Dulverton "Hunting, hunting, hunting," said a local councillor once when I asked him what I could write about Dulverton. Back in Lordy Holcombe's day the answer could have been: "Poaching, poaching, poaching." But you get the underlying message - Dulverton is surrounded by deer, deer, deer.  Exmoor is home to England's last large herd of wild red deer and Dulverton is capital of the hills. As such, deer - and the killing of deer, legal or otherwise - has been the town's centr

Some places have a special corner in the nation’s collective heart. It might be that they will forever be linked to some glorious historic event, or maybe they’re known through sporting fame or they’re just so plain gorgeous and good looking that people love to visit. Penzance is one such place. It is mainly famous for being at the end of the line, but it is a truly wonderful terminus. It is the town famous for being situated where Britain ends and the great wild ocean begins

One of the great things about visiting Madeira at any time of the year is the excellent food. The islanders absolutely love their food, they take it very seriously and have a great pride in it. Which is one of the great bonuses of visiting the island’s Atlantic Festival. It’s not at all difficult to find wonderful food, from the classic basic “prego no bolo do caco” sandwich (a local flatbread filled with served with garlic butter and thin beef steak, as well as salad, ham, c

One of the great things about getting out and about is that you can see how other people do things and perhaps borrow some of their ideas for use at home. It’s an experience I had last weekend when I was invited down to Madeira to witness an event which they call The Atlantic Festival. It takes place each June to celebrate the coming of the summer, and the various events are staged with much style and panache.  So much so, that I spent the three-hour flight back to Bristol Ai

If there is one thing I love doing on my travels, it is visiting local markets - and they don’t come much better than the one that serves the Madeiran capital of Funchal. Why? Because the quality of just about everything in the market is first class. I have seen some of the best fruits and vegetables in the world being sold there - probably because the island has amazingly rich volcanic soils and plenty of sunshine to help things mature to perfection. Same goes for the fresh

On a recent trip to Madeira I learned all about some of the culinary traditions surrounding dried skipjack tuna - known locally as "gaiado," the fish is transformed through a meticulous drying process, becoming a cherished staple that embodies the essence of coastal life and regional flavours. I’d spotted the strange and unappetising dried fish in Funchal’s amazing market on a busy Saturday morning, and later on tried a dish made of the stuff at a lovely ocean-side restauran

When a well known poet, author and explorer comes up with an idea and invites you somewhere special for a jolly good day out, you’d be mad not to go along with the plan. So when West Country-based James Crowden called to say he’d been enjoying the new Hesp Out West series and that he had a perfect excursion in mind, I listened very intently indeed. “There’s a beach cafe that serves top-notch food, there are plenty of options for wonderful walks along this unspoilt corner of t

Imagine a small coastal town where you can have one of the best dinners in the entire region and know for a fact that you could carry on dining extremely well during a week-long stay if you were to visit other venues dotted around the local harbour. I was fortunate enough not to have to imagine such a thing. I knew I had found a genuine foodie-hot-spot as I looked out of a restaurant window while dining out in Porthleven. For those who don’t know it, the old fishing village o

In this weekend's newspapers, my Hesp Out West feature is all about the wondrous food you’ll find in the little harbour town of Porthleven, down there on the Lizard’s north-western shoreline. I first went there to write about the place nearly 25 years ago in an article for an old newspaper series called Hesp’s Harbours, in which I visited over 50 West Country ports. So here’s the article I wrote all those many long years ago… There's a famous photo of the Bickford-Smith Inst

A startling thing happened to me the other day - I was in the middle of a capital city when I was awakened from my early-morning reverie by the one and only cuckoo I’ve heard this year.  We used to hear cuckoos every year in our Exmoor valley, indeed, several of my neighbours have heard the unique and inspiring call this spring, but I haven’t and I miss the old bird. So you can imagine my surprise when, right bang in the middle of Copenhagen, I heard it’s optimistic cry. Ther

Is the burger in our photograph the best in the world? Silly question, I know - superlatives are far from scientific, because who can really tell? And when it comes to burgers, there’s an awful lot of very good competition. But I’m here to tell you that this particular meat patty, along with all its many trimmings, really does stand a chance of claiming the title - partly because of its amazing flavours and multi-layered accompaniments, and partly because of its pedigree.  Yo

This week I have been thinking about potatoes. A lot of people think about potatoes a lot of the time - chips and crisps, after all, are two of the nation’s favourite things. For me, this love of the humble spud was highlighted by the vast amount of feedback this column received after we featured oven-chips cooked over charcoal in a rotisserie basket - I stand by the claim that cheap frozen supermarket oven-chips prepared in this way are as good as you can get. But when you g

The majority of tourists heading west in pursuit of seaside adventures tend to aim for Devon, Cornwall or Dorset. Somerset’s Bristol Channel coast often gets overlooked. However, there is a corner of the county’s littoral which, in terms of scenic beauty alone, could compete with any shoreline in the world.  The wild and untamed sweep of Porlock Bay, punctuated only by the tiny picturesque harbour at Porlock Weir, is surely one of the most exquisite jewels in all of England’s

It didn’t last long, but we did have a few days of warm and sunny weather - which was enough to make millions of us head outdoors to cook and eat under blue skies. After a long wet winter, it seemed like a good idea. Essential even. Hopefully a proper summer will be with us soon.  So this week the phrase “Out West” translates to simply going outside for lunch or dinner. Dining al-fresco has come a long way. A large industry has built up around the concept of outdoor cooking a

A grand afternoon tea is a wonderful thing - there are people in this world who’d survive on it and nothing else if they could - but most of us like to ring the changes. And when we’re somewhere as maritime as Cornwall, we like to eat as much seafood as we can. Cornwall’s seafood capital, Newlyn, sits snug in the most sheltered corner of Mount’s Bay just a mile or two west of Greg’s high tea. It is one of the largest and most important fishing ports in England, and I love the

Strange how trends come around. The classic afternoon tea has had its ups and downs over the years - there were times when it seemed to have passed almost completely out of fashion, holding on in just a few upmarket traditional haunts like The Ritz. When I was a boy, a posh afternoon tea was the ultimate dream for people like my mother and her Westcountry friends but, decades later working as a food writer, I somehow managed to ignore the existence of these very British and g

I began the last Hesp Out West article by saying that sometimes it’s a good idea to climb a mountain or hill in order to get a better view of the world that surrounds you. Being up high can literally lift your spirits and somehow help to put the complexities of life into perspective.  The South West region has a variety of summits which will do the job, but some are better than others when it comes to supplying the drama of that all-round 360-degree panorama… Five West Countr

Discovering the Quantock Hills 🌳 There are times when it’s a good idea to climb a mountain in order to get a better view of the world that surrounds you. The right kind of hill will do. Or a ridge, escarpment or, indeed, any eminence that is capable of giving you an overview of the world in which you live. The point is that being up high can literally lift your spirits and somehow help to put the complexities of life into perspective.  The South West region has a variety of

Some years ago, we travelled to Venice in the depths of winter because my stepdaughter Emma was having a major exhibition of her jewellery in the city. What follows is the newspaper article I wrote at the time… The Silent City. That’s what I call Venice now that I’ve been there in the back end of February. As a countryman, the thing I dislike most about any urban environment is the general, all-pervading, mind-numbing, noise. I have never been to a city that doesn’t shake wit

Exploring the Majestic Beauty of Castelluccio and the Piano Grande Plain Many years ago we were staying with friends in Umbria and we all went up into the Sibillini Mountains to visit the old town of Castellucio and the famous Piano Grande Plain. You’ll find all this in the very heart of Italy. This enchanting and captivating locale offers a tranquil escape with its stunning landscapes. The Village of Castelluccio: A Glimpse into Pastoral Elegance Castelluccio, the highest se