Why wait until the weekend to have some fun because the newly renovated Deer Park Country House Hotel near Honiton has launched a great mixture of weekday courses, including the chance to catch your own fish lunch, forage for some wild greens to accompany it and then cook it all in a wood fired oven. Anita Merritt gets closer to nature on the hotel's first Fish, Find and Flame course
It really doesn't matter whether you've visited Deer Park Country House Hotel before, or have never set eyes on it, because during the past 18 months it has undergone an outstanding transformation.
Based in 80 acres of glorious grounds within the village of Weston near Honiton, it depicts the idyllic vision of a quintessentially English country house.
It begins the moment you ascend its long sweeping drive, passing fields of green as far as the eye can see. Eventually it brings you to the elegant house itself with a circular drive and ornate water fountain.
As well as being the subject of a major renovation to the house and grounds, Deer Park is also establishing itself as a visitor destination through its good food and new range of varied and exciting spring and summer courses.
The theme incorporate Deer Park's own stretch of private river and restored kitchen gardens, as well its Bushman wood-fired oven.
Expert tuition and hands-on instruction is being shared on the one-day courses by chefs, artists, anglers, beekeepers and country pursuits specialists.
The choices available include An Introduction to Falconry; An All Day Country Affair; Cooking with a Wood Fired Oven; Beekeeping Course for Beginners; Oil Painting and Venison Course.
Food lovers will instantly be drawn in by the one-day course Fish, Find and Flame which provides a laid back and informal introduction to the world of fly fishing, wild food foraging and wood-fired cookery.
The day begins with a brief introduction and tuition on the basic skills of fly fishing to catch a River Otter trout by knowledgeable fly fishing instructor Neil Keep.
It's followed by the opportunity to try to catch one, which is a lot easier said than done, but it almost doesn't matter because it's just as satisfying soaking up the experience in the beautiful countryside surroundings.
Neil, who has more than 40 years' fishing experience, said: "You have to imagine and think from a fish's perspective and read the water. The river is like a big larder for fish and they survive on what's there naturally which is why we use 'feather' flies.
"Fly fishing is a very active way of fishing because you're on the move all of the time whether it's casting, moving spots or working your way up through the river. As a general rule of thumb you want to fish the river by wading it.
"The River Otter is one of the lesser known rivers for fly fishing. It's like a hidden gem because it's not too big for beginners but not too small that it makes casting difficult."
The river is home to brown trout and also some sea trout from the estuary and the odd salmon. The fly fishing seasons gets going from May onwards when the temperature warms up.
Neil works six days a week teaching people to fish, but even on his day off he can be found by a river bank.
"At the age of seven my dad stuck a rod in my hand and then I got into tournament casting at junior level," reveals Neil. "What I like about fly fishing is it's a sport where you can get away from it all. I don't judge the success of a fishing trip by how many fish I caught but how much I enjoyed the experience."
The next part of the day is a wild foraging walk with chef, cookery teacher and food writer Tim Maddams. If he looks familiar it's because Tim is a former River Cottage chef who regularly co-featured in the TV series.
Donning a straw hat and wicker basket containing only a pair of yellow rubber gloves and scissors, our foraging adventure begins.
The walk along the mass of hedgerows and river banks the green growth suddenly transforms into a free shopping spree of edible food you would never know existed.
Tim, who lives in Devon and is passionate about wild food, points out dandelion flowers which he says make a nice bhaji or marmalade, and then some hogweed which is tasty deep fried in tempura batter.
"You have to be a little bit careful because it comes in two varieties," warns Tim. "There's the common hogweed and its giant brother. You can tell which one is from the shape and colour of the leaves, but you don't want to get it wrong because the inedible variety is irritating to the skin and poisonous.
"The purpose of this course is to introduce people to a few plants they'll definitely be able to identify. I'm not a fungi expert or qualified botanist, but I like wild food because it's tasty and easy to get your hands on.
"There are some seriously deadly plants around. Poisonous plants are not evil and they don't hide away at the back of caves. They're out there growing next to the plants you want to pick.
"The first plant we learn about as a child is stinging nettles. It grows everywhere because it's a weed and is delicious in teas and soups or blanched and used as a dressing.
"For years it was thought their sting was formic acid but the spikes are like natural glass and are so fine they go straight through the skin and cause irritation."
At this point the reason for bringing rubber gloves becomes apparent as Tim puts them on to pick the tips of the nettle plant. He then turns his attention to a variety of wild garlic called Jack-by-the-hedge, or garlic mustard as it's also known, and is as common as nettles. It doesn't smell of garlic until you break up the leaves because the smell is released when the plant thinks it's being attacked by insects.
Looking forward to lots more foraging days to come, Tim says: "We are now in the first foraging time of the year. This is when wild greens tend to be at their best, such as stinging nettles and wild garlic. This is the time of year your body is screaming for something green and vibrant to eat. Nature fills the gap of the produce yet to come with these wild plants.
"Throughout the year there's always something to forage, with the exception of a short period over Christmas and up to spring."
The day is rounded off with a cookery session around the wood fired oven using all the hard won ingredients. Luckily a supply of trout is on standby for those who didn't net a fish which happens to be us all!
Tim demonstrates how to fillet a fish before letting everyone else have a go, and then hot smokes some of the trout and serves it on fingers of toast, topped with a foraged garnish and a drizzle of rapeseed oil.
It is followed by pizza making using the remaining trout, wild garlic, red onion, mozzarella and a fresh tomato paste.
The food is washed down with delicious Deer Park apple juice made using the apples from its own orchard.
No visit to Deer Park would be complete without a walk around the 18th century Georgian mansion which has been improved by a new conservatory and Italian garden.
The latest developments is turning dilapidated old stables into 17 new high end cottage rooms. An ongoing project is bringing the walled kitchen garden back to life which is also home to cockerels, two pigs and a beehive.
Future plans for Deer Park include building four tree houses and further accommodation.
Mark Godfrey, Deer Park's managing director, said: "The range of courses and the talented people we are partnering with will bring that extra touch of fun and excitement to our offering here at the Deer Park.
"We have been thrilled with the addition of our new courses and can't wait to see the success of the courses grow over the next few months and beyond."
For more details call 01404 41266 or visit www.deerparkcountryhotel.co.uk
Course Dates
Fish, Find and Flame, £95: July 8
From Coast to Country Side: July 22, August 20
Grill Like a Gaucho: June 24, July 23, September 2
Deer Park Tandoori: July 16, August 19, September 17
Pizza and Flat Breads: June 25, August 5, September 3
The Devon Larder: July 15, August 6, September 16
Half Day Venison Course, £65: July 9
Beekeeping Course for Beginners, £80: June 26
An Introduction to Falconry, full day £150: July 15, August 12, September 16; half day, £80: June 24, July 29, August 26, September 30
An All Day Country Affair, £85: July 9, August 13, September 10
Oil Painting, £95: July 7 and 21, September 8 and 15
![Forage and feast with former River Cottage chef Tim Maddams at the Deer Park Hotel]( "Forage and feast with former River Cottage chef Tim Maddams at the Deer Park Hotel")
