Crumbling stone-built seaside cottage in Welsh foodie destination and royal town of Caernarfon goes on sale for just £1
The Royal Town of Caernarfon sits on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait in North Wales and as a result of its proximity to Snowdonia and history dating back to Roman times is a “major tourist centre,” according to Wikipedia. It has a marina, award winning arts centre, a maritime museum and numerous popular pubs, bars and restaurants.
Though clearly in need of total renovation, the space offered is just a three minute walk from the seafront and directly adjoins the town’s revamped shopping district where the annual food festival attracts around 30,000 visitors each May.
Of the property offered, the Mirror last week observed: “It now needs a total makeover to become a dream seaside cottage in the heart of the holiday town” and could instead be converted to a studio space even.
In their very brief marketing literature, Doorsteps, however, add: “Terms and conditions apply,” but when contacted for comment were somewhat curiously not able to elaborate further.
Bidding for the cottage to the rear of 72 Pool Street, Caernarfon is scheduled to commence online on 6th May 2021 at 12 noon and will conclude at 1pm on the same day. Interestingly, a bidding deposit of £500 is required to participate – some £499 or 49,900% more than the property’s guide price.
The interior of the cottage is nothing but an empty shack currently, but there is plenty of character that could be incorporated into its potential reuse as a home.The space could be used as a holiday cottage, permanent residence or a studio even – subject to any necessary planning consents being granted.The currently derelict cottage is behind an also currently derelict bakery that had been in business for over 50 years and accessed via a somewhat unappealing alleyway.The annual Caernarfon Food Festival is not happening in 2021 due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, but it is normally a popular event and attended by around 30,000 people.The festival occurs throughout the town and on the sea wall even.Previously in February 2017, ‘The Steeple Times’ featured the sale of a far grander residence in Caernarfon, The Old Court House, at a price reduced from £650,000 to just £525,000. The building’s then owner, an English property developer named Aaron Hill, told ‘Wales Online’ he was selling after “vandals had smashed his windows 46 times, daubed graffiti across doors, attacked his car and urinated through his letterbox.” He told the paper “he had reported about 26 incidents to North Wales Police and remarked: ‘They said: ‘You need to f**k off where you belong. We don’t want you here. We’ll burn the place down.’” The building was subsequently converted into a bar, bistro, restaurant and event venue in 2018.In June 2014, ‘The Steeple Times’ featured another property once sold for £1, the Grade I listed Palladian gem Barlaston Hall in Staffordshire. It was saved from near collapse in 1981 by former ‘Country Life’ editor Marcus Binney and sold on for £300,000in 1992 and offered for sale again in 2014 for £2.3 million after renovations were completed. After its asking price was reduced to £2 million, it subsequently sold for £2 million through agents Fisher German in April 2019.In the very same article in June 2014 in ‘The Steeple Times,’ we also included another £1 property, Old Whitehall House in Chirnside, Berwickshire, Scotland. Derelict since 2007, this B-listed Georgian mansion required at least £1.2 million spent on its refurbishment, but came complete with an ornate music room decorated in Italian plasterwork and 7 bedrooms.
Native oysters bizarrely reappear in Belfast Lough after 100 years of absence without any human intervention
In March, as the world locked down due to coronavirus, one note of positivity came in the form of reports of Venetians reporting that their canals were clearer and cleaner.
Now, this morning, the Guardian, followed up with similarly good news from Northern Ireland in sharing that “native oysters have unexpectedly returned to the shores of Belfast Lough after more than 100 years” absent.
“Fished to oblivion” from the 1800s, a systematic survey in May and June found 41 live ostrea edulis European flats along the coast and of the news, Joanne Preston of the University of Portsmouth told the paper: “I think it’s really interesting. The take-home message is, if you create the environmental conditions… then the species will be able to establish again.”
Obviously a “boost to biodiversity in the lough, since [they] filter seawater and their shells provide a habitat for many other sea creatures including tiny worms, snails, algae and anemones,” David Smyth of Bangor University in Wales commented: “The big question is, how did they get there?”
Citing that “the lough could one day be home to a future oyster fishery right near Northern Ireland’s capital,” here indeed could be one light of hope for the fishing industry as we career into Brexit Britain 2021.
When Covid-19 restrictions allow, we urge readers to head to Britain’s oyster capital, Whitstable, and visit the restaurant we reviewed in March 2016, the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company (first established as a cooperative in 1793). Here, we suggest, you’ll find the finest seafood that will utterly delight you.
Credited with reviving interest in oysters, the current owners of the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company, the Green family, have very much led the transformation of Kent’s answer to Burnham Market in Norfolk or Salcombe in Devon into a fashionable destination for foodies and art lovers. Could the same eventually happen in Northern Ireland at Belfast Lough?
Charlie Gray of ‘Ask Charlie’ shares her thoughts how to perfect a lockdown afternoon tea and her recipe for lavender scones
During these extraordinary times, I have gone back to one of my favourite pleasures in life – afternoon tea.
Now, I know there has been a shortage of flour with the world and his wife taking up baking, but it does give me great delight each afternoon to sit down and enjoy a delicious treat.
Charlie Gray.
Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford introduced afternoon tea in 1840 taken at 4 o’clock in the afternoon as she simply believed the wait between lunch and dinner was just too long. I, for one, am with her there. It was far from ideal to be getting hungry back in the 1840s and it’s just the same when you’re in lockdown also.
I am married to a proper foodie and if something gets the thumbs up from him, I know I’m onto a goodie so I wanted to share this with you: I’ve got him onto lavender scones. He was a little sceptical at first and not so keen to try, but now there is no stopping him.
Lavender scones are so easy to make and you don’t even need to wait for them to cool before you can enjoy them. Happy baking.
Sussex based mother of three and lifestyle blogger Charlie Gray shares ‘homegrown skills’ and practical advice on her website Ask Charlie. Watch her videos on YouTube by clicking here.
My recipe for lavender scones follows:
Ingredients
85g butter cold and cut into small cubes.
3 tablespoons caster sugar infused with lavender.
350g self-raising flour.
1 teaspoon baking powder.
½ teaspoon of table salt.
175ml room temperature milk.
A squeeze of lemon juice
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract.
1 teaspoon of dried lavender.
1 egg beaten to glaze.
Method
Please dried lavender and some fresh lavender (can just be the leaves) into the caster sugar and leave for 48 hours.
Sieve the sugar before using and discard the lavender.
Heat the oven to 210°C or use the roasting oven of an Aga.
Place 175ml in a jug and add in the squeeze of lemon and vanilla extract, set aside until it is room temperature or gently heat a little.
Place the flour, salt, baking powder in a large bowl and in the cold cubed butter.
Using your fingertips gently rub the mixture until you have fine breadcrumbs.
Add in the lavender infused caster sugar and teaspoon of dried lavender, mixture it through.
Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk.
Using and knife stir until it comes together in a ball it will be quite wet.
Generously flour the work surface and fold the dough over a few times until its smooth but be careful not to over work the dough.
Shape into a round approximately 4cm deep and using a fluted cookie cutter cut out as many rounds as you can and place on a lined baking tray, reshape the dough and cut out more. I make twelve at a time.
Brush the top with the egg wash, leave to rest for 10 minutes before baking for 10 minutes until golden.
Serve warm with jam and clotted cream and remember that these freeze well also.
New contributor Jacina Coyne on how to spend a day in Petworth, West Sussex
Petworth is well known for its synonymous stately home and its grounds by ‘England’s greatest gardener’, Capability Brown. This is a charming gem of a town in the English countryside and is easily accessible from London. I reached it in an hour with no traffic.
Overflowing with character, Petworth boasts over forty antiques shops and they are well known for the treasures within them. While this town is easy going, it also boasts sophisticated tastes.
I would suggest this to be the ideal place to take a visiting friend who wishes to see a bit of the English countryside; you will be hard pressed, in fact, to find anywhere better for a better day trip.
My five must visits are:
The Leconfield
A two rosette stared restaurant with a glorious outdoor dining area. The food is exquisite and the menu thoughtful; the atmosphere is relaxed but the service is five star.
A wonderful Georgian house brimming with everything from objets d’art to personalised monogrammed bags by the stylish yet practical Italian brand My Style Bags. Here, also, you’ll find the only concession of Linley outside London.
The best ready meals on the market according to The Telegraph’s Xanthe Clay. For me, though, it was their pecan pie that topped the bill. Be sure to take home a feast from this foodie’s paradise.
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Having begun her career cooking at one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants and at Daphne’s and Papillon in Chelsea, Joudie Kalla established Baity Kitchen in Walton Street in 2011. (more…)
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The Steeple Times asks the chef, author and BBC America “Chef Race: U.K. vs. U.S.” contestant Phoebe Lapine: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom.” What’s your guiding force?
Food. Friends. Fun.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
“Be the heroine of your own life, not the victim.” The quote is courtesy of the late but brilliant Nora Ephron.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2012?
Had to Google that one. Um, onesies (or as we call them in America, “footie pajamas”)… Just kidding, those are timeless.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
Horses: I can’t seem to find space for one in my New York City apartment.
What might you swap all your wealth for?
An iron and a bottomless stomach. Or an invisibility cloak.
Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank.” What’s your view on the banking crisis?
Greed is not good. Sorry, Gordo.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“No.”
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home.” What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
I feed a revolving door of twenty-something’s who don’t think they’re capable of roasting a chicken. If only someone had taught them what it takes to prepare real food when they were young. My causes include culinary education for kids and also pediatric cancer research via The Valerie Fund.
The judge in “Law Abiding Citizen” states: “I can pretty do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
You don’t need to shout for the person on the other end to hear you. It’s an iPhone, not a tin can on a string.
If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
Julia Child, Jamie Oliver, Ruth Reichl and Nora Ephron for the first half. Just me and ten clones of Ryan Gosling for the second.
Chef and author Phoebe Lapine
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
Sole meunière, frites, haricots vert, strong strong strong French mustard and a vat of mayonnaise. Warm chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I’d eat it on a hillside in Provence surrounded by horses. So, I guess, there should be a bucket of apples too.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
It’s always 5 o’clock somewhere, right?
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
Campari soda.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
My own. I love feeding my friends and having a ball and going to bed with dirty dishes in the sink. Plus, I never have to put on shoes.
Who is the most positive person you know?
Debbie Phillips: Every woman’s spiritual mother.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
Trashy magazines.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
A heart shaped spoon.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
I can’t think of an answer that’s not vaguely sexual.
Cilla Black presented “Surprise, Surprise.” Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
I’m very social, but also I’m a closet introvert. I need a lot of “me” time to recharge.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
I wish I had one. On the ledge of my sleeping loft I have a candle, an empty water glass and a novel.
Phoebe Lapine is a chef, author and food personality. The daughter of Tony Award winning American stage director and librettist James Lapine, she is a co-founder of the blog Big Girls Small Kitchen and co-author of the cookbook In the Small Kitchen: 100 Recipes From Our Year of Cooking in the Real World.
