out and about, so I thought I’d update you with some of those ‘things to do’…
The Eden Project is in itself a great place to visit but is also really good at adding new activities and events every year.  For a few years now they have had the Eden session – a great line up of bands in the summer months and a time of year when you get to stay and see the domes lit up amongst the starry skies – we saw Razorlight…FAB…
For those fishermen amongst you, it is a good time of year to sit by a lake if you are a coarse fisher or go out on a sea fishing trip, catch some mackerel and then what better than to come back put it on the BBQ and enjoy a few local beers or glasses of wine…
Good local food is always on the menu for us, revisiting favourites such as Paul Ripley’s St Kew Inn and the new – we tried Stavros Greek Taverna in Newquay, great (well if you can’t get to Greece then at least for a few hours you can imagine!).  Our farm shops at this time of year have much local seasonal produce and Miss Peapod’s Cafe one I’ve yet to try but great food and some evenings a live music venue.  
Most years we visit the Minnack Theatre but this year we went to Sterts Theatre, which is open air but under cover and we saw a very Cornish production Gonamena about mining coming to a local community but they do have something to suit all…..get there a bit early, take a picnic and enjoy.
I visited  St Michael’s Mount for the first time, a place of such beauty in the most stunning location………..the magic of going over on a boat and then watching as the tide revealed a pathway under the sea. From July – September the gardens are only open on Thurs & Friday,  it’s all closed on a Saturday.
Cornwall has many great beaches and walks to enjoy, our local Trebarwith Strand offers great walks along the coast to Boscastle, Tintagel and beyond.  We went on a walk which we’d done before  in the winter so at this time of year the pub at the end was open, to all’s appreciation!  From Harlyn Bay (great beach and parking nearby), stopped for lunch on Constantine Bay (lovely but no parking nearby), around by Trevose Head and it’s great views, saw seals by the Padstow lifeboat station in Mother Ivey’s Bay, some great birds along the way, then back to the finish along the beach, walking boots off and tired feet in the coolness of the sea with the sand between your toes.  Not far from Tredarrup is Rumps Point and Pentire Point, where we went in search of puffins that nest during June and July on The Mouls a very large nearby rock face.  No puffins to be seen – apparently they had already had their young and headed back out to sea – but we did see a sunfish (world’s heaviest bony fish), fantastic and it was a walk along truly stunning Cornish cliff tops and past the inspiration point for Laurence Binyon’s ‘The Fallen’.  The next on our list is West Pentire further around the coast near Newquay to see the fields smothered in poppies and corn marigolds at this time of year.
Some other places to visit – Tamar Otter Sanctury, Tate St Ives – not missing the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden, and The Lost Gardens of Heligan.

Happy holidays…whatever the weather….
P.S. Watch out for BBC2’s Coast tomorrow night (28th July) where they visit Cornwall ….