Camping - Swim Sky Breathe

July 29, 2022

Chettle Orchard Campsite

Some campsites are just a place to lay your head at night before going out to explore the wider world.

Chettle Orchard Campsite is not one of those campsites. You won’t want to leave this gem of a place nestled in the Dorset countryside, despite the plethora of wonderful local attractions that surround it. It’s a destination in itself, a place to relax, recharge your batteries, and immerse yourself in its old-school vibe and stunning surroundings. This is camping how your mum and dad did it, and it’s perfect.

Chettle Orchard Campsite opened last year, and offers camping pitches as well as pre-pitched bell tents that can be rented furnished or unfurnished. We were three adults and two children in a furnished tent, which came with soft pillows and duvets and crisp sheets, crockery and cutlery, as well as fresh local fruit and pear juice and Prosecco on ice to welcome us.

Each tent provides plenty of space so that you’re not listening to the family next door having breakfast, as well as a picnic table and benches and a dug out fire pit – firewood is available on site and in the local shop.

There are compost loos and showers, as well as washing up facilities, and a lovely communal area with rustic haystacks and throw cushions where you can settle down with one of the many books dotted around. I enjoyed losing myself in a 1980s Good Housekeeping recipe book, a trip down memory lane!

Local yoga teacher Jordana offers morning yoga, which takes place in the communal gazebo in the centre of the site. We couldn’t think of a better way to start off the day than saluting the sun looking out across the stunning Dorset landscape, with Jordana’s soothing encouragement in a gentle session for all levels and abilities.

Chettle local Liam offers foraging walks, which last two hours and leave from the campsite. The walk comes at a fraction of the price of other similar sessions – only £10 per person, with concessions – and worth every penny.

The walk began with some home made pineapple weed juice, made using a pineapple weed syrup that Liam had created – it tasted so good! This was followed by some of his delicious home made seed flapjacks before setting off on our walk. We learned so much in two hours – from how to find a soothing ready made plant gel to put on stings and burns, where to pick flowers that steeped in tea will give you lucid dreams, which herbs will stem bleeding and how to spot and prepare nutritious seeds that can be added to dishes for flavour and bite. It was a fantastic experience and we enjoyed every minute – suitable for children and adults alike.

Liam points out some Queen Anne’s lace on our foraging walk.

Another highlight of Chettle is its lovely, quirky village shop, which sells everything from firewood to locally made candles, fresh fruit and veg and vegan marshmallows for toasting over the fire. There are big plans to move the shop to the Food Hub that the village is planning to open in a few years time… more on that later. For now, it’s a charming place to do a little shopping.

You won’t want to miss a stroll around the village after a visit to the shop. Walk through the dreamy thatched cottages to the amazing kid’s playpark (even adult sized kids won’t be able to resist a bounce on the trampolines and jumping aboard the life sized ship) and then up through the old dairy farm that has been completely reclaimed by nature, abundant with wildflowers and some particularly juicy blackberries.

You could spend your time at Chettle Orchard never leaving the village, but if you do choose to venture further, there’s plenty to do.

The campsite adjoins The Jubilee Way, which links four counties and runs through Dorset’s AONB, Cranborne Chase, and the Chalke Valley – all stunningly beautiful. If you don’t want to take your car, you can walk for miles with the village as your starting point and be back in time for sausages and marshmallows over the campfire. Further afield, there’s Tisbury for river and lake walks, about 25 minutes from Chettle.

If you fancy some swimming, head to Fiddleford Manor as we did. It’s about 20 minutes drive from the campsite, with a lovely river that drops down into tiered weirs and a pond to swim in. There’s also a great spot just outside of Downton with a bridge you can dive off into crystal clear waters – take a right as you exit out of the village heading into the New Forest. Godshill is also a beautiful spot on the same river that’s hidden under the treeline. It takes some finding and can get busy in the summer but is worth it!

If the sea is calling, the world famous Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove are a 40 minute drive. away. Both get very busy but are amazing places to swim, though Durdle is for competent swimmers only – there’s quite a pull as you swim back through the door to the shore. Both are unforgettable swims though and worth the journey!

That is Colin, honestly! At Durdle Door.

Chettle is owned by local landowner Alice Favre, who has big plans for the village. A committed environmentalist, together with the local community she is spearheading a fifty year plan designed to mitigate the worst effects of climate change in the village and ensure that Chettle is somewhere that future generations can live, work and thrive.

As well contribute to tackling climate change, her vision is for a community that has future-proofed itself by leading a diverse response to climate change through investing in a sustainable future. It’s a compelling case. Regenerative farming, agriforesty, rewilding, and moving away from destructive industrial practises that have damaged food production to ones that look to a natural balance are all ideas that are increasingly finding purchase among forward-looking farmers, landowners, organisations and so on. Key to this is the community having a greater connection to the land, and key to that is improving access.

Central to Chettle’s plan is their Food Hub initiative, which will make use of an old dairy farm in the village centre. The space will be transformed into a hub with a cafe and new shop, offering local, ethically sourced produce. Locals and visitors will be able to purchase products grown or produced within a few miles of the shop, reinforcing that hugely important connection between consumer and the land.

As well as restoring the old dairy, Alice and her fellow directors have also led on the restoration of local housing, increasing capacity and helping to grow the community, though demand it seems far outstrips supply – plenty of people want to live here, and for us at least, the campsite with its easy-going and super comfortable bell tents was a perfect solution.

Chettle can be reached by bus from Southampton Central rail station. It’s about two hours drive from London if you’re taking the car.

Prices start at £28 per night for a grass pitch and £100 per night for a fully furnished bell tent. You can book here.

Useful Links

Find Jordana, our yoga teacher, at @forage_and_flow on Instagram

Find Liam’s foraging walks on Instagram at @walkingpaceonly

Chettle Orchard Campsite

Chettle Village Store

August 10, 2021September 12, 2021

A Holiday in the Black Isle – Dolphins, Kayaks and Nessie!

We were lucky enough to have a week’s holiday in the Black Isle this July. The Black Isle isn’t actually an island – or black – but an isthmus just north of Inverness in Scotland, surrounded by water on three sides. It takes its name from the deep dark woodland that used to cover it. Before our holiday, we’d driven through it but never actually spent time there, and were keen to fit as much as possible into our week. It’s a beautiful part of Scotland, and virtually midge free, which is a huge bonus if you’ve ever spent a holiday in Scotland plagued by midges!

If you’re thinking about visiting this wonderful part of Scotland, here are some outdoor things you might like to do.

Dolphin watching at Chanonry Point. Chanonry Point, jutting out into the Moray Firth, is one of the best places in the UK to spot dolphins. When we arrived on a slightly drizzly Tuesday morning, there was a large group of people on the beach, some of whom had been waiting for hours. We decided to give ourselves an hour waiting on the beach, to see if the pod of dolphins that make a regular appearance to feed close to the shore might decide to show themselves. And we weren’t disappointed – just before our hour was up, two bottlenose dolphins swam towards the shore, and stopped only about three metres away from the shoreline. It was absolutely enchanting watching them jump and play in the water, and we felt that we’d witnessed something very special. The best time to see them is on a rising tide, which is around one hour after low tide. It’s really difficult to get parked at Chanonry Point, as the car park is very small and a LOT of people turn up there every day. If it’s possible for you to do, try to park in nearby Fortrose, or get a bus from Inverness to Fortrose – it’s one mile from Chanonry Point, and you can walk the rest of the way.

Sylvia Duckworth / *Dolphins at Chanonry Point.*

If dolphin watching makes you feel like a dip in the sea yourself, just along from Chanonry Point is Rosemarkie Beach, where we spent an afternoon kayaking and swimming. Facing out onto the Moray Firth, this wide sandy beach is fringed by woodland and has tennis courts, a play area and the Rosemarkie Beach Cafe (which has vegan options, including vegan ice cream) – everything you need for a perfect day at the Scottish seaside.

Ecoventu res run wildlife watching tours in the Moray Firth, including a two hour trip to see the bottlenose dolphins of the Firth. There’s no guarantee you’ll spot them, but you’ll be in safe hands as local Sarah takes you out on the Saorsa on a trip that’s designed to minimise impact on the surrounding wildlife.

Poyntzfield Herb Nursery is also worth a visit. They have been growing herbs organically and biodynamically since 1976 and offer an opportunity to buy over 400 varieties of plants and seeds from a local, agro-ecological producer. Open from March to September.

On the second day of our holiday, our munro loving cousin suggested an ‘easy, four mile walk’ up to the Fyrish Monument near Dingwall. Built by Sir Hector Munro in 1782 on Fyrish Hill in order to provide employment for the locals, the monument is certainly a four mile walk, but ‘easy’ was probably an exaggeration to get everyone off their feet and up a hill! Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful walk, though the upward part is steep in places and the ground isn’t the smoothest – so wear decent boots and take plenty of water. It’s worth the effort though – after emerging from the still green forest, you’re rewarded at the top with stunning views of the Moray Firth to your left and the Cairngorm mountains to your right.

The Fairy Glen is another Black Isle highlight, and it looks just as beautiful as you’d expect from the name. A 25 minute gentle walk from Rosemarkie takes you through woodland and past burbling streams to this magical glen with its beautiful waterfalls and abundance of local wildlife – if you’re lucky, you might see a heron or buzzard at this RSPB reserve.

**Upper waterfall, Fairy Glen, Rosemarkie**
cc-by-sa/2.0 – © Rob Farrow – geograph.org.uk/p/6078698

Loch Ness isn’t actually in the Black Isle, but a 40 minute drive away – it seemed rude not to visit the UK’s top wild swimming spot while we were in the area. After a visit to Nessieland in Drumnadrochit – and I’m still not really sure what to say about that as it was such a bizarre experience, so go and check it out for yourself – we headed to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. If you’re visiting Loch Ness, after getting your fix of history at the castle, choose your spot to take the plunge in the waters, which are icy in winter and tepid on the hot July day we were there. Fort Augustus is a popular spot to swim from -and if you’re feeling tempted to do some serious swimming, there’s a charity relay swim in Loch Ness next year to raise money for Aspire. As always with wild swimming, do take extra care – Loch Ness is hundreds of feet deep in places, and the water can get very cold.

There are plenty of campsites and B&Bs in and around Inverness. Black Isle Yurts have beautiful individually built and fully furnished yurts in private woodland with stoves, beds with duvets and pillows, and gas cookers. Fortrose Bay Campsite has stunning views over the Moray Firth, offers electric hook up and welcomes well behaved dogs, and you can eat your breakfast on the beach – you might even spot some dolphins if you’re lucky. And Loch Ness Glamping located just down the road in Glen Urquhart has tent pitches and hobbit houses where you’ll wake up to the sound of the river and birds and surrounded by bluebells, willow herb, foxgloves, daffodils, gorse, broom and any number of less well known Highland wild flowers.. There are BBQs for every hobbit house, and a children’s play area – bliss!

If you liked this, check out our guide to camping in Shieldaig in the Scottish Highlands.

July 5, 2021July 6, 2021

Recipes for Vegan Camping

There’s something about food eaten outside that just makes it taste better – especially vegan camping food! And luckily for vegans, going camping and cooking outdoors doesn’t need to mean that you’re stuck at the side of the campfire with a lettuce roll while everyone else tucks into BBQ’ed sausages and burgers. Here are three recipes for vegan camping that need only a campfire and a little prep – happy camping 🙂

Tacos

Ingredients

1 box vegan tacos

Grated cheese – we used Applewood smoked

Iceberg lettuce

180g dried lentils, soaked overnight

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 litre vegetable stock

1 white onion

2 cloves garlic

Method

Chop the onion and garlic and heat some olive oil in a wok over a medium heat.

Add the onion and garlic and fry til starting to brown.

Add 1/4 of the veg stock and the lentils and simmer till the stock has been absorbed. Repeat until the stock is finished and the lentils are almost cooked.

Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for another ten minutes.

Spoon the mince into the tacos with the lettuce and cheese.

Peanut butter curry

Ingredients

Tin chopped tomatoes

Tin coconut milk

Tin chickpeas

1 head broccoli, cut into small stems

4 tbsp peanut butter

Half litre vegetable stock

Handful coriander

1 chopped white onion

2 minced cloves garlic

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

250g basmati rice

Soy yogurt to serve.

Method

Heat some vegetable oil in a wok. Fry the onion and garlic till they are beginning to brown.

At the same time, cook the basmati rice in a pot with a teaspoon of vegetable stock powder in the water.

Add the coconut milk and vegetable stock, the ginger, turmeric, cumin and paprika, the peanut butter, and the broccoli and chickpeas. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring regularly.

Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for a further five minutes.

Garnish with coriander and serve with the cooked rice and some vegan yogurt on top.

Mexican salad

This can be prepared mostly beforehand if easier – keep the avocadoes and the tortilla chips until you’re ready to eat, then chop the avocadoes, open the tortilla chips, and add them to the dressing and salad

Ingredients

2 corn on the cobs

Packet vegan tortilla chips

15 new potatoes, peeled and boiled

3 ripe avocadoes

2 limes

100g finely chopped coriander

Method

Cook the corn and allow it to cool. Slice it off the cob and into a bowl.

Cut the new potatoes into quarters once boiled and cooled, and add to the corn.

When ready to eat, open the avocadoes. Scoop out the flesh of one and add it to the juice of the two limes and half the chopped coriander to make a dressing.

Chop the other two avocadoes into cubes and add to the salad.

Add the dressing, and garnish with the rest of the coriander.

We ate the salad with these chilli and lime kebabs.

If you’re thinking of going camping soon, take a look at our Aviemore camping review.

June 7, 2021June 8, 2021

A Camping Weekend In Aviemore

Aviemore, in the heart of the Cairngorms and the Scottish Highlands, is one of our favourite places in the world to camp. It’s easy to get to by motorway, train or even plane from Inverness, breathtakingly beautiful and absolutely full of things to do – if you’re here for a weekend, the hardest thing is creating an itinerary, as there’s so much choice! It’s also a great year-round destination with snow sports and other winter activities in the colder months. A camping weekend in Aviemore is one of my favourite things in life. If you haven’t been, we hope this guide will help you plan your holiday there.

Where To Stay

We stayed at Dalraddy Holiday Park which has grass pitches, electric hook up and pitches for camper vans, as well as chalets and caravans to rent. The pitches are really generous and the site didn’t feel crowded at all when we were there. There’s a shop and a big clean shower block, plus separate smaller WC/shower blocks around the site, as well as a children’s play area. It’s well situated outside Aviemore to be within easy reach of the town.

Other places to stay are –

Glenmore Campsite – camping in the forest, with direct access to the beaches of Loch Morlich.

Badaguish Outdoor Centre with summer campsite, wigwams and lodges.

What To Do

There are so many things to do in Aviemore, it’s impossible to list them all, so here’s a selection of the activities that we’ve done ourselves.

Gorge walking. We did this with G2 Outdoor. I was quite nervous beforehand as I’m not great with heights, and I knew there were some small heights in the course. I ended up absolutely loving it though! G2 provide all the kit – a wetsuit, buoyancy aid and crash helmet, plus harness and ropes. Once you’re all kitted up you’re taken off to the river for an hour long gorge walking experience. This involves walking up the river (wear your oldest trainers that you don’t mind getting wet and dirty), scrambling and using ropes to get from one level to the next, with the opportunity to slide down waterfalls and into plunge pools. It’s cold, wet and a bit scary at times but amazing fun – I’d do it again in a heartbeat!

Zip wire. Another activity that G2 offer, it won’t surprise you to learn that I sat this one out. However, our kids (and adults) said it was the best thing they did all weekend. For anyone who isn’t scared of heights, zipping through the beautiful pine forest on the Alvie Estate is probably hard to top. There are various options depending on how high you want to go and how independent you’re feeling – there’s even a night trek. Aimed at 8 year olds and up, our group of kids and adults did the 2km course of 14 zip wires which starts off relatively gently and builds up to a 550m finale through the trees.

Tree trekking. We did this at Rothiemurchus at the Treezone. The course takes about 1.5 hours to complete with a zip slide at the end and is a bit tamer than the G2 zip slide so good for younger kids – the minimum age is eight. The course starts off at five metres, with the larger Buzzard course progressing to heights of fifteen metres as the obstacles become trickier to negotiate. Treezone costs £30 for adults and £23 for under 18s.

An Lochan Uaine. Also known as the Green Lochan, you can cycle or walk up to this breathtaking loch which gets its green colour from reflected light from the forest (though local legend says that it’s because pixies wash their clothes in it!) It’s absolutely possible to swim in the lochan – we’d been warned about the leeches, but fortunately didn’t come across any. You can also wild camp on the beach, though it does get busy during the day with tourists – just remember to leave no trace and leave this beautiful spot exactly as you found it.

Loch Morlich is a short ten minute drive from Aviemore with breathtaking views of the mountains and fringed by lush green woods. There’s a watersports centre where you can hire kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and bikes. We cycled around the loch first with our mountain bikes that we’d hired from In Your Element in Rothiemurchus, with regular stops to take in the incredible views, then took to the water for a swim and kayak. Be warned though – it gets incredibly busy on sunny days and in high season, so get there before 9am to get a spot in the car park.

Loch Insh Outdoor Centre. We spent an idyllic day on the loch here. Hire your wetsuits or bring your own, then enjoy the loch on kayaks, canoes, pedalos, windsurfing boards and rigs, and paddleboards, all of which you can hire at the centre. Or just go for a swim! There’s a cafe and seating by the loch where you can relax once you’ve had your fill of all the loch has to offer. If the sun’s shining, plan a day here – just a short drive from Aviemore.

Frank Bruce Sculpture Trail. This walk really is a hidden treasure in the heart of the Caledonian forest. Frank Bruce was a dyslexic Scottish sculptor who left school at 13 to go and work in a timber mill. He created sculptures out of the natural environment, with themes of human behaviour, relationships, and Scottish culture. The trail takes you past a number of his sculptures, some of them which are nestled amongst the leaves and bracken of the forest, others standing many feet tall in the glades. ‘Two Patriots’ depicts man’s lust for war as another face carved into a tree looks on in horror. The works are decaying though, just as the artist intended, so don’t wait too long before going to see them. Once you’ve completed the trail, it’s a short walk to the banks of the river Feshie, where you can jump from the rocks into its clear rushing waters, or just watch with a picnic from the side. To get to the trail, from Aviemore drive toward Cairngorm Mountain on the B970 and turn right just before the Rothiemurchus Centre, signposted to Coylumbridge. After Feshie Bridge there’s a car park on the right, then a short walk to the sculptures.

Hiking up Cairngorm Mountain. Cairngorm Mountain Scotland run a number of guided walks up the mountain, or you can make your own way up the various routes. We walked from the car park, a short drive from Aviemore, up to the Coire An Lochean cliffs where we were rewarded with the most incredible views. We did it in summer – and were attached by a swarm of midges, so don’t even attempt this in the summer months without some midge repellent – but it’s equally beautiful in the winter, though a little more care needs to be taken.

Where To Eat

If you’re looking to eat out while in Aviemore, and you’re vegan like us, there aren’t any vegan only places. However, you still have plenty of options.

The Old Bridge Inn and Rooms offer several vegan options, including soup, quinoa cakes, panzanella salad and sorbet. The Highland Line near the station in Aviemore also has some great vegan choices, including a T.LT (tofu, lettuce and tomato) and vegan burger. There’s a large Tesco in town which has plenty of sandwiches, salads, cakes and vegan options, as well as a Costa. And just out of town, the Rothiemurchus farm shop and deli has a wide range of delicious fresh food, including a number of fresh vegan meals, snacks and ingredients. Pizzariach does great takeaway pizzas, though unfortunately there aren’t vegan options but they do have gluten free pizzas.

More info on visiting Aviemore is here.

If you liked this, read about our camping weekend in Shieldaig in the Highlands.

October 12, 2020December 2, 2020

Camping Adventures in Ardnamurchan

We spent a wonderful weekend this September camping in Ardnamurchan in the western Scottish Highlands. I’ve lived in Scotland most of my life, and consider myself to be fairly well travelled in my own country – but had never visited the Ardnamurchan peninsula until last weekend. All I really knew about it was that there was a lighthouse there, a distillery where Colin has a cask of whisky, and that it was very remote.

We set off one Friday in September to spend two nights with family at the Ardnamurchan Campsite , situated just outside the pretty, remote village of Kilchoan

From Edinburgh, right on the other side of Scotland, it took us five hours to get to the campsite. Once you get off the motorway at Stirling, the journey is just a joy, with incredible scenery as you drive through the Trossachs and the lonely moors of Glencoe within the shadow of Buchaille Etive Mor. We stopped at the Green Welly Stop at Tyndrum, where you can go to the loo and buy some fresh food in the cafe or some gifts and outdoor clothes if you feel inclined! There’s also a great cafe across the road at the Real Food Cafe – my vegan chickpea curry with chips was delicious, and you can order in advance on their website and pick the food up in the car park. Or, ten minutes on there are some incredible places to stop at Glencoe if you fancy eating your takeaway in one of the most scenic and iconic places in Scotland!

We stopped again at Ardgour for the five minute car ferry journey to Corran on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, then on to the single track winding road to the campsite. The views of mountains, lochs and beaches are breathtaking, but do pack a travel sickness pill for anyone who suffers from motion sickness as it’s a VERY winding road.

Playing pass the pigs by the camper van!

The site itself is pretty basic and no frills but has everything a camper could need. There’s a toilet and shower block – though I should warn you that if you don’t like creepy crawlies, it could be an issue as there are quite a few daddy long legs spiders who’ve made the block their home. They won’t touch you, but our kids weren’t fans. There’s also a washing up block with sinks and a washing machine.

Outside the blocks there’s a small communal area with seating and I think there’s one inside for use in non pandemic times too. There are sites for tents, motorhomes and vans with electric hook up, and the boundary of the site is a beautiful beach. There’s also free WiFi, and dogs are welcome. Campfires are allowed, and we spent evenings toasting marshmallows, listening to the sound of the sea and gazing at constellations in the clear dark sky – Jupiter and Saturn were visible, it was so clear! Waking up to the sound of the waves lapping at the shore nearby was pretty special, too.

You’re spoilt for choice with things to do in the area. On the Friday evening we headed to Ardnamurchan Lighthouse and the most westerly point of the UK mainland to see a spectacular sunset as we were buffeted by the winds coming in off the ocean. The lighthouse is the only lighthouse in the world designed in an “Egyptian’ style – it’s automatically operated now, but fully operational.

There are also a number of beautiful beaches – we spent an afternoon at Sanna Bay, which we had almost to ourselves. It’s a perfect expanse of white sand and clear blue sea, and we spent a few lovely hours kayaking, swimming, sunbathing and jumping off the sand dunes. Geologically, it’s a fascinating place to visit too, as it’s part of a concentric circle of volcanos, with plenty of wildlife to see as well.

Paddle boarding and kayaking at Sanna Bay

Another day we took the CalMac ferry from Kilchoan to Tobermory on nearby Mull. We were foot passengers, but you can also choose to take the car – though be warned that if the pandemic is still live if you take the car on the ferry, you won’t be allowed to leave your car for the 40 minute journey to enjoy the beautiful views from the top of the ferry across to the Small Isles. We spent a few hours in Tobermory doing a treasure trail that we’d downloaded in advance – a great way to see the town and learn about its history – while Colin visited the distillery.

On our last day we climbed Ben Hiant, the highest point on the peninsula, and from where the sun rose each morning from the campsite. It’s not a particularly challenging hill at 528m, and the views at the top are breathtaking – across to the inner Hebridean islands and the mainland. It took us just under 3 hours to get to the top and back down.

You can book your pitch at the campsite here – they do get busy throughout the season, so make sure you book well in advance. Do go and explore this remote, unspoilt corner of Scotland – it’s been on our to visit list for years, and I only wish we hadn’t waited so long!

August 12, 2020December 2, 2020

Vegan Eggs Benedict

I love this vegan Eggs Benedict dish for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. Like most tofu based recipes, a little prep is required, but the good news is that once you’ve done that you can put it all together wherever, including on a camping trip!

Ingredients

It’s helpful but not mandatory to have a tofu press for the tofu. If you don’t have one you can press the tofu by wrapping it in a tea towel or similar, putting it in a colander over a bowl, and putting heavy books on top of it.

You’ll also need a medium – large frying pan and some oil for frying.

For the muffins

380g flour plus a little extra to knead

2 tbsp very soft vegan butter – I used Naturli.

2 tsp caster sugar

2 tsp fast action yeast

1 tsp salt

200mls lukewarm water

1 tsp baking powder

For the toppings

1 block firm tofu

Kala namak salt – 2 tablespoons

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

6 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp salt

Vegan ham – I used Quorn

Hollandaise sauce – you can make your own using this recipe by Loving It Vegan or use premade such as this one by Inspired Vegan

A bunch of chives

A round implement such as a jam jar lid or cookie cutter to cut the muffins, tofu and ham to your preferred size – you’ll want them to be about 8 – 10cm in diameter.

This makes around 6-9 servings.

How to make

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – the secret to any tofu dish is to PRESS and PREP the tofu. That means pressing the moisture out for at least a couple of hours, and marinading for as long as you can – up to three days if possible so it soaks up lots of flavour.

Press the tofu for at least 2 hours.

Next, cut your tofu into round slices – about 8 – 10 cm wide and 1cm thick. You can use the extra tofu by mashing it up or chopping it into small cubes, including it in the marinade below, and baking or frying it to add to pasta, noodles, salads or sandwiches.

Then marinade the tofu in a bowl or tofu press with the soy sauce and salt. Add warm water to this to make sure all the tofu is covered.

Next, fill your ziploc bag with the kala namak and nutritional yeast. Put the tofu circles in, making sure each surface is covered as much as possible with the mixture. Fold the bag over if you can so the tofu is tightly sealed and leave for another hour or so.

Now, the muffins. Make the muffin dough by combining all of the ingredients, give it a good knead, then leave it to prove for a couple of hours in a clean bowl covered by a teatowel.

Roll out the dough and cut into round shapes using your round cutter that you used for your tofu – you should be able to use all the dough up. If you’re prepping this for later, store the muffin shapes in an airtight box, separating each layer with greaseproof paper or similar.

If you’re making the muffins now, fry the muffin rounds over a medium heat. They can cook – and burn – quickly, so turn the first one over after a few seconds to see how it’s doing and gauge your temperature, then cook on each side until golden.

Next prep the ham by cutting it into circles the same size as the egg. You can use the leftover ham for sandwiches, salads, or even in this recipe for a slightly messier looking egg!

Then make the tofu egg. Make sure each surface of your egg rounds is as well covered as possible with the kala namak and nutritional yeast mix, massaging it in if you can. Using the same pan you used for the muffins, fry each side for a couple of minutes until golden.

Lightly butter the muffins, add the egg and ham, top with the hollandaise sauce and chives and enjoy!

August 5, 2020December 2, 2020

Ten super useful camping tips I’ve learned this summer

There are so many blogs and articles that contain brilliant camping tips both for camping in tents and vans that I read avidly before our trip this July and August. Here is some of the wisdom I’ve acquired since that trip that I hope is helpful!

I’ve found that every trip we take I think of something new – a way of doing things to make everything easier, or a new gadget that saves time and space. I’m sure by this time next summer I’ll have at least ten more camping tips to share on this blog.

1. NO BACON in the van! Vegan bacon smells amazing but the smell is just as strong as normal bacon, and it lingers for weeks afterwards. So we cook our bacon rolls outside, on the stove, under the gazebo if it’s raining. Same goes for cooking bacon in a large tent – don’t do it, the smell just does not go away!

2. Scented candles are a great thing to take with you camping. They can be left in the van (though not unattended – make sure someone is around and don’t go off for the day and leave it burning!) after cooking or before bedtime so that you fall asleep to everything smelling nice rather than the smell of dinner. Not needed of course if you’re lucky enough to be camping somewhere where you fall asleep to the scent of honeysuckle and mimosa wafting in from outside….

3. Routine – setting up and striking camp/ your van becomes so much easier when you have a fixed routine and order in which you do things. This will quickly become mechanical. For us it’s – arrive, pop the van top, set up the storage tent and gazebo which have been packed so we can get to them first, unpack everything else into the storage tent and under the gazebo.

3. Storage – Rather than having lots of bags and rucksacks containing various things, we have a three box system with three large plastic boxes. One is for bedding, one for food and cooking related items and one is for everything else such as games. Add to that a small clothing and toiletries bag for everyone and that’s all we pack for trips. It means everything can be found easily and the plastic boxes double up as tables as well as being fairly weatherproof.

4. Shoes for in the night – there’s nothing worse than needing to go to the loo in the middle of the night and scrabbling around for shoes. Have a pair that are waterproof in case its raining, easy to slip on and know where they are in the van or tent should nature call at 2am.

5. Know where everything is – this relates to storage above, but it makes such a difference if you have a place for everything in your van or tent, that everyone knows and sticks to so when you need the salt for cooking or the bungee cords to hang a light from, you’ll know exactly where they are and don’t need to waste ten minutes upturning everything to find them.

5. Games including solo games – important when camping with kids, especially on WiFi free campsites. Always have a stock of games that they can play, including games like Solitaire that they can play on their own if one of them doesn’t feel like playing. Our favourite camping game is Exploding Kittens. It’s brilliant fun and doesn’t take up much space. Sussed is another great game for 8 plus and also a space saver. Also include plenty of pens and paper, some activity books and a few reading books – our last camping trip saw our 10 year old bookworm devour three books in five days which necessitated a not-unwelcome trip to this lovely bookshop in Keswick for some more!

6. Download videos on an iPad or laptop for those camping evenings when everyone’s a bit fed up, when the kids are fighting, you can hear the rain bouncing off the roof of the tent/van and it’s COLD – they do happen with the best will in the world. The thing to do on those evening is to get everyone in their sleeping bags, make some hot chocolate and stick on the Harry Potter film you cleverly downloaded earlier.

7. Collapsible washing up bowl – there are so many camping gadgets you can spend money on, but this one I’ve found super useful. Means you’re not balancing a pile of dirty dishes on the trek to the washing up station, or dropping the clean ones in the mud on the walk back, as I did one rainy evening!

8. Plenty of water – seems obvious but make sure that you have plenty of receptacles for water, and that you keep them filled and handy, avoiding miserable middle of the night moments when you wake up with a raging thirst to an empty water bottle and a walk through the rain with your torch to fill it up.

9. Plenty of towels – at least two per person. These don’t need to be luxury, fluffy, towels – we always pack our thinnest, oldest towels for camping. But make sure you pack enough so that there’s alway at least one dry towel for everyone. Don’t be like me and have to borrow your teenager’s towel for a shower, which you later learn she used to wipe the floor of the shower cubicle.

10. MIDGE CREAM! This is VERY specific to camping in the west of Scotland but so important. We were attacked by a vicious cloud of midges while in the Cairngorms and had to break out the midge cream and apply it in extreme haste – even then, we were all left with a few bites that tormented for days afterwards. If you’re camping in this area, insect repellent really isn’t an optional extra. If you’d prefer not to use cream, or as an add-on, invest in a hat with a mesh screen and make sure you cover every bit of skin so they have nothing to bite!

August 3, 2020December 2, 2020

A little corner of zen in Wales – Nantgwynfaen Farm

You know your happy place, the place you go to in your head when all around you is stress and noise and worry? From now on I think my new happy place will be the beautiful, peaceful glade that we had all to ourselves for three days when we camped at Nantgwynfaen Farm, a beautiful organic farm in the Teifi Valley in South Wales.

The farm, situated in rural Pembrokeshire and about half an hour from the Pembroke coast, offers BandB, glamping in the wonderful Glamavan, and camping in one of five private pitches. We stayed in Love at First Site, a gated glade enclosed by hedges and trees, about 300m from the main farmhouse.

Run by the very lovely Amanda and Ken, the farm offers facilities including WiFi at the farmhouse – though not on the campsites – showers, wood, and an organic farm shop run on trust, so you take items and fill in a ledger to be added up at the end of your stay. There are also toilets – ours was a compost toilet which we were initially a little reticent about having never used one, but it was surprisingly airy and odour free! Ken, who makes wooden furniture in his spare time, will also bake his delicious flowerpot seeded bread to order for guests.

Jam and marmalade from the shop with Ken’s flowerpot bread for breakfast

Our site was so secluded and quiet and felt as close to wild camping as its possible to get on a campsite. Our shower was on the site – an outdoor shower that also doubled as a tap for the sink and dishwashing station. There was a picnic table and benches where we ate meals and played board games, and a fire bowl for campfires at night, over which we toasted marshmallows and corn on the cob. We had so much space – enough for a tent, the van, our camping chairs and plenty of room left for yoga and ball games.

Nearby Nantgwynfaen Farm is the Pembrokeshire coast, with all it has to offer. We had a surfing lesson with Outer Reef Surf School at Freshwater West, one of Wales’ top surfing beaches (also the setting for Dobby’s final scene in Harry Potter). As beginners, we were all a little nervous but within half an hour were all riding waves lying flat on our boards, as well as falling off more than once and getting a few mouthfuls of sand! Nearby Cardigan and Aberaeron are beautiful with shops, cafes and views, and we also spent a beautifully sunny afternoon at Penbryn beach with its golden sands and caves to explore.

Stay at Nantgwynfaen if you want to truly get away from it all. You’ll leave feeling restored and full of inner zen with beautiful memories to cherish.

3 nights in July on Nantgwynfaen Farm cost £96 for two adults, a teenager and two children – more information here.

July 21, 2020December 2, 2020

Camping in Shieldaig – our first trip in our van Irene!

The July weekend we spent camping in Shieldaig was extra special as it was so long awaited. We timed the purchase of our campervan a little badly, not that we could have known this at the time back in the pre Covid days of 2020 January! It took a few weeks for the van to be converted, so by the time it was ready it coincided almost immediately with lockdown and we were only able to enjoy a couple of days out in it before leaving it to sit forlornly outside our house. In that time we decided to name her Irene, after Colin’s grandma who sadly died last year.

Once it was announced that we could go somewhere with Irene, we knew we wanted to head north west for the fresh clean air of the Highlands. We’d never visited Shieldaig before, a tiny village on the north west Highland coast, and the newly renovated campsite there overlooking the sea looked perfect.

Shieldaig is well known for Shieldaig Island a short distance from the shore, on which a pair of newly reintroduced to Scotland white tailed eagles live with their chicks. We didn’t see the eagles, but the island is a popular spot for local swimmers and kayakers to circle around. We also spotted the local war monument, which shows amongst the village men who lost their lives in both wars the name of a local Shieldaig woman – newly wed Margaret McKenzie – who tragically died aboard the Lusitania in 1915.

There’s a well stocked village shop and two restaurants that overlook the shore, all two minutes walk of the well appointed campsite. The Shieldaig Coastal Kitchen has a roof terrace overlooking the bay, though the menu is meat and fish heavy with very little for vegans and vegetarians. The campsite owners, locals Ruairidh and Hazel, are very friendly and accommodating and were really helpful and responsive in the run up to our trip. The hard standing electric pitches had grass next to them for a pup tent, and there are also grass pitches and two glamping cabins, as well as showers, toilets and a laundry and washing up room.

There are plenty of things to do in the surrounding area. We decided to drive to Skye, which is around an hour away over the Skye Bridge. Colin used to live in Skye and claims partial responsibility for the waiving of the bridge toll after he protested paying it back in the nineties. His 2020 wife and children were very grateful for his teenage protest! We headed to Glenbrittle to swim in the fairy pools, then visited the lovely capital of Portree, where we had some of the best chippy chips ever at the small harbour – fried in vegetable oil and just the right combination of greasy and crispy.

Crossing the stepping stones on the way to the Fairy Pool. Wear sturdy shoes – don’t be like me who ended up with soaking wet Converse!

Closer to Shieldaig, there are the Torridon Hills of Beinn Alligin, Sgurr Mhor, Liathach and Beinn Eighe which vary in difficulty, as well as countless hill and shore walks for all abilities. To the south is the town of Applecross, which can be reached on one of the most breathtaking drives in the country; with its tight bends and spectacular views, it’s the steepest road in the UK. You can also go for a swim in the clear waters off Shieldaig shore if you want a morning pick me up – the village and shore are two minute’s walk from the campsite. Shieldaig is also a great place to stop for those touring the North Coast 500. If you’re lucky you might spot a red deer, and we saw a baby red squirrel as well as fields of iconic Highland cows.

The view from the campsite – waking up to this was pretty unbeatable!

As our trip camping in Shieldaig was our first outing in our van, it was definitely a learning experience. I expected to forget more things than we actually did – which were a scourer for the dishes and a small dustpan and brush for the van floor. The van was so comfortable to sleep in, and the view that we woke up to each morning was breathtaking, despite the typically Highland weather – when you’re holidaying in the west of Scotland, good weather is a bonus but never something to be relied upon, so pack good shoes and a waterproof coat! I really recommend this lovely tranquil place at the edge of Scotland for those who want to disconnect from all the noise and reconnect with nature. You won’t want to leave, and we will definitely be back.

https://www.shieldaigcampingandcabins.co.uk/