Stéphanie Alice

Join me as I go for an early autumn walk in the woods and visit my library. I'm experimenting with videos, and thinking of sharing moments from my everyday life in vlog style videos like these, I'm not sure how interesting they'll be to other people but I hope you enjoy them, and find them relaxing.

Please remember to turn CC on for translations.

My work in other places:
https://www.stephaniegarstin.co.uk/hello

Join us as we deep clean and tidy the balcony for autumn, and I share my love for quiet mornings and living in a big city. I thought I would try to film some more vlog type videos for my 'The Quiet Things' playlist, sharing everyday moments and scenes.

My work in other places:
https://www.stephaniegarstin.co.uk/hello

Please make sure to turn CC on for translated subtitles.

A fruit galette or 'tarte rustique' is a relaxed, open top pie filled with seasonal fruit. Today I am sharing a video of me making a blackberry galette with some of the blackberries I picked with family last month. Blackberries and other seasonal fruits freeze well, and so when I find a glut of fruit, either on the trees or at the market, I like to prepare it - removing stones if necessary - and freeze the fruit so that I don't have to use it all in a rush.

A fruit galette is one of the easiest deserts to make, it scales well and the messier and more free form it is, the better it looks! This is one of those puddings you can put together very quickly when you fancy something sweet, and then feel very accomplished with as it takes so little effort but looks very pretty.

This recipe is accidentally vegan. Some people like to make pastry with butter, but it's very easy to make pastry with dairy free margarine, and there are plenty of options on the market these days for dairy free icecream.

My work in other places:
https://www.stephaniegarstin.co.uk/hello

Join me for a rainy evening walk in the woods up at Sutton Park. Summer is coming to a close, and I know that before long it will be too dark to go for an evening walk in Sutton Park on weekdays, so I'm trying to make the most of it whilst I still can.

My work in other places including links to Instagram and Patreon:

https://www.stephaniegarstin.co.uk/hello

To celebrate our wedding anniversary this year, Ed and I made a daytrip to Oxford. We walked along the river from Godstow to the city centre, passing through many of the locations which feature in Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' and wraparound 'Book of Dust' trilogies including the canals, rivers, Oxford Botanic Garden, and the ruins of Godstow Abbey.

It was a lovely, peaceful day with lots of time spent outdoors, a visit to the Bodleian's 'Roots to Seeds' exhibition celebrating 400 years of botany at the University of Oxford, and time spent eating sorbet at our favourite icecream shop and poking around the stacks in Blackwell's bookshop.

For links to my work in other places including Instagram and Patreon:

https://www.stephaniegarstin.co.uk/hello

Join us for a walk in the Brecon Beacons where we hike along the main ridge of the horseshoe ridge walk from Neuadd Reservoir and encounter a herd of wild Welsh mountain ponies.

Just here for the ponies? Skip to 07:33

For more details on the walk: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/brecon-beacons/trails/brecon-beacons-horseshoe-ridge-walk

It is a strenuous walk, especially the first bit which takes you up a steep and difficult path to the main ridge. Don't be afraid to try hill walking if you haven't before, but at the same time please don't underestimate the mountains - even well trodden peaks such as those in the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia. Make sure that you have the right equipment with you including clothing, map & compass, food & water, and allow plenty of time so that you are not left walking in the dark after sunset. Conditions can change fast in the mountains, even on a sunny summer day, and you really don't want to be caught out.

If you're new to hiking or need a refresher on how to use an OS map here is an excellent video tutorial provided by Ordinance Survey themselves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwcFFoF2piw

and here are some tips on mountain safety from Mountain Rescue England & Wales: https://www.mountain.rescue.org.uk/safety/

Finally, the short paragraph I always include alongside photos or videos of wild ponies as I feel it is my responsibility to do so when sharing their images online. If you are lucky enough to meet the ponies, please don't feed them or follow them. Giving horses human food isn't the kindness you might think it is - carrots, fruit and bread can make them ill, and they don't need the extra calories as there is plenty for them to eat on the mountains. Wild ponies are also vulnerable if they become too tame, and so it really is best not to touch them or encourage them to come close. As you can see in this footage, we passed them by at close quarters simply because they were on the main path at the same time as us and heading in the same direction, though they quickly took themselves up the slope and away from humans and the main path.

My work in other places:

https://www.stephaniegarstin.co.uk/hello

Join us as we hike from Colwall station in Herefordshire along the spine of the Malvern Hills to Worcestershire Beacon above the town of Great Malvern.

This is a point to point route that Ed and I have walked with his parents a couple of times - as we could park a car at either end of the route and then walk it from south to north. Public transport is a bit patchy in the English countryside, but Ed and I stayed on the train a stop further than Great Malvern and then walked across the fields - all waymarked and sign posted - from Colwall station to the café at the base of British Camp (Herefordshire Beacon) before walking back to Great Malvern along the hills. The town of Great Malvern is a spa town, a popular destination during the Victorian era for the water, fresh air, and hiking. If you live in the West Midlands and fancy a day trip without needing to drive, catch the train to Great Malvern or Colwall and go hiking in the hills above the town. My favourite hill is actually North Hill rather than the Beacon itself, as it's quieter and the views of the Worcestershire Beacon are lovely. We didn't go up North Hill this time though, as by that point neither of us could be bothered with the final descent and ascent after walking the main ridge for several hours!

The views were fantastic as we chose a clear day, and once we were up on the ridge the path was easy to follow. It is possible to hike from Colwall, but make sure that you have a good OS map - or have downloaded a map to your phone that will load without phone signal - so that you can follow the footpaths. In high summer, they are quite overgrown, especially in the final stretch of woodland before you reach British Camp. Wear long sleeves and trousers as there are quite a lot of brambles covering the footpath up from Colwall.

My work in other places:

Website | https://www.stephaniegarstin.co.uk
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/stephaniegarstin
Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/stephaniegarstin
Vimeo | https://www.vimeo.com/stephaniegarstin
Main YouTube Channel | https://www.youtube.com/stephaniegarstin

Join us for a walk in the Cotswold Beechwoods. The Cotswolds is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, South West England. The area is known for its hills, history and picturesque stone cottages.

Ed's family live in Gloucestershire and so this afternoon, whilst visiting, we borrowed their dog and took her for a walk in the woods. The woodland we're walking in forms part of the Cotswold Commons & Beechwoods National Nature Reserve and is rich in wildlife, fungi and wildflowers, including some which are quite rare or of special scientific interest, and as such are cordoned off for protection from both humans and animals alike.

To find out more about Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds, visit the National Trust who own and manage much of the woodland: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lists/walks-in-gloucestershire-and-the-cotswolds

Remember to tread carefully and keep to the paths so as to help preserve this beautiful part of the countryside for tomorrow as well as for future generations.

My work in other places:

Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/stephaniegarstin

Website | https://www.stephaniegarstin.co.uk
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/stephaniegarstin
Main YouTube - Documentaries & Tutorials | https://www.youtube.com/stephaniegarstin