Country Living UK November 2022

I often find a short break in the UK just as rejuvenating as a full week’s holiday – you don’t have to cram in as much work or as many jobs around the house before heading off. Earlier this year, we escaped to south Pembrokeshire for a long weekend. On day two, we took a boat trip to the holy island of Caldey, just off the coast of Tenby. This peaceful and spiritual space is home to a community of Cistercian monks, who live in the magnificent abbey in the centre, along with a bounty of birds and wildlife. The disappointment of not seeing the reclusive monks, who live a cloistered life of strict prayer and routine, was quickly overshadowed by numerous sightings of black swans, French partridges and red…

Back in the 1600s, the then-staunchly Protestant Somerset town of Bridgwater celebrated the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot with effigy-burning, bonfires and squibbing, or handheld fireworks. Some 500 years later, the celebrations now include a spectacular moving light show of 22,000 bulbs on 100 floats, but the unique pyrotechnic tradition remains. Once the procession is past, 150 locals line the high street with ‘squibs’ attached to long poles, lighting them and creating a waterfall of light. The biggest cheer is reserved for the splutter of the last squib as it goes out for another year (bridgwatercarnival.org.uk).…

THE LAKES DISTILLERY, CUMBRIA (right) A working whisky distillery on a Victorian farmstead (lakesdistillery.com). SALCOMBE DISTILLING CO, DEVON Tour the distillery before heading to the balcony bar (salcombegin.com). DINGLE DISTILLERY, COUNTY KERRY This small-scale operation produces gin, vodka and single-malt Irish whiskey (dingledistillery.ie). THE PULTENEY DISTILLERY, THE HIGHLANDS Methods perfected over the past two centuries are used in this whisky workshop (oldpulteney.com). COLES DISTILLERY, CARMARTHENSHIRE Whisky and Wales’s only white rum are produced here (coles.wales).…

Believed to be the origin of trick or treating, this medieval tradition involves going from house to house on All Saints’ Day (1 November) and All Souls’ Day (2 November). And, while it might have been overshadowed by its commercial pretender, pockets of the country still continue this tradition today. In Lancashire and Cheshire, followers go ‘soul’ collecting, offering songs and prayers in return for sweet treats, while folk (or ‘mummers’) group Antrobus Soul Cakers take their traditional soul caking play around Cheshire pubs during the first two weeks of the month (facebook.com/soulcakers).…

Also known as a ‘stream in the sky’, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee valley in north-east Wales. Built in the early 19th century, this 18-arch cast-iron and stone structure is a Scheduled Ancient Monument of National Importance and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Those with a head for heights can walk, bike or boat along ‘Ponty’ (as it’s known locally), taking in views of jewel-toned treetops and even the odd otter (pontcysyllte-aqueduct.co.uk).…

CORNWALL A postcard-pretty port, Padstow is tucked into the west bank of the River Camel on the craggy north Cornish coast. Now the summer crowds have scarpered, you can wander the historic harbour and cobbled streets in peace. While you’re in this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, watch out for winter waders feasting on the mudflats at low tide. WHAT TO SEE AND DO For a not-too-strenuous stroll, wrap up warm and take the South West Coast Path to Harlyn Bay. En route, you’ll pass the stone steeple at Stepper Point, a Napoleonic fort and a smattering of smugglers’ caves chiselled into the cliffs. If the tide’s out, drop down onto sheltered and secluded St George’s Cove to walk along the sweep of sand (southwestcoastpath.org.uk). If the weather takes a turn, Rick…