Radcliffe & Maconie Enjoy Cream Tea!

Radio 2 DJs Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie were treated to a surprise road-side cream tea from Otterton Mill as they walked the South West Coast Path this week, as part of a week-long special broadcast from Dorset and East Devon.

Otterton Mill owners Caroline and Simon Spiller surprised the DJs, as they completed the 5 mile coastal stretch from Sidmouth to the River Otter. The DJs and their entourage were greeted at the river's White Bridge crossing by an impromptu cafe with table, chairs and parasol, plus a full spread of freshly baked scones, jam, cream and cups of tea. The party ate their fill beside the river in the beautiful autumn sunshine, before heading down-stream into Budleigh Salterton and onto Exmouth, where they broadcast their live evening show.

Simon said "It was great fun meeting Mark and Stuart, and we were delighted to have the opportunity to share a Mill cream tea with them. They definitely enjoyed it and gave a wonderful plug for the Mill and our Devon cream teas on their live show from Exmouth that evening, which was broadcast to millions!."

The popular DJs have now completed their 2010 challenge of walking more than 80 miles of England's Jurassic Coastline on the South West Coast Path National Trail through Dorset and East Devon. This follows a similar conquest last year of Hadrian's Wall.

In all, they made four live broadcasts en route from Monday 27 to Thursday 30 September for their BBC Radio 2 slot between 8pm and 10pm. These included audio postcards from the path, as they took a walk through time to discover 185 million years of the earth's history revealed in the rocky coastline.

Mark and Stuart had indicated they were keen to sample local food and drink along the way, and Otterton Mill was one of several producers who rose to the challenge. The Mill has won many accolades for its cream tea, and it was recently recognised as one of the best in the South West by travel guide publisher DK Travel. It features scones baked fresh daily in the Mill's artisan bakery, using flour that is milled on-site, clotted cream from local dairy Yarty Valley, and award-winning jam from Tiverton's Highfield Preserves.

The DJs are following in the footsteps of thousands of walkers who undertake the Jurassic Coast section of the South West Coast Path each year, many of them making a well-earned stop for refreshment at Otterton Mill along the way.

For more information about Mark and Stuart's walk, click here.    For more information about the South West Coast Path National Trail, click here.

Date added: Tuesday 28th September 2010
Latest updated: Sunday 29th April 2012