I've been on two small trips so far this Spring. Firstly I went to Hinton Waldrist, in Oxfordshire, to trace some family roots back to 1751. We stayed in the village and for dinner were all set to go to the Trout at Tadpole Bridge (not to be confused with the famous Trout nr. Oxford).

Things didn't go to plan however, as Oxfordshire's Fine Dining Pub 2008 seems to have forgotten it is a pub, and refused to serve chips or garlic bread as a starter. If they'd done this in a nice way, or tried to suggest something else as an alternative to woodpigeon, oysters or cream of celery soup I wouldn't have minded, but they were rude, and pretentious, so we left.

Luckily in the next village of Longworth we got a table at the brilliant pub the Blue Boar, which served our party of six a gorgeous meal - from chorizo stone baked pizza to perfectly cooked duck. It made me think how lucky we are in Wirral to have great food and a "civilised but chatty" atmosphere at The Dysart Arms, Cheshire's award winning Dining Pub 2008, in Bunbury. They couldn't be more accomodating and the food is perfect and unpretentious - which is exactly what I want from a fine dining pub!

This weekend we drove up to Lake Windermere and stopped in at Staveley for pincnic supplies at the More? Artisan Bakery.

More? were at Wirral's Food & Drink Festival last summer and have been winning awards for their goey chocolate muddees. As well as a full range of cakes and slices the store also sells freshly baked bread and that is something still missing in Wirral. I'm not just talking about a crusty french loaf, that you can get, but specialty breads like Pain du Levain, which was delicious with cheeses we bought at More?, moist and textured with a delicious crust. Or even better, Monty's Revenge, stuffed with cheddar and sweet whole garlic cloves roasted in olive oil.

More? is the brain child of Patrick Moore - watch out for him at this years food festival or stop in at Staveley on your next trip to the Lakes!