We're lucky enough at home to have an open fire, a choice we made when we moved into our new house some years ago. Nothing is nicer than the warm glow of an open fire in an evening - the sight, the smell - even the crackle of a fire cannot be beaten!
But these days, apart from your local fuel station, where can you buy regular supplies of coal and firewood to satisfy your fire's hunger, especially now in these cooler and wetter months?
The reason I ask is that we used to buy our fuel supplies from a local coal distributor who has since decided to discontinue this.
What of the question about burning wood or coal?
Environmentally of course, wood beats coal hands down. Coal, a fossil fuel, was consigned to its black seams deep underground millions of years ago when the earth was an altogether hotter place to live, so burning it releases damaging carbon dioxide that has been locked away for all this time. Wood will be less than a couple of hundred years old, if that, and does significantly less damage when burned.
From a fire quality point of view, we're convinced that a combination works best. Wood can go out if not regularly topped up. A small amount of coal, around 1:3 wood to coal, keeps the wood going.
So, if somebody can own up to a good supply of wood and/or coal in this area, could they please let us know? As far as I can see, there'll be a rush!
