The Herald - The Herald Magazine
A weekend of action and restoration in the wilds and milds of Exmoor
ABI JACKSON
FFOR your salad tonight, a mushroom from the woods,” says Pio, proudly holding up a plump porcini. I lean in for a sniff. It’s a beauty – a chunky hunk of leathery, earthy goodness. And if last night’s dinner was anything to go by, I’ve no doubt Pio will have transformed it into a work of art by the time it reaches my plate.
Pio Catemario Di Quadri is chef at Locanda on the Weir, a boutique hotel in Porlock Weir, a tiny harbour hamlet on the edge of Exmoor National Park,
West Somerset, which he runs with his partner Cindy Siu. He usually does set menus, featuring dishes flavoured by both his Italian roots and experimental twists, but has happily tweaked things to suit my plant-based diet.
It’s a long way from Scotland but it’s worth the trip. After arriving (before the latest lockdowns), just in time for a fireside aperitif in Locanda’s cosy reading room,
I’d feasted on fennel with a vibrant lemony dressing and oven-fresh focaccia, a colour-fest of roast carrots, orange and pea puree, then strawberries (“the last of the season”) with an aged balsamic vinegar reduction and kick of black pepper. Other diners had raved about their langoustines and roast lamb.
“The woods are great for foraging,” Pio adds. “What I can’t find there or get from our kitchen garden, I can usually get from other local plots.”
Plucking porcinis is not all the woods are great for, as I just discovered while tearing up the trails (well, sort of) with Exmoor Adventures on a e-mountain bike. Don’t be fooled thinking the addition of motor assistance takes all the challenge out of it. The hills here don’t mess around and the ground gets seriously mushy, but it does make it easier for mixed groups to ride together and means you don’t have to be a hardcore athlete or daredevil to enjoy it.
Exmoor Adventures offers a range of activities, from kayaking and paddle boarding to tree-climbing and coasteering, all making use of Exmoor’s varied landscape and surrounding shores.
Dan, who set up the company just over a decade ago, says mountain biking is especially popular and the e-bikes have been a hit with all age groups.
Today, he guides me and two fellow riders on a three-hour trek that sees us crunching up and down forest tracks, bouncing and sliding along a muddy moor, and even getting off a couple of times to shimmy across plank bridges, bikes hoicked up in our hands.
It’s early November and the leaves are still a fiery weave of rust and amber, and while it rains a few times, every now and then the clouds clear, revealing snaps of brilliant blue.
The pandemic and its restrictions mean opportunities to escape and seek adventure have been extremely limited lately. For many of us, getting outdoors when possible for a dose of fresh air and movement has been our saviour and our solace. And how grateful I’ve been for the pockets of green on my doorstep, and the health to embrace them. But the urge to roam has nipped hard and after a morning on the bike, soaking up the wilds of wintry Exmoor, I feel reborn.
Back at Locanda, after rinsing off my mud-soaked kit and warming up with a quick shower, I refuel with coffee in the reading room. It also houses the bar, two armchairs in a bay window facing out to sea, and three seriously sinky sofas by a big, open fire. There’s a record player and stack of vinyl, and bookshelves almost as eclectic as the art on the walls.