River Cottage Summer Fair & Golden Cap

We are slightly River Cottage crazy and have now been to two events at the farm, brought 8 out of 15 handbooks, own 5 of his cookbooks and have watched nearly every episode of the shows. Slightly obsessed I know but nonetheless great experiences (and with Raspberry Vodka currently being made in a jar in the cupboard you can’t go wrong!)

We booked to attend the Summer Fair back in June after missing the Spring Fair. Tickets were cheap and if you happen to be in the area its probably a very cheap day out. For us we had to drive for 3 hours across 3 counties but it was so worth it!

We got there early and it was rather quiet to start with. We headed to the main stage to hear John Wright do a short talk. He made some beer ice cream and there were many laughs between him and Steve Lamb. We had mini fan moments and then made our way around the event.

With stalls a plenty (which is always dangerous for us *cough* dejavu from the Chilli Festival *cough*) and pigs, chicken, sheep, veg patches to look at we had an awesome time. They had talks and events on throughout the day and were plenty of games and entertainment for children and adults alike!

We ate some good food, good beer/apple juice and enjoyed spending some time in the outdoors. We had a Cocktail Class in the afternoon with John Wright where he talked us through infusions and made a few cocktails for us. As a result we have found a love for Sea Buckthorn and Rosehip Syrup.

We finished the day with dinner in a pub, a glass of wine and some Netflix.

Sunday of our lovely weekend started with breakfast of toast – much to the amazement of the Landlady who was confused about why we didn’t want a full English! We had a lunch reservation at the River Cottage Canteen in Axminster at 1pm so decided to try and see if we could walk up to Golden Cap – the highest point on the South Coast. We arrived at the car park by driving down a very narrow and pot holed road but once we got out and onto the path it was lovely. The walk up to the top of the hill took perhaps 20 minutes and the views were so worth it!

We spent some time taking pictures and enjoying the view before wandering back to the car and heading into Axminster.

As it was a Sunday everything was shut so we managed to talk our way into lunch earlier. We both opted for a roast – although I admitted to take any pictures grrr. The food there is local, seasonal and yummy! Just what we needed before the 3 hour drive home.

Have you had any mini fan moments? Have you been to River Cottage or recommend any of their courses?