It’s February already, but seems like only yesterday it was Christmas Eve and we were fifteen foot up one of the cider apple trees precariously harvesting our very own mistletoe.
But with the New Year has come the challenge of making a new start at The Secret Acre, or at least making a proper start on the plans to be more self-sufficient. Continue reading
After two exciting and exhausting months we are starting to feel settled and finding time to explore our new surroundings. We are blessed to have moved to an area that is crisscrossed by footpaths across some spectacular countryside, and although still feeling a pang for the city, we are certainly enjoying the great walks from our doorstep, especially the dog.
Embracing local life we battled our way through winds and rain to enjoy a Christmas cream tea at a nearby village, experienced the town’s Christmas Fair in the rain, and walked down in howling wind and torrential rain to the Cam Christmas lights switch on. Continue reading
It might not sound as impressive as turning water into wine, apples are basically already food after all, but tuck into the delicious apple cake at The Canteen in Nailsworth, or enjoy the apple sauce with your pork at The Hog in Horsley, and you may have eaten apples from The Secret Acre.
Last year we turned our apples into test batches of juice and cider, with a view to scaling up production this year. But despite getting an industrial size press, the timing of our moving into The Secret Acre meant that our cider empire had to be largely put on hold for 12 months. Continue reading
The day of our big move into the smallholding is nigh. Just over a year since we bought The Secret Acre, and after six months of eco-makeover.
So this week we sit among ever increasing piles of packed moving boxes. An alarming reminder of just how much unnecessary stuff you accumulate. The uncomfortable feeling is particularly acute for Emma who moved into the house in Bristol with just a rucksack and no furniture. Now 15 years later we are going to need two large removal vans to shift it all! Continue reading
Like all good builders of timber frame extensions, we wanted it to include a large wall of glass to frame the panoramic view beyond.
But let me be upfront and say I am not a big fan of bi-fold windows. I think it is their all or nothing, open or closed scissor action. So I would probably opt for the less aesthetically pleasing patio doors. Emma takes the opposite view. Continue reading
One of the things we are looking forward to on our journey to a happier life is being creative in the new kitchen. Using our home grown produce and local foraging to cook, bake and preserve etc, perhaps eventually even selling some ‘farm kitchen business’ style as so many smallholders do. Continue reading
Last November we visited Berlin for Paul’s brother’s 60th celebrations and were surprised to find a fantastic number of vegetarian fine dining restaurants such as Cookies and Cream, The Lucky Leek, Kopps and Bistro Bardot. Eager to try one of these restaurants we travelled a day early so that we could eat at The Lucky Leek and being a popular restaurant we sat outside under blankets eating one of the best vegetarian meals we had ever experienced. Continue reading
A few weeks ago we were delighted to spend the day with our lovely Cornish friends who were en route to holiday in Wales.
A thundery start to the day left us feeling a little sad that we might have to eat our picnic in the wood shed but by the time the lovely Kirk Family arrived the clouds parted and made way for the sun allowing us to merrily eat a hearty spread beneath Cam Peak. Continue reading
Over the last few months it’s not the house renovation, or the size of the garden that as had me waking me up in cold sweats, it’s been the ever growing wood pile.
At the beginning of our journey to a happier life, we boldly said to our builders, ‘make sure you keep every piece of wood you pull out from the house or don’t use’. As the wood pile grew lists formed in our heads of what we might use it for; kitchen cabinets, shelves, raised beds, rebuilding the sheds, log store, a tree house and even an outdoor hot tub. Much to our surprise within two weeks the whole of the upper garden had turned into a beastly mountain of old, knackered, gnarly, nail infested wood. Continue reading
On collecting the keys for the Secret Acre in July 2014, one urgent task was to excavate the greenhouse and save it from the Triffids.
We’d inherited a splendid 18 foot old greenhouse, but like everything else it was ‘in need of repair’. About a third of the glass was broken, and a dense thicket of brambles had colonised every square inch inside, sprouting out in escape bids through the missing panes, and generally putting so much pressure on the remaining glass that the whole structure looked like a pressure cooker ready to explode. Continue reading
The Secret Acre 