travel special britain
Samphire is a seasonal specialty
to fish. And when the catch is abundant, it will probably go to The Fish Shed on the coast road, where Margaret and Stephen Bocking preside over their pescatorial paradise. Delicious local mussels give way to crabs and lobsters in summer, vying for attention with every kind of fish, caught by longshoremen and trawlers off the coast or brought in from the beach by local lads. Just across the road is The White Horse, an excellent pub with views over the marshes, whose new chef is the enthusiastic young Nicholas Parker. His cooking is superb, but it is rivalled by the adventurous Eric Snaith, a few miles down the road at the elegant Titchwell Manor, and by Andy Bruce, fresh from Odette’s in London and now at The Gin Trap in Ringstead. Ten minutes away from Brancaster Staithe, The Victoria, at Holkham, sends restaurant critics into an ecstasy of delight, while at the smart little town of Burnham Market you could happily fall into the Hoste Arms. Grooms Bakery produces a different speciality every day of the week while Humble Pie, a tiny delicatessen, is a treasure trove offering lovely local cheeses. In season, succulent samphire is sold for a song all along this coast road, which is also dotted with market gardens, pick-your-owns and a farm shop. Although people and sophistication are coming in faster than the tide, this is a broadly generous and accommodating place where you can still feel completely alone and at ease under enormous skies.
Fishguard bay
Welsh wonders in Fishguard, west Wales The herring boats have long gone from the pretty harbour of Fishguard, but you can still see the remnants of the fishing industry on which this Pembrokeshire town’s prosperity was based. Individual inshore fishermen still bring in lobsters and crabs and the quayside is often strewn with their pots, but unless you are there at just the right moment, the only place in town you can still buy locally caught fresh fish is from Peter and Beverley Hughes, the High Street butchers (hughesbutcherstclears.co.uk). While there, shop for honey, chutneys, farm-produced cheeses like Llangloffan, and cooked lamb, ‘pickled’ using an old recipe that makes it less fatty. And try Peter’s award-winning sausages: he makes 46 different varieties. At Castle Morris, Leon and Joan Downey run Llangloffan Farmhouse Cheese Centre (welshcheese.co.uk). Their daughter Emma Lewis runs Tides Restaurant & Coffee Shop where she uses their traditional farmhouse cheese as well as shellfish caught by her
husband. Dishes include organic Welsh Black beef and chilli jam, and seared Cardigan Bay scallops with soya and honey. Fish is also strongly featured at Cnapan in Newport and decent crab sandwiches, plus wellkept beer, may be found at The Sloop Inn, Porthgain beside the picturesque old harbour from where slate used to be shipped. Almost next door, The Shed Tea Room offers a good selection of homemade cakes, cream teas, crab sandwiches and salads. And in the evening it becomes a wine bar and bistro with Caroline Jones making the best use of her fisherman husband’s catch. Dishes include warm Porthgain crab with pink grapefruit and mustard dressing or Fillet of gurnard with saffron and potato broth. For sweet treats, try a cream tea with local Drim Farm clotted cream, homebaked scones and Sharon’s Kitchen jams a short stroll from the harbour. Or visit the Oriel-Y Felin gallery and tea room, Trefin. They have great local clotted cream teas, with homemade jam, plus Welsh black beef from their own Ty Dewi herd as well as crab sandwiches.
May 2015 BBC Good Food Middle East 85
Pg83-85 British Seaside Holidays_May15.indd 85
4/26/15 9:26 PM