Whinham's Industry's a winner

Our two shamefully neglected gooseberry bushes produced 3lbs of fruit, despite being in the shade. Well impressed. Although Whinham's Industry is meant to be a dessert variety, I cooked them so not to notice the hairy skin, and had to add some honey to sweeten them. Some weren't as ripe as they could be, but it was a case of pick 'em or lose 'em to the birds and wasps. We've got tips on gooseberry growing on Gardening Masterclass.

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West Wales walking

We abandoned the bikes and the tent last week to go hostelling along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path - well, bits of it. The train got us to Haverfordwest and buses got us to the coast (and along it when it was time to cheat). There's a brilliant coastal bus service aimed at coast path walkers. The bus uses the lanes nearest the coast, and are hail and ride, so you use them to get to the start of the walk, or take you back to the beginning, or in our case, move along the coast to the next destination. Info at Pembrokeshire Greenways.

Highlights:
The coastal path - superb views, good walking, not many stiles, mainly out of range of mobile phones so no annoying ringing tones - great website for planning, detailing where loos, refreshments and bus stops are.
Poppit Sands youth hostel (Cardigan): 5-star view over the bay
Newport youth hostel: adjoining the West Wales Eco-centre so we were able to nip in for some advice on solar water heating, which is our next project.
Newport meals: a place for serious foodies, with two Michelin-starred restaurants, so the pubs have their work cut out to compete. Result: pub meals far above average. Also not a chip shop anywhere.
Broad Haven: fabulous beach (and chips aplenty)
Marloes Sands youth hostel: peninsula views from the kitchen/lounge window, is central for walks along north- and south-facing cliffs and coves, and handy for the Skomer Island boat trips to see the puffins.
Skomer Island: Puffins are as used to people as ducks in a park, so we had them around our feet. Magic.

We also discovered that the ex-YHA hostel in the old school at Trefin (aka Trevine) is still being run as a hostel, being ideally placed for walkers about half-way between Fishguard and St Davids. If we'd have known about it, we would have considered using it.

Grow your own milk and muesli

Never mind growing your own drugs, how about growing your own meals?

Make a start with breakfast by growing your own muesli, including the milk. And that doesn't mean you have to get in a cow either. Find out more about growing plants for milk to go with your home-grown muesli by visiting Gardening Masterclass.

Enjoy the freshest possible food, confident of what has and has not gone into the growing process, and enjoy the gardening too. Let us know how you get on - put your comments on the website.
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