DIY FIRE PIT

Here is a loose description of how to make your own fire pit in your back garden. Materials are simple – you just need surplus house bricks, building blocks or paving slabs, and a shovel.

Dig a hole that’s roughly 1 x 1 x

1 m (40 x 40 x 40 inch) preferably away from any tree or plant root systems that make digging a hole even more laborious. Level the bottom of the hole the best you can.

Lay a paving slab in the bottom of the hole. Alternatively, line it with bricks. If you have more paving slabs available, use these to line the sides. If not, stack bricks around the edge of the hole as you would lay bricks when building a wall. It’s worth taking a bit of time getting this right to reduce the chances of collapse. Find something that can be laid over the pit such as a piece of plywood. Pile coals into the hole, then light with a fire lighter or blow torch. And that’s it.

I started cooking meat over coals using skewers and sticks, and then tried grilling mussels and shellfish on wire mesh – whatever I had laying around the garden or in my shed, I made use of. There was something deeply satisfying about the whole set-up.