Home of the Conservation Cookbook

The Bittern Countryside Community Interest Company is launching a cookbook, focusing on the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The online cookbook will focus on local produce and local recipes. It will also tell you about conservation grazing and the importance of traditional farming to the special nature conservation interest of the AONB. The AONB's Sustainable Development Fund has awarded the CIC a grant of £8,350 to cover many of the costs of setting up the Conservation Cookbook website and publishing the Cookbook on CD and in booklet form.

Why is the AONB promoting local food?

The Arnside Silverdale AONB is a small area of special countryside on the boundary between two counties, Cumbria and Lancashire. Its farming is dictated by a moist, mild climate suitable for beef and sheep production with some dairying. On the thinner limestone soils, the natural herb-rich grassland meadows are an important feature of the area. These have declined either through the introduction of more intensive grass systems or the invasion by scrub woodland on to the more marginal lands.

Through the use of a ‘conservation grazing’ system it is hoped that many of these meadows can be restored to their former glory. Such a system involves the reintroduction of traditional grazing and hay cutting, avoiding the input of chemicals or fertilizers. Traditional breeds of animals can be used to graze these meadows and to prevent scrub invading the pasture. Such limestone pasture is not confined to the AONB but is found in many locations around Morecambe Bay.

It is known that the meat from animals produced from conservation pastures has a special quality – organic food at its best. Such food produced from Morecambe Bay cattle would be a truly local product with the advantage of superb taste and benefits to animal welfare. There is, of course a wealth of other food produced in our region- cheeses from the dairies of Lancashire and organic lamb from the fells to name but two.

This website is still under construction, please visit again soon.