Escape to River Cottage

After falling down the internet/blog rabbit hole (that I oddly found through a google image search) I came across a TV series called Escape To River Cottage. I'm not quite sure what compelled me to watch it but now I'm hooked. I originally heard of the show's host, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, through his many cookbooks, but never so much as glanced through them. The show was filmed in 1999 (!) and follows his journey a self sufficient lifestyle in Dorset, England. In the six episode series, Hugh walks us through his journey of starting a garden, raising pigs, chickens, and a cows, and many other aspects of living in the countryside.

Although this was filmed over a decade ago, it's only been in the last few years I've worked harder towards a more sustainable, environmentally friendly lifestyle. It can be discouraging when people tell me, "It's too late to save the world, anything you do won't make a difference." But instead of letting it get to me, I finally realized that I do it because it makes me happy to live this way. Sure, people might call me crazy, stupid or that I'm wasting my energy, but I've decided to pursue what makes me fulfilled and hope to lead by example. Watching Escape to River Cottage makes me feel like there is some hope left, that what I enjoy isn't so dumb after all, and that it just might be possible to be as self sufficient as possible.

Also, Dorset reminds me of Portwenn from Doc Martin. If you loved that show maybe you'll like this one!