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Look for our Great Britain logo throughout the magazine to see which parts of the British Isles we’ve been to in this issue Editor-in-Chief Anna-Lisa De’Ath Assistant Editor Natalie Crofts Features Editor Lauren Morton Editorial Assistant Charlotte Page Designer Laura Robertson Web Editor Peter Byrne Advertising Manager Julie Freestone Production Manager Reg French Back issues Hilary King Financial Controller Lesley Shard Managing Director Luke Patten Contact LandLove at Hubert Burda Media UK, The Tower, Phoenix Square, Colchester, Essex CO4 9HU Tel: 01206 851117; Fax: 01206 849078 Subscriptions Tel: 01778 392021 Back issues Tel: 01206 851117 ext 237 Editorial email: landlove@burdamagazines.co.uk Display and Classified Advertising Sales Tel: 01206 851117 ext 212 International Ad Sales Representatives Burda International Italy Mariolina Siclari T. +39 02 91 32 34 66 mariolina.siclari@burda.com Burda Community Network Germany Vanessa Noetzel T. +49 89 9250 3532 vanessa.noetzel@burda.com Michael Neuwirth T. +49 89 9250 3629 michael.neuwirth@burda.com Austria/Switzerland Goran Vukota T. +41 44 810 21 46 goran.vukota@burda.com France/Luxembourg Marion Badolle-Feick T. +33 1 72 71 25 24 marion.badolle-feick@burda.com USA/Canada/Mexico Salvatore Zammuto T. +1 212 884 48 24 salvatore.zammuto@burda.com Prices and availability were checked at time of going to press, but we cannot be held responsible for any changes. No part of LandLove may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means either wholly or in part, without the prior permission of the publisher. The publisher, editors and authors accept no responsibility in respect of any products, goods or services that may be advertised or referred to in this issue or for any errors, omissions, misstatements or mistakes in any such advertisements or references. We can’t guarantee that colours reproduced will be an accurate representation due to the printing process. Neither the Editor nor publishing company accept responsibility for any material submitted, whether photographic or otherwise. Competition rules apply to all competitions/giveaways in LandLove. Employees of Hubert Burda Media UK and associated companies are not eligible. There is no cash alternative to prizes. Should the prize become unavailable LandLove has the right to offer an alternative prize. The Editor’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. LandLove is distributed by Marketforce Tel: 020 3148 3300
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eptember definitely feels like a month of change. The summer is slowly ebbing away and autumn is gently creeping in, ready to clad our countryside in its dazzling colours. The mornings have a chill in the air and the nights are drawing in, but there’s still so much to see and do in the countryside at this time of year. We’ve got plenty of ideas to keep you busy this month, from making beautiful felted bags (p.72), to our woodland weaving projects – perfect for getting the kids engaging with nature (p.76). September is a great time to get outdoors, while the weather is still on our side, and we’ve got some exciting suggestions for days out in the countryside, from visiting mystical chalk figures (p.66) and our top 10 woodland walks to see autumn at its best (p.94), to discovering some of the UK’s most ancient caves (p.110), there’s something for everyone to enjoy. But if the weather does take a turn for the worst and you just want to hole up indoors, then make the most of it by indulging in some of our hearty one-pan recipes that make the most of autumn’s best ingredients (p46). September is also the month to celebrate organic food and, on page 88, we meet some of Britain’s organic farmers to see how they farm and we discover how easy it is to make the switch to eating organic, even on a budget. Talking of eating on a budget, on page 56 we meet two old friends who have turned their passion for foraging in the local hedgerows into a thriving cottage industry. I know you’ll be inspired by their story. Finally, we’re so excited to announce the winners of this year’s LandLove photographic competition in this issue. We were overwhelmed by the amount and quality of the entries we received and we had a really tough job picking our 12 finalists. You can see the winning shots on page 38 and find out how you can buy them in our beautiful 2017 calendar.
Photo Lizzie Orme
Welcome
‘If there’s one thing you should do this month... Now is the perfect time to head to the New Forest. The woodland is ablaze with breathtaking autumn colour and all manner of medieval traditions are taking place, such as the annual pig pannage, the wild pony drifts and plenty of wildlife activity. Turn to page 80 to find out more and plan your visit.
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Captivating
chrysanthemums This autumn bloomer provides one last impressive firework display of colour in beds and on patios to round off the garden season
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1 1 Chrysanthemums add dashes of colour to the garden with their vibrant blooms. These soft pink and purple tones are matched with light-red fruits such as ornamental apples and rose hips. Arrange the stems and branches in a tall vase and wrap it in strips of bark. 2 Chrysanthemums are also ideal for seasonal planting arrangements. Pretty partners include bright white fountain grass and dwarf Chinese silver grass, whose delicate flowering stems protrude above the other plants. Nestled in between are leafy shrubs such as alumroot, lamb’s ear and lady’s mantle. 2
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A flash in the pan Delicious sweet and savoury autumn dishes taste best served straight from the pan. Try out this selection of one-pan recipes which include old classics and modern twists
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Pan-fried potatoes with meatballs and squash Serves 4 For the meatballs: 1 onion 1 tbsp mustard 2 eggs 2 tbsp breadcrumbs salt pepper 300g pork and beef mince 20g clarified butter For the potatoes and squash: 400g potatoes, peeled and boiled 300g red kuri squash salt 2 red onions 20g clarified butter pepper 1 tsp caraway seeds For the fried eggs: 4 eggs 30g butter salt pepper mild paprika Plus: 1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
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To make the meatballs, peel and finely chop the onions. Using an electric mixer with a dough hook, knead the onions together with the mustard, eggs, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and mince to form a smooth dough. With damp hands, shape the mixture into eight small balls. Heat the clarified butter and fry the meatballs over a medium heat for 1520 minutes until golden brown, turning occasionally. Put the meatballs to one side and keep warm. To prepare the potatoes and squash, slice the potatoes and peel the squash. Next, wash the squash, cut it in half and remove the core. Cut the flesh into chunks then blanch in boiling salted water for 3 minutes before rinsing in cold water. Peel the onions, cut in half and finely slice. Heat the clarified butter and fry the potatoes and squash on all sides for 8 minutes until golden brown. Season with the salt, pepper and caraway seeds. Add the onions and fry for a further 3 minutes. To prepare the eggs fry them in hot butter and season with the salt, pepper and paprika when cooked. Put the fried eggs on top of the meatballs and serve with the potatoes and squash, sprinkling over the parsley to garnish. Season to taste with pepper.
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Grape pancakes Serves 4 250g seedless grapes 400ml milk 160g plain flour salt 4 eggs 4 tsp clarified butter 4 tsp icing sugar
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Wash the grapes and cut in half. Blend the milk and flour together with a pinch of salt until smooth and then add the eggs. To make one pancake, heat 1 tsp of clarified butter in a pan, then pour in a quarter of the batter and sprinkle on a quarter of the grapes. Fry the pancake for 2 minutes on each side. Cook the other three pancakes in the same way. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
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Knit and felt
beautiful bags Create bags using autumnal shades of felting yarn and put them in the washing machine to achieve the final look
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Striped shoulder bag This bag was knitted and then felted using Freedom Wool, a 100 per cent wool yarn that can be bought from wool and craft shops as well as online. You will need approximately 250g of night sky (437) and 100g each of bluebell (435), pistachio green (1108), blossom pink (1114), fuchsia pink (1113) and red pepper (1117) wool. You will also need a circular knitting needle (6mm, 80cm long), another needle for putting the stitches on hold during knitting, a crochet hook (4.5mm) and an embroidery needle. Unwashed gauge swatch (see p.75): Cast on 10 stitches (S) and complete 15 rows (R) in stocking stitch = 10 x 10cm. Stocking stitch: Knit and purl alternating rows. Knit all stitches when working in the round. 1 Start the bag from the bottom by casting on 98 stitches in night sky. Join stitches in the round and then knit 10 rows in stocking stitch. Cut the yarn. Knit the next 6 rows in pistachio green, cut the yarn and then knit 6 rows each in bluebell, red pepper, fuchsia pink and blossom pink. Next complete a further 6 rows in each shade (night sky, pistachio green, bluebell, red pepper, fuchsia pink and blossom pink). Knit a further 5 rows in night sky. 2 Round 81, *knit 15 stitches, cast off 19 stitches, knit 15 stitches; repeat from *. Cut the yarn. At this point, continue in stocking stitch. Knit 7 rows in stocking stitch on one side of the bag. For the handle, knit the first 9 stitches of the 8th row and put these stitches on hold; cast off the middle 12 stitches; then knit 9 stitches and put these on hold too (see image 2). Work the other half of the round in the same way. For the handle, pick up the stitches placed on hold and knit 50 rows in stocking stitch on each side of the bag. On each half, use kitchener stitch to sew together the 9 stitches at the end of each piece of knitting to form the handle. 3 Turn the bag inside out and sew up the bottom seam. 4 Form the handle by sewing the middle 60 rows of each strip together in a tubular shape. 5 Crochet around each edge using the crochet needle and single crochet stitches. To do this, insert the needle into every 2nd row or stitch. Sew in all loose threads. Felt the bag in a washing machine at 40°C (see below for how to do this).
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Washing and felting Like the swatch, the finished knit should be felted in the washing machine at a temperature of 40°C. Select a normal wash cycle and place some all-purpose washing powder in the washing machine drawer. Spin dry. Pull the knit firmly to stretch it into shape. Stuff the bag with crumpled-up paper and leave it to dry on a clothes airer. The degree of shrinkage depends on a number of factors, so it’s not always entirely possible to predict it.
Tip
for a greater felting effect, add two tennis balls to the wash.
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The size of the bag after knitting is approximately 48 x 70cm; including the handles folded in half, approximately 48 x 107cm After washing and felting it will be approximately 31 x 35cm in size, however sizes can vary
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Feature Natalie Crofts Photos Alamy, iStock, The Wildlife Trusts: Amy Lewis, The RSPB: Jeroen Stel
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Life below
ground
Friend or foe, moles are truly fascinating creatures, well adapted to life in the soil with incredible industrious habits quite unlike any other species found in Britain 104
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2 1 Moles are one of our most elusive, secretive creatures, spending the majority of their lives underground. 2 Moles rarely leave the safety of their tunnels, except in long periods of dry weather when food below ground is scarce. 3 A mole has strong, powerful claws with hands that are turned permanently outwards, to help them dig easily through the soil.
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pending almost their entire lives underground, moles are one of Britain’s most common creatures, yet one of the most elusive. Rarely ever spotted, the closest many of us have come to a mole are the hills they leave behind – one of the reasons they are usually perceived as pests. Despite the damage they can cause, they are fascinating creatures, incredibly well adapted to life in the soil and well worth getting to know. Widespread throughout much of the UK, our native moles spend much of their time in the tunnels they dig and are surprisingly powerful for how tiny they measure, growing to only around 15cm long and weighing up to 120g. Moles can live for up to six years in the wild, though rarely making it past three, and at present there is no conservation action to protect them as there are an estimated 31,000,000 moles residing in Britain, yet they are rarely ever seen. Using their broad front paws and strong claws they spend their days digging deep, continuous burrows and surface runs which form part of a complex network of tunnels below ground, sometimes hundreds of metres long. Using their well honed orientation skills moles are able to keep a mental plan of the layout to help them
navigate tunnels sometimes many years old, used by many generations of moles. We can tell from above ground a lot about what’s going on below the surface by the soil patterns left behind, a good way to identify if you have moles lurking in your garden. Large molehills usually mark the position of a nest, a line of small mounds marks the direction of a deep tunnel, while a continuous line of earth marks a very shallow tunnel. The incredible diggers can move over 500 times their own body weight of earth each day, capable of tunnelling up to 200 metres in 24 hours, and the piles of dirt left behind in our gardens, called molehills, are in fact heaps of excess soil pushed to the surface when tunnelling, rather than an entrance or exit as commonly believed. These incredible underground labyrinths are used repeatedly for feeding and travelling, while during breeding season the male will extend his tunnel system to actively look for a mate – the only time of year a mole is social. On the rare occasion when moles do appear above ground, usually in long periods of dry weather when food is scarce, it is often only their pink fleshy snout that is seen peeking through the soil. The small creatures can be identified by their cylindrical bodies covered in www.landlove.com
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