GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 14

Due South offers an innovative menu filled with
such delicacies as quail, skate, asparagus and rabbit.
Foods that remind you just how exciting English
cooking can be, along with a varied European-only
wine list that includes some rather excellent whites
from Sussex. Due South may be surrounded by the
piers, postcard sellers and fish-and-chip joints that
symbolize the beach holidays of Britain's past, but
by serving up the best of UK produce, its menu looks
confidently to the future.

012 huNt a GeoCaChe

The GPS device gave the coordinates of the
stash of goodies by the side of the lake, but it
didn't reveal where exactly. That was down to
the group of young sleuths who were following
a map and instructions carefully as they walked
around the water's edge. Then the instructions
started making sense: the fallen log, the path off
to the right and then the pile of stones under the
oak tree. “Found it! Found it!” shouted one of the
children. Within seconds the other kids had run
over to share the goodies.
It's all part of the “geocaching” craze, the ultimate
treasure hunt for children (and more adults than
would like to admit it). Plastic boxes are packed
with goodies by geocachers and hidden outdoors
all over the country: by lakes, in woodland, at
the top of hills, even in city parks. There are over
half a million geocache locations worldwide and
apparently over 25,000 in the UK alone.
Here's how it works: you choose where you'd
like to go, download the coordinates of the
nearest geocache from the website and set off.
All you need is a GPS and the hope that the
treasure really is there when you get there. It's
a great way for children to become familiar with
the outdoors and it'll keep them occupied for
hours while you enjoy the fresh air.

Need to know Due South is located on the beach
beneath West Street's Odeon cinema, at 139 Kings
Road Arches. The best tables are outside or upstairs
by the window. W www.duesouth.co.uk;
T [phone].

014 RetReat to liNColNShiRe

It's back to basics at this small, self-catering lodge in
Old Leake, Lincolnshire. Surrounded by woodland,
there are just two rooms (each with two beds), an
open-plan living area and a small kitchen. It's ideal
as a get-away-from-it-all bolthole, a peaceful place
where you can take a stroll in the nearby woods, go
birdwatching in the Fenland sea marshes or cycle
along the Hull-to-Harwich cycle route.
“Ecolodge” is a much overused title but here it is
credible. Owners Geri and Andy (a woodsman) built
the lodge using timber from land around their home.
Electricity comes from a large wind generator and
solar panels, plus there are compost toilets, filtered
rainwater for washing and a wood-burning range. If
you want to learn more about eco-living, the owners
run workshops on charcoal-making and will gladly
tell you how they live and breathe sustainability.
The lodge even provides a shiatsu masseur to help it
all sink in.

Need to know The name and description of
the geocache described above has been kept
sufficiently vague so as not to give the game away.
Go find one yourself: W www.geocaching.com.

013 eat out at bRiGhtoN beaCh

The view from Due South looks out: through
the converted fisherman's arch that houses the
restaurant, over Brighton's pebbled beach, past
its iconic West Pier and across the grey-blue
English Channel to France. But the menu, which
changes monthly depending upon what's in
season, looks back to Britain: eighty percent of
the ingredients are sourced from within 30km.
This could mean limited options, but instead

Need to know The nearest train station is Boston
(on the Nottingham to Skegness line), from where the
owners can collect you by arrangement; a ten percent
discount is offered if you arrive by train or bike. For
rates and links to local producers and activities see
W www.internationalbusinessschool.net/eco-lodge.htm;
T [phone].