If you’re visiting Bristol go by train. I’ve never found getting in or out of Bristol particularly easy. It’s not that there’s lack of signs. There’s plenty. It’s just a long, long drive to the motorways, the most entertaining of routes being across the Severn Bridge. Once you get there you’ll find a mix of modern and old but a city crammed with museums and galleries, local culture and international venues and a zoo of some repute.
If you’re headed for the West Country you’re heading towards some of the best food ideas in Britain; decidedly the best quarter of the island for it’s meat and dairy supplies, its fruit orchards and the famous creams of Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Cornwall. It’s the maritime haven of Britain and the continental influence is apparent not just in country cottage quarters, but in the lovely local recipes. What’s the point in eating fish and chips, when you’ve got the best beef and fresh fish supplies of anywhere in the country.
If you can’t get to Bristol this season, then make yourself a Bristol Cake as consolation. Take about 5 ounces of butter and cream it together with 5 ounces of caster sugar. Then beat up three eggs and measure out 9 ounces of flour. Now this is the important bit: add a little of the mixed eggs to the creamed butte. Mix, and then add a little of the flour. Alternate adding the eggs and flour until your have a smooth cake mix and then add the grated rind of a lemon, three tablespoons of milk, a teaspoon of baking powder and 3 ounces of currants. Put it in a moderate oven for about an hour and when it is done, brush the top over with a little egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar. Hey presto! You’ve made a quick trip to Bristol.…