Adventures in Journalism

Battlegore and Bronze: A Million Words of West Country War and Peace In this episode, Martin Hesp reflects on a staggering career milestone: 26 years of weekly 900-word columns for the Western Morning News and Western Daily Press . With over 1.17 million words written for his Saturday readers, Martin explores the responsibility of being the "eyes and ears" of the region since 1999. Digging into hi...

In this episode of Adventures in Journalism , Martin Hesp takes us behind the lens of his latest novel, The Cornish Snapper: The Granite Mystery . Can a non-police sleuth still exist in the modern age of forensics and cordoned-off crime scenes? Martin argues they can—if they're carrying a press pass and a digital camera. He discusses the "brainwave" that turned a seasoned, world-weary reporter int...

Step inside the historic walls of Taunton's Castle Hotel in this episode of Adventures in Journalism . Host Martin Hesp sits down with legendary proprietor Kit Chapman to celebrate the 75th anniversary of his family's stewardship of this Somerset landmark. Kit shares candid stories from the hotel's "black and white movie" past, including his father's 1950s restoration, the hotel's transformation i...

In this episode of Adventures in Journalism , veteran journalist Martin Hesp reflects on one of the most remarkable scenes of his career—the wreck of the MSC Napoli off the coast of Branscombe. Exactly 18 years after the ill-fated container ship came to grief on the Jurassic Coast, Martin pulls from his personal audio archives to revisit the chaos and curiosity that followed. Join Martin as he sha...

In this feature-length episode of  Adventures in Journalism , Martin Hesp visits the historic village of Kingsbury Episcopi. To coincide with this week's "Hesp Out West" column in the Western Morning News and Western Daily Press, we go behind the scenes to meet the people who define this unique corner of the Somerset Levels. In this episode: [00:00] Intro: The view from One Tree Hill and the "Adve...

A quick explanation about why I am bringing Adventures in Journalism back to life. It's bascially because I am busy belting about the place seeing interesting things, visiting beautiful places, and meeting fascinating people.

Now 2026 has arrived, I've decided to restart my podcast series - firstly with some thoughts on warm and sunny places, seeing the weather has been so bad here in the UK. This first episode visits some out of the way places in the Algarve and talks to a guide who will take visitors to some pretty magical locations down there in Southern Portugal. We also visit Puglia, where we talk to a farmer who...

We set out to celebrate English Wine Week by visiting the Huxbear Vineyard in South Devon in the company of Wickhams Wine and the wine writer Stephen Barrett    

We spend a morning touring the amazing Quicke estate in central Devon with Mary Quicke, the forward -thinking woman who makes some of the best cheddar cheese in the world

Recorded at the launch of Taste East Devon, Martin Hesp talks to the movers and shakers behind a new group set up to promote the food and drink of one of the most beautiful and fertile areas of the UK - interviewees include Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, chef Michael Caines and many others

Martin Hesp spends a couple of days watching the judging in the product classes of the anual Food Drink Devon Awards. It's an exacting process which means thopse stickers you see attached to items on supermarket shelves declaring "Gold" or "Silver" really do mean what they say

Would you be interested in hearing about a new way of food shopping which both pays the farmer fairly and also insists upon environmentally friendly practices in agriculture? Those are the sort of decisions consumer power can make happen - and now it's possible thanks to a new concept which was originally born in France 5 years ago. There, the English name is Who's The Boss - in the UK it's called...

There has been talk of centralising the control of England's national parks - an idea that will not go down well with local people who live in the remote uplands of places like Exmoor. In this podcast journalist Martin Hesp brushes off an old interview he did with Molly Groves - one of the founders of the Exmoor Revolting Peasants party - a pressure group formed by local people in the early 2000s

Journalist Martin Hesp joins Francis Clarke, the managing director of the highly regarded Trewithen Dairy, on a visit to a South Cornish holding where they are shown the benefits of regenerative farming by expert Tom Tolputt, who explains that the system could actually take carbon out of the atmosphere while at the same time producing fantastically healthy milk and cream, beef and lamb

In his travels as editor-at-large of a daily newspaper in the UK Martin Hesp came across many interesting people working in all manner of industries and trades - in this podcast he looks back at his meeting with the Rowland family - the Royal Warrant wheelwrights of East Devon

Well known Somerset cider-maker Roger Wilkins talks to Martin Hesp about Banksy the artist and the great many other celebrities who've been to his old cider-house at Land's End Farm, Mudgeley, overlooking the Somerset Levels 

Sharpham Estate in Devon is famous for its wine and its cheese - but this year, more than ever, it was important to remind tourism providers and other movers and shakers about the fine produce that is made down by the shores of the River Dart in the South Hams 

Anthony Gibson worked for the NFU for an amazing 36 years and in that time he became a very well known figure, not only in the UK agricultural world, but also in the sphere of food and drink. Here he talks to Martin Hesp about the disconnect between local people and local food - and the steps which were taken in the 1980s and 90s to try to overcome that gap

The chef Peter Gorton has just been appointed as a director of Food Drink Devon - here in an interview recorded some years ago he talks to Martin Hesp of RAW Food & Drink PR   about the art of cooking game meat gleaned from the British countryside

Editorial Director of RAW Food & Drink PR Martin Hesp talks with Ben Forte of Masterbuilt about the remarkable new Gravity Series and with well known food photographer Nick Hook about the art of food and drink imagery 

Journalist Martin Hesp visits the rural town of Holsworthy on the Devon-Cornwall border on market day. The visit was made a few years ago before the big cattle market was moved to the outskirts of town - and in those days the small market square in the centre was buzzing with people. This podcast is a short audio history - a glimpse into a disappearing world

A podcast to go with a short film about visiting Petit St Vincent in The Grenadines - seems like a lovely place to be as the UK sinks into another lockdown and the November darkness brings heavy rain

Martin Hesp interviews Jonathon Jones OBE - trading director at Cornwall's Tregothnan Estate - the man behind the amazing and perhaps surprising success story of British grown tea. Here he tells the story of the UK's only major tea plantation

When The Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall were celebrating their first quarter of a century as one of the UK's most beautiful and fascinating visitor attractions, Martin Hesp took the opportunity to talk with Sir Tim Smit, one of the main movers and shakers behind the refurbishment of the fabulous demesne... 

Martin Hesp chats to Sir Ferrers Vyvyan who has taken him on a tour of the remarkable Trelowarren Estate in Cornwall and who talks about the weird and wonderful landscape known as Goonhilly Down