Strawberry Powered Bike Rides

This year's Elderflower Cordial has been Pasteurised and safely bottled, thanks to my daughters efforts.

At the time I was too busy, brewing up a double batch of Elderflower Champagne, it always seems to go too quickly.

We had a blissful half term holiday, camping and cycling in France. We did not realise initially, but it was the week before the D Day 75th anniversary, and there was a great deal of preparation going on. 

We spent most of our time on our bikes; the French do know how to make perfect cycle paths and networks. We would cycle from one town to another, along peaceful, nature laden pathways, without a single car in sight.

On one of our cycle trips, we spotted a large patch of Wild (Alpine) Strawberries, so we called a short rest break. We proceeded to feast our faces on these delicate little juicy fruits, before setting off again, fully rejuvenated.

Something Brewing in the Heart of Southampton

As I trudge, begrudgingly up my garden path like some Antarctic explorer, the grass crunches under foot and the crisp cold seeps deep into my toes. The shed that contains my locked bike looms out of the pale moonlight.

Cycling to work, my face is frozen and my fingers are feeling like frostbite but the sky is now turning a thin grey-blue and distant vapour trails trace a pinkish web over the firmament. Shortly, the garish orange glow in the East becomes the sunrise over Segensworth. 

The frost still lies thick on the ground but above the cold car parks and grim and grimy buildings of the industrial estate, the morning sky now burns a brilliant azure; it’s going to be a cracking day.

The fragile beauty of Winter still holds the hope of Spring within its vice tight grip, singing in the wind, vibrating in the sharp shards of ice and even seeping through the weeping rain and snow. It’s all too easy to wish for shorts and the sizzle of a Mid-Summer sun but the wheel of the year turns steadily and we must first start our search for signs of change.

Speaking of seasons, I am delighted to announce an exciting new collaboration between the Urbane Forager and Southampton based beer behemoth Unity brewing Co. Head brewer Jimmy Hatherley wants to create a sophisticated new range of seasonal Wild beers and the Urbane Forager is a perfect fit as a partner for this project.

I popped down with some friends, to meet Jimmy in his taproom and supped some of his awesome ales. We also sampled some of my own 2016 Elder-flower Champagne and Cider; by the end of the evening I would have agreed to almost anything. However, seasonal foraging is my strongest suit. So, we shall soon see what fresh flavours we can bring to the Unity taproom table. 

In the meantime, I definitely recommend visiting Unity brewing if you are in the area, or buying their merchandise from a Southampton pub/off-licence.

More Magical Mulberries

I revisited our old favourite Mulberry tree while it was still fruiting, with a friend. We used different methods to pick the tasty succulent berries. Initially we just reached up and gathered what we could from ground level, but as normal we could see larger darker fruit, annoyingly just out of reach.

So we spread out an old sheet over the ground and then gave the thinner branches a good shake. This method was fairly useful, if somewhat indiscriminate and the Mulberries were easy to spot as they fell.

It was a very enjoyable time and out containers were quickly filled to the brim and beyond. Obviously we had to eat some before we could gently squeeze the lids on. Then we cycled off contented and coated in sweet sticky juice.

When I got home, I decided to freeze my delicious hoard and decide how to use them later. I laid them out on baking trays before slotting them into the freezer, then bagged them up later. This means you can choose exactly how many you want to use at any time later on.

Hopkins made a smashing smoothie with some of her Mulberries - the recipe follows...

• 1 frozen banana 
• 1 Handful of mulberries
• 2 cm fresh ginger (grated)
• 1 cup rice milk (or any other milk) 

BLEND...

CONSUME!

Blackberries are particularly abundant at the moment and Hazel nuts will soon be dropping too. We made our first Bramble and Apple crumble of the year - hopefully there will be many more to come.

Dial M for Mulberry

The morning was muggy, or was it Tuesday? I get confused...

The slim blonde dame in blue hat was staring at me through her fingers. She looked like she might be hiding something - her hands were dripping with a sticky red claret-like liquid. 

It looked like it should be a clear cut case.

Then I noticed that the girl had an accomplice, loitering nearby. He was a small chap who looked like he had not eaten for a week. He was sporting a blue hat too but I was not sure if that was significant. Their getaway vehicles were well oiled and between the two of them they looked guilty as sin.

Someone whispered the word Mulberry but what did that mean? Could it be some kind of code or a clue?

Later that night I asked Uncle Google if he knew anything about Mr Mulberry. 

He related mysterious tales about silk worms, the orient and trees that bleed. A distant memory about the unlucky kimono flashed through my mind. However, after mulling it over, I was convinced this was just a red herring. 

I seemed to be going round and round...

Then I remembered a post I once saw about a sticky sweet juicy fruit - somewhere halfway between a Raspberry and a Blackberry that grows on a tree called the Mulberry.

Apparently, these two suspicious characters had located all the Southampton Mulberry trees on a secret map and then raided them on stealth-bikes. By the time you read this, their blue hats and juice smeared faces will have vanished into the ether. 

Spring into Action

It's 7:15am, my train has been cancelled and it's raining. Another train will come but I choose to cycle the 11 miles to my employment, through April's finest showers. A"man" in a black Audi tries to run me over halfway through my journey; hopefully he is still stuck in traffic somewhere. As I work, I sit in my office in the midst of the massive, soulless industrial estate that is Segensworth, near Fareham. I occasionally gaze wistfully out of my window at what is possibly the least inspiring view I have ever had to endure.

Toward midday the grim grey clouds gradually break and the sweet azure begins to brighten my mood. Suddenly my heart is dramatically lifted as I spot and instantly recognise a Kite, slowly gliding over the drab grey buildings opposite. Lunchtime looms and as always, I get out of the building. I jog out of the estate, dodge the speeding motorists and slip through a hedge. Within 10 minutes I am standing in a field and my tightly coiled mind begins to unwind.

I find a footpath and follow it. I spot Plum blossom and Blackthorn too. Most of the white flowers in the hedgerows now are Blackthorn, so I predict a good year for Sloes. I make a mental note to add the locations to the fruit map. Further into my walk, I spot some old neglected Apple trees, or are the Pears? It's hard to tell in Spring. I also note several Cherry trees about to burst into bloom. After a brisk 10 minute walk I reach my intended target, a ruined abbey that I have noticed on a map, it is pretty impressive. In the grounds I locate several fruit trees, one of which is covered in delightful flowers, I think/hope it is a Peach tree.

After a short explore and a wander about it is time to return. I retrace my footsteps back to my office and work but now I am rejuvenated and refreshed. I'm looking forward to my journey home - It's a Bank Holiday weekend coming up. I'm looking forward to stepping off the treadmill, ricocheting about with the family, cultivating our allotment and hopefully scoffing an Easter egg.

As a sad postscript to this little tale, the large field that I got into via the hedge is shortly to be "developed" into an enormous care village. So, yet another green field site is to be decimated for private profit. I spotted a planning notice pinned to a lamp-post (hidden in a hedge where there was no pavement). I really cannot understand how these decisions can get past the local councillors. Although, we could probably guess...

February Feelings

Winter is always a lean time for foragers, especially if (like me) their specialism lies in fruit and nuts. February can seem like the harshest month but the plants show the truth is otherwise. Even though there have not been a huge amount of new posts during the cold season, it does not mean that I have not been busy…

What does that strange aura around the moon mean?

In fact I have been busier than normal editing and proofing my latest book. This exciting new volume will be based on the Urbane Forager project and is currently with a designer, so the first editions will not be too far away now. Don’t worry dear readers; you will be the first to know when and where it will be available.

Ahh!

I have also been busy packing up my work office (yes, I have a day job too). The company is moving, which for me is a shame. I have always cycled most days from Southampton, where we live, to Hedge End, for work, but now the office is moving to Segensworth (Fareham), which is twice as far to pedal, so I will need to carefully consider my travel options.

During my time in Hedge End the Urbane Forager project took shape and became popular. My endless lunchtime walks brought me into close contact with the trees and I began to recognise the blossom and then the fruit. From there the whole thing grew organically and I identified a great abundance of fruit trees in the area.

I will also miss the cycle ride, my Winter morning and evening rides are brightened by the drifts of snowdrops and crocuses that I spy in the roadsides. 

I always hear a nightingale in West End thicket as I take a short cut to the A27, and I even saw it once. Not that these are glamorous birds at all but it is rare to actually see one.

I will have start to walking around the Segensworth industrial estates now, and begin to map fruit and nut trees across a whole new area.

Red Devils at St. Mary’s

The first apples and pears of our 2013 harvest were picked in September from the mediaeval churchyard of St Mary’s in Swathling.

Naturally, we got permission from the parish guardians first; then we popped down to the delightful little church with our pickers.

The children were keen to get stuck into the job and first set about getting as many pears as they could. These were only small fruits but nicely ripe and many had already fallen to the ground so there was a risk of getting a soft one on the head!

Gary, the previous Vicar, called the apples Red Devils, because of the fruits colour. They have a dusky bloom when first picked but they polish up beautifully. Interestingly, the ruby colouring of the skin carries through to the flesh of these apples; this adds an interesting pink tint to the juice when they are pressed.

The Red Devils are lovely, sweet fruit but some had pitting and there was not a great many to pick. So, it was a fast, pre-dinner foray and we were soon home again with our fresh fruit. After eating, we were treated to the first Blackberry and apple crumble of the year.

The apples in Fleming Park leisure centre car park, are currently weighing down the tree branches, and they have a similar pinkish flesh. Maybe we will nip over there and pick a couple of buckets full to make some rosy pink cider…

Beautiful Springtime

Despite the British weather doing its damndest to convince us otherwise, Spring is gradually turning the corner.

Crocuses have put on particularly handsome displays this year. I love the way that the swathes of colour filling the roadsides, shift shades, from one week to the next.

Daffodils are now beginning to brighten the verges, waving their fresh bright yellow trumpets defiantly at the relentless streams of dirty traffic.

The plum blossom and blackthorn came out strongly but has been looking a bit battered after recent weather conditions (the Beast from the East). But it is still a good marker to note where plums may be plentiful, when the Summer finally arrives.

While enjoying the colourful displays that brighten my damp rides to and from work, I am now looking forward to more warmth, sunshine and green leaves in the hedgerows and trees.

I'm also looking forward to April, when delicate Bluebells fill those secret woodland floors with magical carpets of azure.

Why I Cycle

Never Photograph Yourself While Cycling - It's Dangerous!

Ever since I was a young child, I have cycled. Now, several decades later, I still enjoy the trouble free parking and the freedom to slip past traffic, through parks and shortcut down paths. Within the city it is very often faster and easier to ride than to drive.

A Ten Mile Bike Ride In The Forest of Dean

Children love to go on a bike ride, they can cope with surprisingly long distances and as long as the route is safe, I really enjoy watching them swishing along getting fitter and stronger. Bikes are cheap too, you can get a nice second hand bicycle for next to nothing and after a service they ride as good as new.

Bike Ride!

I have always used my bike for pleasure and as a great fun way to keep fit, and this becomes more important as I get older. Thanks largely to Bradley Wiggins and the rest of our Olympic heroes; we are now seeing an upsurge in cycling on our roads. The roads are also gradually becoming safer, with more cycle lanes, paths and better awareness.

Always Wear A Suitable Helmet

Cycling, as opposed to driving, is also a splendid way to save money. Not having a car can save you about £5000 per year off your annual bills. I don’t mind spending money on my bike and equipment, because I save so much by using it. A few years ago we decided, as a family, that we could cope with only one car. I now pedal to work most days; the journey is about 4 – 5 miles each way, depending on my route. I arrive puffed and with my blood is pumping - I feel awake and alive.

All Wrapped Up

It is obviously necessary to buy suitable protective clothing, when cycling through the English Winter. Even if it pours, I don’t arrive wet when I am properly equipped. I took the precaution of covering my bike in retro-reflective tape, making it very visible at night. It now lights up like a Christmas tree in car headlamps; it looks pretty cool in bright sunlight too.

Be Bright!

Bike lights have come on in leaps and bounds since the advent of LED technology, and they can now be as bright as car's. The batteries last ages too; I have not replaced mine for over a year. Bright clothing, is the obvious choice for the cyclist; wearing dark clothing, or riding without lights at dusk or night time, is asking for trouble.

Zooming Onto the Bevois Boardwalk

One other essential item that I really enjoy is my air-horn; it is as loud as a claxon and will easily make oblivious-fools-crossing-the-road-while-texting-or-wearing-headphones, jump out of their skin and then (hopefully) back onto the pavement. It is simply charged by my bike pump and yet I can now easily compete with car horns.

We Painted That Bike Together

 When you commute by bike every day, you soon get to know the most dangerous places on the roads. Places where drivers try to pass you, where there is not sufficient room. Places where drivers tend to accelerate to overtake you, only to break and turn left. Places where drivers do not look left, as they zoom across roundabouts regardless (on these occasions, the horn really helps). 

Southampton Sky Ride

I now have a helmet camera and have been recording the fun I have riding to and from work. I will shortly edit it all together and post it in here (number-plates and all) for people (and traffic police) to see. 
Of course, you need to be constantly vigilant when riding, we all make mistakes, and everyone will miss something, or misjudge the situation occasionally. Online discussions between cyclists and motorists can become quickly polarised, with the same silly quarrels being batted back and forth. It’s worth remembering though that most adult cyclists, also own cars too, they are riding as a lifestyle choice.