My friend Kate recently gave me a lovely book called the Great British Picnic Guide. Full of lovely fresh recipes and at the back are recommended places to take a picnic, and a suggested menu. Low and behold it had my favourite picnic spot. The white cliffs of Dover are amazingly dramatic. You can park at the National Trust car Park for a couple of pounds, and look down over the very busy Dover port. The children are gripped for ages watching the ferries load and unload and see them sail away to France. I always think there is something very romantic about being able to see France on the horizon.

There is a wonderful walk to South Foreland Lighthouse, along the cliffs. (Cliff edge is mostly fenced, so that excited children and dog don’t drop off the edge!). There are lots of seabirds to watch including Kittiwakes and Peregrine Falcons.

After a bracing walk or gentle stroll the National Trust Centre has a nice Tea Room, with explanations of the local geology, flora and fauna. For the more technically minded South Foreland was used by Faraday as the the first electrically lit lighthouse, and Marconi used it for the first international radio broadcast to France.

The White Cliffs of Dover are 20 minutes from Elmfield. Take the M20 signposted to Dover, follow the road into Dover towards the port. Take a left turn sign posted to White Cliffs. Follow the National Trust Signs to the car park.

Our 2 lambs are growing fast.  As well as still enjoying bottles of milk, they are now starting to eat a lot of grass and lamb-nuts.  As soon as the bucket is down, their heads are straight in until its all gone!  Sometimes they even like to run around with the bucket on their heads.

The Folkestone triennial starts today.  There are many sculptures, installation and activities for more information click here

These muffins are so very easy, only take 5 minutes to make.  They are best eaten warm, but as they are made with vegetable oil they last for a day or two in an airtight tin.  They also freeze well.

For 9 muffins.

Mix together dry ingredients - 255g plain flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 150g caster sugar in a bowl.

In another bowl mix wet ingredients - 1 egg, 240ml milk and 90ml vegetable oil.

Mix the wet and dry ingredients, and pour into around 9 lined muffin tins.

Bake for 20 minutes at 190 degrees C.

Variations:

Chocolate chip muffins - add 75g chocolate chips to the dry ingredients. Sprinkle some more chocolate chips on top just before baking.

Lemon and Poppy seed - Add the grated rind of 1 lemon and 1tbs of poppy seeds to the dry ingredients.

Although the weather hasnt been very reliable this year we managed to find a wonderfully sunny day last weekend to visit our favourite beach, Joss Bay. About 50 minutes away from Elmfield it is a lovely sandy cove with rock pool at low tide. There is a little shop (which stocks everything you need for a beach trip) and clean toilets. Our children were very happy with buckets and spades digging holes in the sand. At low tide you can explore many more coves and go hunting for fossils

Co-incidentally we went to the beach just as it was announced that Kent (including Joss bay) have been awarded 1/8 of the countries Blue Flags. These are awarded to the beaches that reach strict criteria on water quality, cleanliness, facilities and safety.

For more information on the blue flag beaches in Kent click here

Thanet have produced a useful leaflet detailing some of their beaches and coves. Download the .pdf file by clicking thanet_beaches-bays-leaflet_2008

The lambs have been eating and playing now for several months and boy they have grown! We are still feeding them milk once a day. Guests to Elmfield farm (both young and old!) have enjoyed giving the lambs their daily pint. A local farmer has been very kind and helped us vaccinate them for Blue Tounge disease and made sure they stay healthy - it has been a big but very enjoyable learning curve for us.

Janice Gordon lived opposite us when my sister and I were growing up. This gingerbread recipe is hers, and was given to me by my sister Emma last week. It is lovely sticky and is good with a cup of tea in the afternoon, or with a slice of cheddar cheese.

8oz margarine

8oz brown sugar

8oz black treacle

12 oz plain flour

3 teaspoons cinnamon

2 desertspoons ginger

1/2 pnt hot milk

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

2 eggs

Melt marg, sugar and treacle

Sift flour and spices, add melted ingredients and beat

Mix bicarb and milk, add to above mixture

Beat eggs and add to mixture

Pour into a 8inch lined, greased tin

Bake for 1hr 20 mins at 130 degrees C

Keeps for ages - if you dont eat it!

Many of our visitors have enjoyed a day out to Dover Castle. With an amazing history stretching from Roman times, through to WWII it is well worth a days visit. There are a labyrinth of secret wartime tunnels built deep in the White Cliffs of Dover. Walk through the rooms where Sir Admiral Ramsay planned the “miracle of Dunkirk” and tour the underground hospital. Above ground, check out one of Europe’s best-preserved Roman lighthouses, explore the towering keep with its spectacular views across the channel and its recreation of King Henry VIII’s.

As well as the permanent attractions, there are also school holiday activities for children, and music at the castle every sunday in June. For more information please check out the English Heritage website.. Dover Castle is only 20 minutes from Elmfield.

English Heritage have several other castles nearby including Deal and Walmer Castles (Approximatley 40 minutes away)

Today the the Marine Conservation Society has published its latest guide to the state of the UK’s beaches.  They assess quality of the water and how sewage discharge is treated, recommending beaches in its Good Beach Guide only if it exceeds the guideline European water quality standard.

Although the news isnt good for all beaches, Kents beaches have faired comparatively well.

Our favourite beaches are all on the Conservation Society Recommended List.  They are:

Hythe - Pebbled beach with sandpit - 10 minutes from Elmfield

Joss, Stone and Botany Bays - picturesque sandy bays, some rock-pools and fossils with  varying levels of facilities - 50 minutes from Elmfield

Dymchurch, St Marys Bay- Sandy Beach (until high tide) 20 minutes from Elmfield

For a full list of beaches click here

Six new projects by Christian Boltanski, Tacita Dean, Sejla Kameric, Langlands & Bell, Pae White and Mark Wallinger have been announced for the inaugural Folkestone Triennial which will run from 14 June – 14 September 2008. One of the most ambitious public art projects to be presented in the UK, the Triennial is a three-yearly exhibition of works which will be specially created for public spaces throughout Folkestone.

Click here for more information about this exciting project.

Folkestone is just 20 minutes from Elmfield Farm Cottages.