A couple of weeks ago, while on holiday in East Anglia, I took a tour of the Adnams brewery in Southwold. It was a fairly expensive tour at £30 a head, but it was excellent and the beer samples at the end were generous. In the tap room was a piece of equipment that made … Continue reading Inspired by Adnams – my new homebrewing system
Cool Stuff
Review: OEX Bobcat I Ultralight Tent
The bobcat in situ at Petruth Paddocks, Cheddar. With a summer of bikepacking ahead, it was time for a new tent. Like any self-respecting outdoorsy chap I have a range of tents, from the enormous five metre family bell tent (read about that one here - I reviewed it in 2020!), through small mountain tents … Continue reading Review: OEX Bobcat I Ultralight Tent
A Lovely Bunch of Trekkers
Machu Picchu seen from the Sun Gate at dawn, September 2000 Last weekend, I went away to Hay-on-Wye with a small but wonderful group of people. People who, I have realised over the last couple of weeks, are very special to me. Back in September 2000, I was part of a group of about 40 … Continue reading A Lovely Bunch of Trekkers
Great Mis Tor
It''s been a few months since I wrote a proper post on my blog. I haven't been out and about any less than usual, in fact I've been out walking and exploring more than I have for quite a long time. But life has changed considerably over the last year, mostly for the better. If … Continue reading Great Mis Tor
Ten Degrees of Strange
Recently I’ve been listening to this fine tune by Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2eqv3y4Cq4 ‘Ten Degrees of Strange’ by Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane Check it out. The video is awesome, the most wonderful transformations of emotion animated through clay. It’s just stunning, an ever-shifting canvas. In the sleeve notes Flynn describes the song … Continue reading Ten Degrees of Strange
Harvey Maps
I love maps. I'm obsessed with them. I have a shelf on my bookcase filled with maps: walking maps, road maps, maps of places we once went on holiday, street plans, geological maps, cycling maps and atlases. They are a source of constant interest to me and I could happily spend an evening just looking … Continue reading Harvey Maps
American Barleywine Partigyle
With a week to go until half term, the family are all pretty tired so we’ve decided to have a quiet weekend at home. Being utterly unable to just do nothing for a while though I have decided to have a big brewday and spend my time brewing a partigyle beer. When you brew beer, … Continue reading American Barleywine Partigyle
The Oxford Bell Tent
A few years ago, my friend and I had a big birthday party in a field on a campsite, with a huge campfire, a ceilidh and a weekend’s supply of home brewed beer. One of our friends turned up with a tipi that he had borrowed from the activity centre he was working at. It … Continue reading The Oxford Bell Tent
Lockdown Brewing
We spend as much time as we possibly can outdoors. Our boys are still small enough to follow whatever we suggest without too much complaint, so most weekends we're out walking at some point and spend as much of the summer as we can in our tent. Throw in a bit of cycling, cricket, boxercise … Continue reading Lockdown Brewing
Beer of the Bronze Age
My version of the Nordic grog One of the aspects of Dartmoor that I have always found utterly fascinating, from my earliest visits, is the wealth of ancient history that can be found all over the moor. On almost every hillside there is something to remind us of people who lived thousands of years ago: … Continue reading Beer of the Bronze Age