Wednesday, September 5, 2012

September

Gosh it seems a long time since we opened the camp site for business back in June.

Now September is here which remains our favourite month.  The children are back to school so the frantic days of August behind us.  The sea is at its warmest and the roads are blissfully empty of the summer crowds.

The tents are fully booked this weekend but then there is plenty of room for people who want to come and join us and... relax.


Saturday, September 1, 2012

Duckpool


Thursday, July 26, 2012

A map to scale

Finally we have a map of the field to scale!  The old watercolour map is gone and the new one actually shows the dimensions of the field!
View it bigger on the website at www.berridonfarm.co.uk


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Sunshine... finally

Well it's been a long time coming but the sun is finally shining on Berridon Farm.  And boy is it shining with a vengeance, the ground which was squidgy and muddy just a week ago is well on the way to getting that cracked baked look which generally comes after weeks of heat.

From floundering in wet sticky soil the plants in the veg plot are now wilting in the heat.

Last night we headed to Bude beach for a Cubs Tide race and at 8pm the beach was still packed with people laid out in swimsuits, the sea was peppered with swimmers and surfers rode waves at the back as the  tide raced in.

It was quite simply the perfect summer's evening and to be honest the weeks of rain are almost forgotten.

Today the hay is turned for the third time and it has gone from 'the grass is dreadful and we're not going to get anything cut' to 'the best hay we've ever made'.  The rain made the grass grow and while some who had more rain than us, had their grass turn mouldy on the ground, ours was cut just right and is drying beauifully as the sun blazes down from dawn to dusk.

We still have availability in the tents for the rest of the holidays and hope they fill up so everyone can enjoy these wonderful summer days.


Monday, June 18, 2012

Moor vs beach

When you live close to the beach it can be hard to turn left at the end of the drive and head inland, but when Dartmoor is a short drive away it's important to head away from the beach every once in a while to remind yourself of the heartstopping beauty of the place.

Sunday saw a walk to Wistman's Wood which Dave and I first went to pre-children, ie eons ago.   Just magical (even when Eddie fell in a bog to his chest and whimpered 'help' through the marsh grass).










So beach or moor... ever the indecisive trailblazer I think I'll say - both.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Sunshine

Well while the news is full of floods and rain we've been lucky in our area to enjoy a little sunshine.  Well it is summer after all. Flowers are in full bloom.




Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Open for the summer!

Phew after a lot of hard work in the spring sun the tent cabins are now open for the summer.  Three tents are ready and the full five will be open for Easter 2013.

Out first guests had a great time, and Dave spent a couple of evenings getting their feedback over wine in their tent.  At least that was his excuse!

We are open!

Finally we are open for summer 2012!  First set of guests have left happy and we're ready for our next guests.  And in defiance of the weather forecast it's sunny!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Weekend sunshine

Quilt made for a tent; cold nights no more when camping.

Weeds running wild in the yard garden, but foxgloves holding their own lining the path.

Salad seedlings wilting in the sun... which let's face it is nice to see.

Glorious sunny day, empty sandy beach, it can only be our little spot of north Devon.

Give a small child a pair of scissors, some sellotape and a copy of Vogue for some quite fabulous collage work.  Watch out Banksy. 

Thursday, April 19, 2012

A few pics from a weekend wander

Polzeath

Port Quin

Port Gaverne

Sandymouth

Pebble towers on Sandymouth

Found on the beach

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Mobile website

Today, finally, hopefully!, the mobile version of our website will be live.  It's a smaller version of the main site and doesn't include as much information as we'd like but hopefully it will appeal to those people who live their lives on their mobiles.

Am sure it will be full of glitches but time will tell, and hours spent of an evening hunched over a laptop will fix them!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Oven ready

This summer, June in fact, sees the campsite reopen with new tents and a new approach.  One of the things that is new for this year is a new stove in each tent.

We know how important being able to cook food quickly and easily so we have spent the winter researching the best way to do this in a tent.

And the result is our new wood-burning stove which comes complete with an oven.  While a hob is great for frying off sausages and boiling a kettle we think our new stoves open up a whole new culinary camping world.

While the oven temperature is not as easily to regulate as the electric oven in my kitchen I've been enjoying working with the vagaries this new mini oven is throwing up.  I've promised that each tent will have a book of easy and delicious recipes by the time we open.

This week I've been concentrating on pizza.  Here's the recipe for dough from scratch and I'm just finishing off a cheat's version.
PAN PIZZA

1 and 2/3 cups of warm water (all our recipes use cups and measuring spoons as measurements as there are no scales in the tents)
2 and 1/2 tsp fast acting dry yeast
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup of olive oil (just regular, not your best extra virgin)
4 cups strong bread flour

In large bowl mix together the water, yeast, and salt.  Stir until dissolved and then stir in the olive oil, then the flour.  It should start sticky but then all start to come together.

Sprinkle a little flour onto the wooden worksurface of the kitchen and turn the dough out.  You can cut the dough into three or four pieces at this point to give children the chance to knead their own dough.  Knead, or let them knead the dough for five minutes.

Wash your mixing bowl (or a number of smaller bowls if you have little helpers), then dry and rub a few drops of oil on the inside to grease slightly.  Put the dough in the bowl, or bowls, and turn it so it is oiled and then drape a clean tea towel over.  If your stove is not lit, now would be a good time to light it.  Place your dough in a warm place (on the table in the sun, or to the side of the stove) until around doubled in size.

Take the dough and punch it down with your fist and turn out onto a board.

If you haven’t already, now cut it into three of four pieces. Roll out slightly and then press it into the oven skillet (greased) or an oiled or baking sheet lined with parchment.  Press it down into the pan and then add your chosen topping.  Pop into the oven and don’t go anywhere!  If the oven is hot it will cook in just a few minutes.

That’s it!

Our favourite toppings:
·         Garden tomatoes; simply gather up the freshest garden tomatoes in a mix of colours and shapes and slice thinly.  Drizzle a little oil over the dough, rub over a garlic clove then add a thin layer of tomatoes, add salt and pepper then whack in the oven.  When out of the oven grate over parmesan and add some basil leaves.
·         Cheese and tomatoes; as above but add on dollops of mozzarella and a few shavings of cheddar and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar
·         Olives and anchovies, Smear the dough with tomato paste (just regular readymade pasta sauce from a jar is just fine) then sprinkle chopped olives, sliced spring onions and a few anchovies.
·         Cheese and chilli, grate a strong cheddar cheese over the door and a sprinkling of chopped chillies.  Add cubed chorizo for a meaty punch