Leintwardine - A H Griffiths

If you've never been to Leintwardine before, make sure you go down Dark Lane and into Watling Street (which follows the old Roman Road) as well as the High Street where A H Griffiths butchers are. I've already mentioned A H Griffiths shop in Ludlow here, but in Leintwardine they've got their own abattoir at the back of the shop. Why is this so important? Well I think if you're going to kill animals for meat you should avoid stressing them, not just from an animal welfare point of view, but also because meat from animals who have not been stressed is more tender.

In the window are home made pies and faggotts:

There's joints hanging from the ceiling:

and even "quirky quail eggs laid in the Shropshire Hills"!

If you don't know what to do with them, stay with Carolyn Chesshire, 2 miles up the road in Buckton.

Griffith's meat is superb.

A H Griffiths

High Street

Leintwardine

Shropshire

SY7 0LB

Tel: 01547 540231

Lastly, I can't leave Leintwardine without mentioning Flossie Lane who sadly died earlier this month. She was the 94 year old landlady of the Sun Inn in Leintwardine, which CAMRA described as “possibly the most unspoilt pub in the country”. Read her obituary in The Times and The Telegraph to find out why she was so special.

Chester - Antonina's Ice Cream Parlour

Not far from the town hall and tourist information centre in Chester is Antonina's Ice Cream Parlour. I think I might have gone past it, if I hadn't been on the Taste of Chester Walking Tour. Anyway I'm glad I discovered it (it's going to be hot all this week) they have a fantastic range of flavours:Normally when I try a new ice cream I go for vanilla (I think flavours can sometimes mask inferior ingredients). However, having tried a few different flavours here (they were selling vanilla, dairy, chocolate cookie and cream, melon, coffee mocha, mint choc, oreo, seedless strawberry, peanut butter, wild strawberry ripple, hazelnut, apple crumble and more besides), I would go for the amerena cherry:

Antonina's Ice Cream Parlour

47 Northgate Street

Chester

Cheshire

CH1 2HQ

Tel: 01244 323980

Halen Môn - Anglesey Sea Salt

I've always thought salt is just salt. It's essential for life - but not in excess and I thought it tastes the same wherever it comes from. However I've learnt that a good quality sea salt does not contain additives (such as sodium hexacyanoferrate II and magnesium carbonate) but does contain many trace elements found naturally in the sea. Celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver, Angela Hartnett and Delia Smith recommend Maldon Sea Salt, so I thought I'd feature Halen Môn or Anglesey Sea Salt.

There's a small shop where you can buy pure sea salt, oak smoked, organic celery (my favourite), organic spiced or Taha'a vanilla sea salt. The last one is made by combining Tahitian vanilla pods with pure Halen Môn, and is apparently fabulous with white fish, and shellfish, especially scallops.

Anglesey Sea Salt is literally next door to the Anglesey Sea Zoo so you can visit both together, and also do a bit of bird spotting on the Menai Straights.

The Anglesey Sea Salt Company Ltd

Brynsiencyn

Isle of Anglesey

Wales

LL61 6TQ

Tel: 01248 430871

Fax: 01248 430399

Web: www.seasalt.co.uk

Email: enq@seasalt.co.uk

p.s Talking of salt, did you know that Nantwich has an outdoor brine pool which I think is the only inland brine pool left in the U.K.? So if you're fed up of swimming in chlorine come to Nantwich (where there's lots of good food shops as well)!

Web: www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/leisure_and_culture

Anglesey Sea Zoo

If ever you're on Anglesey, I recommend a vist to the Anglesey Sea Zoo. As the crow flies (or should I say seagull flies?) it's not far from Caernarvon, but is across the Menai Straights on Anglesey.

Most of the inhabitants have been caught locally. You can marvel at the disguise of the flat fish:
The staff are very friendly and helpful. The member of staff I spoke to told me he was far more afraid of the sea bass than the sharks:

I was rather taken with the sea horses:

There was a lot of information about lobsters. Apparently a lobster produces 20,000 lobsters every 6 months or 40,000 per year. In the wild typically only one of these 40,000 will survive. One of the biggest predators of young lobsters is other lobsters! I suppose it's a design fault of the lobster - tasting of lobster!
The picture above shows how they breed lobsters in the zoo and then return them back to the sea to increase stocks. They told me the largest British lobster ever caught weighed over 20 lbs (or 9kg).

Anglesey Sea Zoo & Marine Resource Centre

Brynsienicyn

Lanfairpwll

Anglesey

LL61 6TQ

Tel: 01248 430411

Web: www.angleseyseazoo.co.uk

Davenham - Terrace Foods

This is a tiny shop, with a lot packed in!

They have one rule: if they don't like and use it themselves, they don't stock it!

They sell bread from the Devonshire Bakery (in Frodsham), Cheshire Brie, Cowman's Clitheroe sausage, Eddisbury Fruit Farm apple juice, jams, jellies and chutneys from Clippy’s Apples (from Sale) and Richard Woodall's Cumberland hams and bacon.

Home made items include blueberry muffins and choclate brownies.

Cheeses include Appleby's or Joseph Heler's Cheshire, Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire and Wensleydale from Hawes. They also sell Tiresford Guernsey Gold yoghurt, made with Guernsey milk from a farm in Tarporley. There's a couple of seats if you fancy a drink or a snack.

Terrace Foods

473 London Road

Davenham

Cheshire

CW9 8NA

Tel 01606 810444

Web: www.terracefoods.com

Tindalls of Tideswell

Tindalls of Tideswell, is a fine food shop, opposite St John's church, which is known as the Cathedral of the Peak.
Established over 60 years ago, it incorporates a family run bakery and a delicatessen. Their rich fruit cake has deservedly won a Great Taste Award.

They sell fresh local milk and eggs, creamy Hartington Stilton and delicious Dovedale Blue cheeses:

They sell their own hand made pork pies, made using a fifty-year old recipe. I like the way that they produce food based on Derbyshire recipes. A sign in the window encourages you to submit your own recipes (with a local provenance and preferably using local food).

I tried their Wakes cakes, which are a sweet fruity biscuit that is traditionally eaten during a Wake. Almost every Derbyshire village had its own special Wakes Cake, but most recipes were not written down and many are now lost. They didn't have a Tideswell recipe so they adapted one from another village, and added a traditional flavouring of Rosewater and ground coriander to make their own Tideswell Wakes Cake:

Thar Cakes (also known as Thor cakes) are traditionally baked and eaten at Guy Fawkes night and also during Wakes Weeks. There are lots of traditional recipes for Thar Cakes, but they all contain oats and ginger. I recommend these, they didn't stint on the ginger!

Tindalls of Tideswell

Commercial Road

Tideswell

Derbyshire

SK17 8NU

Tel: 01298 871351

Email: tindallsoftideswell@hotmail.com

Eyam

I love Eyam, in the Derbyshire Peak District. It's rich in history and has a fine 8th Century Celtic Cross in the grounds of the parish church.
It's the story of the plague, in 1665, which fascinates me. A tailor living in the village received some cloth from London, which apparently contained plague carrying fleas. The tailor fell ill and soon died, as did some of the the people he was lodging with. Soon many of their neighbours, who lived in what is now known as "plague cottages":
and others in the village, succumbed to the plague. One woman, Mrs Hancock, buried her husband and 6 children over a period of 7 days, in what is known as the Riley Graves:
The rector of Eyam, William Mompesson asked the villagers to shut themselves off to avoid contaminating the whole area. Most did, and the plague killed 260 villagers over an 14 month period leaving only a few survivors. However places like nearby Sheffield were not affected.

It's interesting to compare what happened in Eyam with the current pandemic of swine flu. At the beginning of this flu outbreak people were asked not to go to Mexico unless their journey was "really necessary". Our motorways are full of business people making "essential journeys". The first known case of swine flu emerged near to a pig farm that raises almost 1 million animals a year, with reports of clouds of flies coming from the manure lagoons. It raises serious questions about factory farming.

It will be interesting to see how we cope this autumn. Years ago our bakers would have sacks of flour stored in their shops. Today most of our food comes from big manufacturers, where accountants have ensured everything is "just in time". I hope they can cope if their drivers go down with flu...
Coming back to Eyam, a remembrance service is still held every Plague Sunday (the last Sunday in August). It's also Eyam Well Dressing (in Eyam it's 29th August - 5th September 2009) and on Saturday 5th September 2009 you can see an old Eyam custom, involving a sheep being roasted on a revolving roasting jack (pictured above).

Tenbury - The Little Sweet Shop

As a child I used to love going to sweet shops and choosing a quarter of this, or a quarter of that....

Everywhere once had a shop like the Little Sweet Shop in Tenbury, but sadly they're just a memory in most towns now. If ever you get the urge to buy a quarter of aniseed balls, coconut mushrooms, pineapple cubes or toasted teacakes, thankfully you still can in Tenbury Wells.

The Little Sweet Shop

25a Teme Street

Tenbury Wells

Worcestershire

WR15 8BB

Tel: 01584 819328

Tenbury - Bowkett's

Tenbury has a supermarket, but not a Tescos, ASDA, Sainsburys or Morrisons (well not yet anyway). Tenbury has a Bowketts, it's been trading for just over 100 years and is Nisa-Today’s supermarket of the year 2009.

They have their own butchery department and sell award winning sausages and savoury and pork pies. Pizzas are also made on the premises. According to the Tenbury blog they could soon be getting some competition. William Chase, the former Tyrrells tycoon plans to build a posh supermarket. More worryingly, Sainsbury would like to build on the old Cattle Market and Tesco's are expected to apply for a Tesco Express in nearby Burford. I hope they don't spoil Tenbury.....

Bowkett's Supermarket

The Square

Tenbury Wells

Worcestershire

WR15 8BN

Tel: 01584 810351

Fax: 01584 811553

Web: www.bowketts.co.uk

Tenbury - Fruit and Vegetables

The World Health Organisation has been telling us, for a long time, to eat "Five a Day" portions of fruit and vegetables. Some are saying it should be nine or even ten portions a day. It's sad that many children I see rarely eat any fruit and vegetables. Maybe it's because there aren't as many fruit and vegetable shops (see previous a post here)? Burslem, for instance, with a population of over 20,000, doesn't have a greengrocer. However Tenbury Wells, with a population around 3,390, has two (and other shops also selling fruit and veg)!

Pictured at the top of this post is the Fruit Basket on Teme Street.

The Fruit Basket

19 Teme Street

Tenbury Wells

Worcestershire

WR15 8BB

Tel: 01584 810700

Just around the corner on Market Street is the Barn Farm Shop:

There's a good range of fruit and vegetables and some flowers. Local foods are clearly marked.

The Barn Farm Shop

22 Market Street

Tenbury Wells

Worcestershire

WR15 8BQ

Tenbury - Richard C Swift

This is the third time that Richard Swift, the baker, has appeared in this blog! I've already mentioned the bakery at Clee Hill and the shop in Ludlow. It's a great bakery and their shop in Tenbury is particularly stylish:
You could almost think you were in Knightsbridge or Paris!

Richard C Swift

2 Market Street

Tenbury Wells

Worcestershire

WR15 8BQ

Tel: 01584 811062

Web: www.swifts.bakery.co.uk

Tenbury - Phil @ the Clockhouse and Whites

Not far from the Round Market in Tenbury is Phil @ the Clockhouse. It's a butchers and delicatessen and is next to Whites @ the Clockhouse which is a wine bar and café downstairs and a restaurant specialising in local food upstairs.

Phil @ the Clock House

14 Market Street

Tenbury Wells

Worcestershire

WR15 8BQ

Tel: 01584 811011

Just around the corner, in Teme Street, is Whites @ Home. It's a small shop selling wine and beer and also fine food prepared by Jonathan Waters and his team at Whites.

You can buy sauces and pickles and biscuits (sweet and savoury) and tortillas.
I bought some almond tuilles and some hazelnut meringues to recreate that fine dining experience at home!

As Queen Victoria referred to Tenbury as "my little town in the orchard", I should also mention Robinson's Cider. It's been made in Tenbury for over 200 years and available from Whites.

Whites @ Home

21 Teme Street

Tenbury Wells

Worcestershire

WR15 8BB

Tel: 01584 811007

Web: www.whites.cc

Tenbury - The Food Hall

The Food Hall is a good delicatessen in the middle of Tenbury. They sell Dairy House dairy products from Weobley and Just Rachel ice cream from Ledbury.
It's a nice modern shop, next to the library, but I liked this picture in the shop, reminding me of their history:

The Food Hall

Cromer House

Teme Street

Tenbury Wells

Worcestershire

WR15 8AA

Tel: 01584 810071

Tenbury Wells

Tenbury Wells is a delightful town situated just in Worcestershire, close to the borders of Herefordshire and Shropshire. The bridge (from where the picture at the top of this post was taken) was repaired by Thomas Telford, after the bridge was damaged in extreme floods in 1795.

Queen Victoria referred to Tenbury as "my little town in the orchard", and cider apples and hops are grown nearby. There's an unusual Round Market, (which is actually oval in shape) designed by James Cranston in the 1850s. Market Days are Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from around 8am to about 2pm, depending on weather and time of year.

In 1862 the Pump Rooms were built, to help promote Tenbury mineral water. In 1911 the spa was being promoted as helping to cure glandular swellings, congestion of the secretive organs, liver compaints and scrofula etc.!
In 1862 the Pump Rooms were built, to help promote Tenbury mineral water. In 1911 the spa was being promoted as helping to cure glandular swellings, congestion of the secretive organs, liver compaints and scrofula etc. They've recently been restored and you can still see the well:
The drinking fountain and one of the baths from the Pump Rooms can be seen in Tenbury Museum www.tenburymuseum.co.uk. You can find out more about Tenbury in Teme Valley and the Marches Tourism Guide and the town also has its own blog. I also must give a special thanks to Chris Dell of the Teme Valley Times for correcting information in this blog.

In recent times Tenbury has suffered from more floods. There are two rivers, the River Teme and the Kyre Brook and both rivers burst their banks in both 2007 and 2008. If you want to help prevent this happening in the future there's an E-Petition here http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/StopTheFloods.

There always used to be a good fish shop in Tenbury near the bridge, but the owner has died and the business closed. However I was delighted to find another one:
I made some comment to the owner about the fish being obviously fresh, and he said "yes, they swam in this morning"!
Nice to know they've not lost their sense of humour after the floods, and Tenbury is as beautiful as ever.

The Little Fish Shop

20 Market Street

Tenbury Wells

Worcestershire

WR15 8BQ

Tel: 07951 449658

Fax: 01584 811664

Web: www.littlefishshop.plus.com

Fig Pie Wakes

I had a great afternoon today at Wybunbury (pronounced Wimberry) attending the annual Fig Pie Wakes!

To enter, you need to go to Wybunbury Post Office and buy an entry form (complete with recipe) and bake a fig pie. You can support your local post office and buy all the ingredients there:
The aim is to roll (and definitely not throw) your fig pie from the start (near the Swan Inn):

and preferably get it to the Red Lion,

complete with traction engines,

and preferably beyond!

There was entertainment laid on - face painting, tugs of war and Morris dancing:

and your intrepid reporter climbed the steps of the Leaning Tower of South Cheshire:

braving the bells:

in search of a better angle on the festivities:

The 29.3 metres tall leaning tower of St Chads was built in the 15th century on the site of an earlier church. Apparently five churches have been attached to the tower, but each one has had to be demolished due to subsidence.

This year there were (despite the bad weather) 197 entries.

The local MP, Edward Simpson opened the race:

with a special HP fig pie:

We were assured by the commentator that a receipt had been provided!

There were three categories, Age 10 and under:

Age 16 and under and Adult. There was a wide range of fig pies, although there were strict rules - e.g. no frozen fig pies and the winner was opened to ensure the pie conformed with the recipe.

Some were thin and almost like plates, some looked more like pork pies and this one was so burnt it matched the entrants drink (of Guinness?):

Some were as off the mark as the commentators shirt:

After all the pies had been rolled measurement were made. The winning entry went 101 metres (that's over 331 feet), and the road cleared for traffic.

Newport - Wycherleys Fine Foods

Wycherleys Fine Foods is a delicatessen and coffee house, situated in a grade 2 listed building (dating back to the 1790's) in the middle of Newport.

That's Newport in Shropshire (not to be confused with the Newports in Cornwall, Essex, Gloucestershire, Isle of Wight, Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire or Yorkshire). For my overseas readers, I should also point out that this Newport is not in Australia, Canada, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Poland or the 26 Newports I counted in the United States!
I always like shops that give free samples and sell local food. There was a special offer when I called, and I ended up buying 6 different local cheeses - when I wasn't really needing any!
The town has two cheeses named after it, handmade by Mr Moyden at Church Aston near Newport and sold in this shop.

If you fancy a drink or something to eat you can sit down at the back of the shop:

or upstairs:

or (if it's nice weather) outside on their patio at the back.

Drinks sold included Cleric's Cure from the Three Tuns Brewery in Bishops Castle, which according to their web site, is regarded as one of the best bottled beers in the world. I never did find out what it cured...

Besides cheese they sell jam and pickles from Jam Today (made in nearby Stafford), a good selection of cheese biscuits to go with your cheese, fruit vinegars and a very fine pork pie:

Wycherleys Delicatessen & Coffee House

49 High Street

Newport

Shropshire

TF10 7AT

Tel: 01952 814002

Welsh Highland Railway and an ice-cream

We recently went on the Welsh Highland Railway, a narrow gauge railway that runs through the heart of Snowdonia. It starts near to Caernarfon castle at Caernarfon station (pictured above) .
It climbs though beautiful countryside and goes past Llyn Cwellyn (lake) and on to Snowdon Ranger and Rhyd Ddu stations where you can get off and climb Snowdon.
The train then goes on to Beddgelert, and will soon go on to Blaenau Ffestiniog to link up with the Ffestiniog railway.

However we got off at Beddgelert, which is a great place for walking:
In Beddgelert you can visit Gelert's grave:
The tale of this dog, and how he died, is a great story. Apparently it was invented by an innkeeper in the 19th century to drum up trade (see here for details)!

Whilst in Beddgelert you should visit the Glandwr Café, where they make their own ice-cream:
There's a wide range of flavours (including butterscoth and pecan or chocolate and chilli) and also fruit sorbets.

Glaslyn Ices & Glandwr Café

Beddgelert

Caernarfon

Gwynedd

LL55 4YB

Tel: 01766 890339

Web: www.glaslynices.co.uk