Hound of the Basket Meals

So I have lived in Devon pretty close to an array of amazingly beautiful granite outcrops, basically rocks that people climb - my most memorable being Houndtor. Most people recognise or walk up Haytor, probably because it looks like a foot but I have always loved Houndtor. Mostly because of one man... Alan Smith. After a walk up Haytor with our hounds we would alway visit the man who owned the Hound of the Basket Meal van - Alan. He had his van in the perfect spot of the car park at the bottom of the tor, it was just far enough away that you could get a panoramic view of the entire tor from the van window. He knows it!

He is a gem- he managed to break away from the chain world and commercialism unlike the Molly Macs (the other ice cream vans) who have dominated the surrounding tors car parks. Those other vans now sell 99p ice creams for almost £3- defeats the object entirely. They are too slack to even change the name- I suppose going up naming an ice cream after inflation doesn't really sound that appetising. 

Anyway, Alan, he sold the best of everything. Tea, Coffee, Ice Cream (cider refresher lollies, can't beat em) but most of all he had prime homemade burgers and tomato soup that warmed you from the inside out. It was a proper outing going to Houndtor, dogs loved roaming the open moorland, we loved it for that and for our visits to the Hound of the Baskerville van. Alan was so friendly and he made quite a name for himself, I heard the even Ian Beale from Eastenders went to go and visit him- Result! Would have preferred if it had been Alfie but Ian will suffice. 

When I typed in Alan and The Hound of the Basket Meals to google I saw this in an article from The Independant- Written by Hattie Ellis on 30th August (happens to be my birthday- maybe why I liked it) 1998
" ONE OF my top finds in south Devon was the mobile catering van called "Hound of the Basket Meals" in the car park at Hound Tor. It is run by a gent, Alan Smith, who sells fresh crab sandwiches (crusts removed on request), good fruit cake and a choice of 17 teas. He is there every day from Good Friday to the end of September, and then at weekends. "
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/eating-england-no-12-devon---moor-shore-and-the-fat-of-the-land-1174969.html  

It was even in Lonely Planet- HA! Look at that van what a beaut!
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/england/southwest-england/devon/images/i-basket-meal-van-devon$20625-19

What I am trying to get at with this is, this is a memorable place that has inspired this blog so as it encapsulates my three interests. It also means a lot to my family, a lot to my dogs and seemingly a lot to the literary and film industry. This takes me onto my next post as this area of Dartmoor is where the Hound of the Baskervilles (see what Alan did and naming the van- legend) the famous novel by Arthur Conan Doyle is largely set. Stay tuned for what Ray and Olive think about this...