Real food hunt

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood. This post is from Nicola (pic is of Nell looking for lobsters down at the harbour)

The directions say turn right at The Ploughman pub, I do this but am completely distracted by the secondary sign that says "a real pub" on a very tackly looking 1970s built, horrible pub in Peterculter. To be fair we haven't been into this pub yet but the incident reminds me of the row Friends of the Earth got into running a 'Real Food Campaign' simultaneously with another organisation promoting 'real food'. Real means different things you see...

What we have found is that if you want to suss out a new area quickly then all you need are the local newspaper and a chance to browse at a local "real" food supplier.

1) Here in Aberdeen the organic, free range egg supplier I've been recommended to visit only opens on Wednesday and Saturdays at a side road you could easily miss on the way to Bridge of Muchalls. Supplies are in the shed but we buy loads of goodies - fabulous lettuce, tomatoes and a dozen of those eggs. They also have Suma supplies, but not the artichoke hearts Lola so loves. We don't need much really as there is a veg garden where we are staying. And we also wanted to try eating at Lairhillock Inn which has a reputation for stunning food, despite its reluctance to let children dine there (you won't find chips or baked beans or plates sized to suit a child's appetite).

2) And if we ever run out of veg then we'll be spoilt for deli choice in the nearby seaside town of Stonehaven. Not only does it have an independent butcher, fishmonger etc, there's also a chippy boasting Britain's 'best young fryer' and Aunty Betty's which sells ice-cream to die for (strawberry, tablet [fudge], banoffee) which is whipped up in nearby Buckie.

3) A few weeks ago we didn't need much at Rheged either - the just out-of-town 'local' shopping experience at Penrith in the Lake District. But the reasons were different: we just couldn't carry it. Rheged is a foodie heaven with an amazing selection of jams, cheeses, meat, biscuits, juices and even English wine. I bought Wild & Fruitful jam because I know it's Cumbrian (and the only other place you can get it is Marylebone High Street) and is an ideal present, even for people who make their own jams.

4) But my favourite foodie discovery was the farm shop by the roundabout on the road from Carlisle-Newcastle, Brocksbushes in Stockfield, Northumberland which was what all motorway pitstops should be: delicious food (cheese scones and coffee with free top ups), fresh fruit and veg (including a strawberry fest) and extremely nice staff. If you are ever in a vehicle this shop is worth a detour - not least because the main entrance has a tree in store, another soothing site for motorway-tired eyes.

Bargain shopping

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood. This post is from Nicola (pic of Robbie Burns in Aberdeen with inspired seagull head gear)

Can't help but boast about our most recent shopping adventure in Aberdeen - the granite city. It's the first time for ages that we have been to a place with a good selection of secondhand shops: Oxfam, Cancer Research, Sue Ryder, etc, etc - although the city is bursting with the usual clone-town chains too. It's a very different story 15 miles away in Stonehaven where we couldn't find any secondhand shops at all (though full marks to this town for having lots of independents and for making it easy to avoid supermarkets with its butcher, fishmonger, award-winning deli, and fairtrade Christian cafe full of homemade cakes). It also has an Olympic sized lido full of heated sea water... which you have to try if you are ever in the north east of Scotland (as we've recently learnt there are two north easts in Britain).

In Aberdeen we ended up making all our purchases at just one secondhand shop (something to do with hearts) run by an Irish woman. Here we found a raincoat to replace Nell's waterproof (which we've left accidentally in the Lake District); a jumper for me (I've been so cold up north that I've got a lung infection); another book for Lola, and Pete's annual holiday Ben Sherman shirt purchase. The grand total was #9. Result!

We'd planned to swap our unwanted items at charity shops as we travelled around but as a family with a clutter habit this has proved hard, so some things (eg, books) have had to be posted home to try and keep our luggage manageable.

Trying to limit the kids from their collecting is impossible. In their pockets they now carry around found objects including a fishing float, irn-bru plastic bottle top and bead necklace (Lola) and rusty screw, mini toothpaste tube and piece of string (Nell). I have a feeling that these are the items that they've invested with "tabu" powers - the ones that they will see in the months and years ahead and think, ah, they're my travel talismans, long after the "new" book is read and the new raincoat grown out of (or lost).

Once upon a time

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood. This post is from Nicola (pic is of Nelly the Elephant perhaps, definitely not my Dad's Jessica because she's been lost in Birmingham for years, with Nell at the front, Lola behind)

Once upon a time (on a Scottish holiday Monday when Pete was having a hard day at the type face)... Lola, Nell and I were planning to go out for a long bike ride by the River Dee - to practise map reading, cycling etc. But after about two miles on very quiet roads (ideal for cycling using a tandem) we were tempted off the path by a new adventure, the Storybook Glen in Maryculter, not far from Aberdeen, see http://www.storybookglenaberdeen.co.uk/.

Despite the map prep we didn't even know it was there until we saw the signs.

Storybook Glen is one of those bonkers ideas - stick a load of fibreglass nursery rhyme characters around a woodland and then add signs by those that aren't so obvious. This means that Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf are just as easy to spot as Dr Foster (the one who went to Gloucester in the rain). There's a lot of enthusiasm gone into this concept as there are over 100 figures, probably more as there are oddles of pixie, gnome and fairy models spread around the 20 acres. Don't let yourself think it silly, make sure to big it up in the press and charge a lot (#5.60 and adult and #3.75 I think for a child) and the visitors will come. Apparently 150,000 people a year...

"Bonkers" is a rather perjorative term I know, but the Storybook Glen reminded me of the sort of showmanship/exhibition that my dad specialised in (eg, the headless railwayman & the Dracula experience).

Its location is terrific - there's no competition (bar a similar site in Canada), the owners have added on a cafe, gift shop and plant centre and made the whole thing really toddler friendly. Whatever the weather you could visit Storybook Glen and feel that you were having a day out for little Tommy and Tess. I began to fantasise about ditiching everything eco-bunny and doing something similar at my mum's house which I don't think will go down to well... either with her, or the punters if I turn it into a climate change experience.

To wrap up a long story: Lola, Nell and I thought Storybook Glen was great. We visited every figurine, climbed every replica castle (Wizard of Oz, Tower of London, Fairy Palace), rode every wild cat, slithered down every slide and tried all the toilets. If this is the homey version of Disneyland (either in Florida, USA) or France's Eurodisney) then maybe it's not as tacky as I'd imagined to have a completely child-centred expo. The kids loved recognising the characters and reminding me of the rhymes - and judging by the other visitors' chanting so did most adults.

It makes a change for my girls too, who normally have to listen to me blahing on about some historical or geological thing that happened long before they were born at whatever place we've visited (even the seashore). As we strolled through the gardens (the azaleas still had a trace of their intoxicating scent, but the rhodedendrums were over) I was ordered by the girls to take loads of photos - which I'll upload soon.

And reader, if you like it enough you can even get married there posing carefully by the figures that look Disneyesque (but don't breach copyright), thereby avoiding all the hassle for you and your guests of super-airport security at the check-in desk for the Florida flight. You'll pretty much bypass the terrifying dress & looks competition from any other brides too,but still get a venue that is perfect for helping all visitors leave with a "happy ever after" feeling.

Taking the dogs out (style 3)

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood. This post is from Nicola (pic is of Fleur)

We think we may get a dog in September when we are back home, so caring for our friends' dogs has been a good trial run. I especially like the way they eat up food scraps: our hens are so fussy in comparison.

This lovely lady, Fleur, gets a lot of attention on walks, takes up a whole sofa, and is far too big to carry. That's why I'm hoping that the girls will be willing to have a much smaller (maybe handbag-sized?), pavement-shaded, London-savvy companion which will whisk out its own plastic bags to wrap up its poos and be able to fetch the newspaper on Sundays.

Time off in loo

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood. This post is from Pete, off-message but heartfelt he says (pic of an outdoor poo-er)

“There are loo seats I’ll remember all my life…” as the Beatles might have put it. Arriving in Glasgow on the sleeper at 7am, unable to use the loo while the train was in the station because of the anti-social consequences, it was a huge relief to find a clean, presentable Gents available for just 20p on the concourse. A contented traveller needs a decent loo. From my pre-climate awareness days there are many horrific lav stories; a drop loo in the Solomons where coconut crabs lay ready to nip your privates; the pungent pong of stale urine overflowing in a Bangkok bus station; Greek loos that didn’t take paper; continental squatting models; and more latterly tiger worms lurking beneath the sawdust in a green’s compost loo and the blue hell of the chemical toilet in the Dalmally bothy.

And now, for an anally retentive man, came the ultimate challenge; camping for four days at an Ullswater boat house without running water or loo facilities of any kind. Thus bowel movements involved unspeakable activities with trowels and paper burying the evidence among the trees, bracken, thistles, nettles and flies. Often amid a deluge. Soon we became expert at restraining nature and holding on until the café at the perhaps aptly-named Pooley Bridge (outside loo with cold water and a mirror) or the National Trust toilets at Aira Force (smelly but effective). What bliss to now be in Aberdeen with a fully functioning flush toilet. Thomas Crapper, inventor of the original water closet, you are a much-neglected genius.

High Street is a hill

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood. This post is from Pete (pic shows High Street in the far distance, this is of Nell helping Pete warm up on Hallin Fell)



What have the Romans ever done for us? Well, as fans of Life of Brian will know, they did manage to build the original High Street at a height of more than 700 metres (or 2,500 feet), stretching for 30 kilometres across a set of huge mountains in the Lake District. These days a footpath follows the path of the old Roman road. Walking up from Pooley Bridge it’s fascinating to reflect that you are following the path of Roman Legions who used to trek between forts at Ambleside and Penrith, covering 20 miles every five hours across the mountains, before relaxing in a hot bath full of Roman Radox.

First there’s an intriguing detour to the Cockpit a Neolithic standing stone circle (or did the Romans put them there just to keep Time Team busy?) and then a yomp across boggy grass and sphagnum moss up to the mountain plateau. As my boots become saturated, even in July, you realize just how hard it must have been for Italian geezers in sandals longing for olive oil and sundried tomatoes. You can still see where the Romans used the gradient of the rock to facilitate their progress. As my boots sink in the peaty mulch once more you can see the attraction of a decent surface and camber.

Also in evidence is the Roman’s unsentimental approach to walking. The path skirts all the stunning views over Ullswater and sticks resolutely to the drab upland commons – although the views are much more spectacular near the High Street summit. It was a military road all about safe passage and concealment from hostile Scots, Cumbrians and Geordies; no time for Wainwright guidebooks here. After two and a half hours I make it across eroded peat and water pools to the summit of Loadpot Hill. The High Street path continues for another four miles to the summit of the mountain High Street (828 metres), a flat plateau where the locals held horse races 200 years ago. But for me it’s time to return for a pint at Pooley Bridge. Maybe it’s best the Romans left these shores some 1,600 years ago. Otherwise the M6 would be straight across Lakeland’s most loved peaks.

In a canoe

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood. This post is from Nicola

We're not ready to go miles in a canoe yet, but during our wet camping Lola, Nell and I had lots of fun taking the canoe out on Ullswater. I like paddling for a "walkabout", as it was known in the Solomon Islands, in the early evening, but on our last day we just had time before breakfast to go for a quick jaunt down the lake. The rewards were a close-up of a cormorant sitting in the top of a dead tree by the lakeside. For once it wasn't drying its wings, instead it looked hunched and impressively tropical. As we glided by a kestrel got up and circled around us. It was so close we could see its golden brown back and yellow beak.

We wouldn't have been able to do this if Tom hadn't kindly dropped off some life jackets to fit us all. So many thanks to him for yet more generosity.