Dorset delight 3

Last Monday we had a wonderful walk from Lulworth Cove, past Durdle Door then inland via one of Dorset's many caravan sites. Ever since arriving in the county, we'd been amazed at how nice people were, and we decided that these so-called caravan sites were actually re-education camps for people who weren't nice.

After our hike, we returned to the bay to soak in the sun and get our faces round the excellent Purbeck ice creams. This being a holiday, I had a serious chocolate with a scoop of clotted cream on top. J went for the Honeycombe Hash. Very very good.

Our roast on Sunday evening was a lovely chicken from Washingpool Farm - it did a fine job of furnishing us with two suppers, a lunchtime noodle salad and stock for a rissotto at the end of the week. Lamb wasn't on the menu, but we did admire this cutey in a field on the way into Lyme. The kerbside was awash with the first wild garlic leaves.

By midweek, we were running low on bread and on a visit to Weymouth we were thrilled to stumble on Aidan Chapman's Phoenix Bakery.

The yeasty smells in the shop were fantastic, and we picked up a warm loaf of sunflower seeds and spelt. Perfect for J who's not eating wheat at the moment. It really was a fantastic loaf, and stayed moist until it was all gobbled up. Aidan runs a bakery school - now that's a seriously good reason to return to Dorset.

The other brilliant bakers that I already knew about is Leakers, in Bridport, where Aidan used to work. We did visit it was were on our way home - my cider and cheese loaf got nibbled all the way back to Tottenham, and the apple cake was a natural with clotted cream.
All in all, we had a brilliant time. Food, weather and people all great, and I've fallen in love with Dorset. I hope I can return soon.

Dorset delight 2

Whenever J and I go on holiday abroad, we always expect a cat to turn up. They know when they see a soft touch. But we hadn't expected to attract one in Dorset. Until Butt Head arrived in a record ten minutes. He came in each evening to lie by the fire.

Our first shop of the hols was at nearby Washingpool Farm Shop, which stocked a fabulous range of local produce, plus some brilliant seasonal treats like blood oranges. I nabbed some rhubarb to roast with the juice of an orange and sugar. We also bought some excellent sheep's cheese from the Wootton Dairy in next-door Somerset. Then we settled down to lunch at the excellent cafe - smoked mackeral salad for J and a cheese and spinach souffle for me. Tasty and just the thing after a long drive.

Our first whole day was gloriously sunny, and we ended up walking from Seatown, over Golden Cap, down to the beach for Charmouth and then inland to Lyme Regis. The views from the top of Golden Cap were amazing.

And here's the view the other way, looking over to Lyme and Charmouth.

We had a good nose round Lyme, and soon saw signs for a new cheeseshop. After clambering down to the Town Mill, we found it.

The Town Mill Cheesemonger has a fantastic array of cheeses, and specialises in West Country products.

We were on a bit of a sheeps' cheese binge, so we scooped up some Beenleigh Blue and a wonderful cheese from Northumberland whose name I've mislaid. It's a lovely shop and it's now on our list of 'must visits' at Lyme.

Lyme has lots of signs up warning you against fraternising with gulls, but I love the vandals. They just don't care, and why should they.

Dorset delight 1

A week in Dorset is surely one of the best treats a girl could wish for - J and I had a superb week of walking and eating in one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Lulworth Cove, past Durdle Door and then inland was our Monday walk: this is the view from one of the roller coaster uphill stretches.

We  hoped that one of the highlights of the week would be our visit to The Wild Garlic at Beaminster. Last year I watched Mat win Masterchef and loved his take on seafood and the wild larder, so I'd booked a table as soon as I'd secured our holiday cottage.

After three days of hearty walking, we arrived in the town sqaure to find The Wild Garlic beaming a warm welcome. Once inside, we settled down at our beautiful oak table and guzzled on the bread which arrived with hemp oil and wasabi peas.

Choosing what to eat wasn't too difficult although I was torn for a moment between the sardines and the smoked eel salad - but the wild garlic mayo with the sardines clinched it. J went with a butternut squash salad with mixed cheeses.

It looked beautiful, served with primrose flowers and different cresses. J got a dreamy look on her face and declared it wonderful.

My sardines came with sprigs of samphire. The combination of the fish, salty greens and mayonaisse was superb. The mayo was so good I could easily have eaten a whole bucket of it. So far, so very good: this was on track to be one of the best meals I've had in the past 18 months.

Next to turn up was an unexpected amuse bouche of lightly cured brill, capers and pea shoots - absolutely lovely, and set us up for the baked brill which we'd both ordered for our mains.

'Brill city,' said our waiter, placing an enourmous platter in front of each of us. The brill was cooked perfectly - a  moist and melting flesh contrasted with an insanely tasty crispy skin and the drizzle of caper and lemon butter sauce. I never thought that brill skin would be one of my favourite things to eat, but it is now. J and I went quite silent as we munched our way through the fish. A superb dish. Did we have room for a dessert? You betcha.

J went for the chocolate tart with blood orange sorbet, and about halfway through, declared that it was one of the best puddings she's ever had. I'd gone for the citrus burnt cream - yes, it's a creme brulee but I liked the insistance on the vernacular.

It was wonderful, with the hint of citrus just holding at bay the unctiousness of the cream. By this point, we were well and truly bowled over by the meal. Not  just by the individual courses but by the way the meal developed so that it was impossible to say which course we'd prefered. All in all, bloody fantastic food.

It has been a great evening - the only slight criticism we could make was that the waiting staff haven't yet quite developed those super sensitive antennae that tell them when a glass of wine is missing. But they were a very friendly and welcoming bunch. And it was lovely to see the restuarant full on a weekday evening. Mat wandered out as we were leaving and J grabbed a handshake and told him how much we'd enjoyed it.

Next time I'm watching Masterchef and groaning at the voice-overs, I'll remember to be grateful that it produced such a fine winner.

So if you're in Dorset - or even if you're not - The Wild Garlic is a wonderful place to eat with the seasons.