In the final leg of Hugh’s Three Hungry Boys the chaps set off in Daisy in the direction of the Lizard. This weeks episode was the best yet, some of my favourite parts of Cornwall covered and the with The Lizard being closest to home. I have covered the Lizard in previous posts – just type The Lizard into the search bar at the top.
The boys are given the thumbs up from the people of Tregothnan to visit Asparagus Island, a lump of rock in the Atlantic. The boys wanted to go camping before the end of their trip and Asparagus Island was their destination. About a mile walk from the Kynance Cove National Trust car park the island is approachable on foot when the tide is out! With a short walk along the sandy beach of Kynance Cove the boys climb the steep cliffs to the top of Asparagus Island. After pegging out their tent, the tide had come in and they were now totally stranded in a lump of rock in the sea!
Thom the hunter grabs his spear gun and takes orders for the other two boys supper and head to the water whilst Trevor and Tim grab their fishing rods and head off to the rocks with a more relaxing way to catching supper. After a couple of hours all the boys return with nothing but excuses! No fish supper for you boys tonight! So with limited supplies the boys have some peppery rice for supper. They happened to find some sea beet growing on the rocks which made the rice more appetising giving them some greens for the day. Still, it could be worse, sitting on an island around a roaring fire listening to the sound of the sea as the sun goes down whilst tucking into a bowl of rice is almost heavenly (except the rice bit!)
After a good nights sleep listening to the waves crashing around them the boys get off the island and back to their trusty milk float, Daisy. In need of some protein Hugh gets contacts them and puts them in touch with Sir Ferrers Vyvyan, the 13th Baronet and current owner of the 1000 acre Trelowarren estate who has some pests on his land. The estate is near the mouth of the Helford river which almost cuts the Lizard peninsula off from the mainland. Still, with little clue why they are travelling to Trelowarren the boys meet Sir Ferrers Vyvyan to see what protein he can offer them. Is it rabbit problems, pigeon eating the crops or the beast of Bodmin’s offspring moving in on the Lizard? After a short introduction Sir Ferrers Vyvyan informs the boys that they have a grey squirrel problem on the Lizard (like most of the UK) however as the Lizard is almost an island they are trying to eradicate the grey squirrel and bring back the native red squirrel to the area. As lovely as grey squirrels are they are huge pests to young trees and very aggressive hence the decline and almost extinction of our native reds. Although I have never eaten squirrel myself I have heard it’s a very tasty meat. So armed with a shotgun the lads head out with Sir Ferrers to look for squirrels in the tree tops. With little luck on the squirrel front Sir Ferrers shoots a wood-pigeon to help towards the boys supper. After some foraging on the estate the boys get some sorrel, oyster mushrooms and wild garlic to add to the wood-pigeon. The Trelowarren estate has a restaurant serving local produce and foraged food and is well worth stopping off for lunch or dinner if in the area. To find out more about Trelowarren and to see the sample menus click here.
The boys them have a cook-off with the chefs at Trelowarren who rustle up a rabbit recipe. Trevor rustles up a pigeon breast cooked with sautéed oyster mushrooms, garlic mash and sprinkling of sorrel. To see the meals being cooked it’s probably easier to check out the 4oD website rather than relying on my methodology – have you seen me in the kitchen? Needless to say the Lord of the manor gave full marks to the boys for their efforts of foraging and producing a tasty meal.
Sir Ferrers recommended the boys visit a sea salt producer on the Lizard in Porthkerris. I hate to say it but I’m one step ahead here. Check out my previous post on Cornish Sea Salt Co. by typing something along those lines into the search bar on the top of the blog. Trev’s idea here was for Tom to catch some fish and to bake them in the salt – salt baked fish I think it’s called! Well, whilst the boys are shovelling salt Tom is trying to catch a few fish for supper. By the end of the fishing session Tom had reeled in six pollock off the cliffs at Porthkerris to fill their bellies that evening.
With the final push to the end of this wonderful island we call Great Britain the boys jump in Daisy and with a 30 mile journey the boys arrive at Sennen. They meet up with the Sennen lobster hatchery for a days work at sea releasing baby 1” long lobsters into the sea in the hope they will survive and make it to adult lobsters. Unfortunately with a 1 in 15,000 chance of survival their time in the ocean is often short-lived as many are snapped up by predators.
As the boys are releasing 1000’s of babies they are also checking lobster pots and harvesting some good sizes specimens or lobsters and crabs for their last cook up of the trip. The final tweet was from Polgoon vineyard back up the A30 where they make their own wine and cider who offered the boys some work harvesting discovery apples to earn some cider for their last supper. Polgoon vineyard has won several awards for their produce and supply some top establishments such as Fortnum and Mason, Rick Steins Deli, River Cottage Canteen and Deli and John Lewis to name a few. To find out more about Polgoon vineyard or to buy some of their produce check out their website here.
Final stop boys – Lands End! The boys pull up on the cliff tops at Sennen and see the Longships lighthouse of Land’s End in the distance. Trevor gets to work on the shellfish they have been given making this one of the tastiest banquets one could dream of, all washed down with a drop of Polgoon Cornish black cider. After their fish platter they are back in Daisy and heading full speed for Land’s End. For those of you that don’t know much about Land’s End there is a modern leisure complex (a good day out for young families im sure) there and not just a romantic old weatherbeaten sign post saying New York 3147 miles thataway! Beyond the leisure complex built by Peter De Savary some time ago when I was in my youth there is a sign post and a telescope – but I doubt you can see New York even on a clear day!
So the series is over – its been great so if you were not fortunate to watch it first time around, pick it up together with Hugh’s other great programs here on 4oD.
Now what time is Caroline Quentin on tonight…
My Saffron Bun 