Five Wrenhaven bakeries bringing back slow-fermented sourdough loaves
From a converted boathouse to a former post office, a new generation of bakers is reviving long-fermented bread, and customers are queuing for it.
Lifestyle
City life, travel and food
Latest news
Millbrook repair café fixes 400 items in its first year, from toasters to teddy bears
Volunteers with screwdrivers, sewing machines and soldering irons meet once a month to keep broken things out of the bin, and to teach owners how to mend them.
Mountain villages before winter
Houses clinging to hillsides, paths leading up to high pastures and valleys waiting for the first snow.
A late-autumn camping weekend in the Greyling Hills: where to pitch and what to pack
Campsites are quiet, the colours are at their best and the nights are long. With the right kit, autumn can be the best season to sleep outdoors.
A waterfall tumbling step by step through the forest
Water spilling from a high rock wall runs over mossy ledges in a series of small cascades.
A water bird hunts for food beneath a waterfall
A small grey bird working the mossy rocks dived into the current in search of prey.
Busy bees among purple blooms
Bumblebees landing on asters in the autumn sun gathered nectar from flower to flower.
Pick-your-own pumpkin farm draws families to the Asher Valley in its busiest October yet
A farm that once grew only cereals now plants 14 varieties of pumpkin and squash, and turns its fields over to visitors for four weeks every autumn.
Spring flowers: pink on the branches, poppies in the meadows
From cherry blossom to wild poppies, the first colours of the season.
Six coast-path walks around Greyling Bay, from easy strolls to a full-day hike
Whether you have an hour with a pushchair or a whole day and good boots, the coast path around Greyling Bay has a stretch to suit. Here are six of the best, with distances and how to get there.
What's in season at the Old Quay weekend market, and what to cook with it
Squash, kale, the last of the plums and the first proper leeks: the market stalls on Old Quay are heavy with autumn produce. Traders and a local chef share what to buy now and how to use it.
Mountain roads: hairpins and high meadows
Tarmac winding beneath the clouds, dirt tracks plunging into forest and pastures opening onto the peaks.
Millbrook's community orchard harvest day: apple pressing and grafting lessons
Around 600 people came to pick, press and learn at the Millbrook community orchard at the weekend, leaving with juice, saplings and the beginnings of a new skill.
A book club on the morning ferry: commuters read together on the Saltings route
Every weekday at twenty past seven, a dozen or more passengers gather on the upper deck of the Saltings ferry to talk about a novel. The crossing takes 35 minutes; the club has lasted three years.
An autumn foraging walk in the Greyling Hills, and the rules every forager should follow
Blackberries, rosehips and sweet chestnuts are plentiful this year, but experts warn that mushrooms should never be eaten unless identified with complete certainty.
Cold-water swimmers keep going at Shingle Cove through the winter months
A swimming group that began with three friends now has more than 200 members who take to the sea every morning, whatever the weather.
Weekend escape: the lakes of the Greyling Hills, a short bus ride from the city
Clear water, rocky slopes and hardly a car park in sight. The lakes of the Greyling Hills are under ninety minutes from Wrenhaven by bus, and they are at their most peaceful once the summer visitors have gone.
The Asher Valley rail trail: a gentle two-day cycling break along a former railway
A 64-kilometre traffic-free route follows the old branch line from Wrenhaven to Tarnmere, with flat gradients, cafés in former stations and a village inn halfway.
