‘Have a walk around the farm, say hello to the pigs and, if the garden is looking a bit dry, do some watering. Although I don’t think that will be necessary this weekend,” says Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. I’ve arrived at the River Cottage HQ in Axminster on the eastern Devon border while it’s raining, but it’s still going to take a lot to dampen my spirits. Tonight I’ll be staying in the 17th-century farmhouse that was home to Fearnley-Whittingstall’s famous television series from 2006 to 2011.