River Cottage

As fans of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s “River Cottage” series’, we did a little research and found that the original River Cottage Canteen (the first of the cafes associated with River Cottage) was in Axminster, about one and a half hours drive from Bristol.  We decided that would be an easy day trip, so we hopped into the car and hit the M5 heading south.  It was a surprisingly easy drive, although we once more found ourselves a bit shocked by the price of petrol.  We only have a little car (1.5 litre engine), but filling it costs over $150 NZ.  Luckily the car seems to be pretty economical and we don’t have to fill it too often.

The Canteen is, somewhat surprisingly, right in the middle of Axminster.  We had expected it to be out wherever the River Cottage farm is – possibly by a river or a cottage even.  But no, it is really just a café.  A nice one, and with a great atmosphere, but the service left something to be desired.  We got a warm welcome, and a waitress came to us promptly to take our order.  Sadly though something went amiss from here and it was about 20 minutes before Grant’s starter came (bread and hummus dips, not exactly a tricky one), and nearly an hour before our main dishes arrived.  Once the food did come, it was absolutely delicious so overall the experience was fun.  

After lunch we had a little wander about the village, since we couldn't find the actual River Cottage farm, and had a long conversation with the woman who runs the information centre.  She clearly loves the South West!

Our drive home became a little stressful at times.  As a result of our chat with the tourism lady, we decided to take the scenic route home rather than the M5.  We believe our satnav decided to punish us for rejecting its first suggestion (the M5) by sending us down the most ridiculous little lanes and farm roads, when really all we had wanted was the A37 instead of the motorway.  We did make it home safely in the end, and that’s what really matters.

Thanks satnav