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What's your favourite cafe stop?

For the road.cc Recommends show on YouTube we're looking for your suggestions of the best cycling cafe stops in the UK. If you want to recommend your local favourite, let us know what it is in this thread, and tell us why! Please include a link to the cafe on the interwebs/facebook/etc if you can. Cheers!

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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28 comments

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davidtcycle | 1 year ago
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The tea room at the top of the Col de la Croix de Fer is a must-visit. Alternatively, try the wooden hut tearoom just down the road at the top of the Col du Glandon, which is not so busy. Other pictures are available from davidtphotography.com 

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pandm1@talktalk. et | 2 years ago
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Greggs wherever it may be,with or without seating 

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LiamY_80 | 2 years ago
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Twin Lakes Velo Cafe

Brickcroft Lane
Croston
PR26 9RF
England

Always greeted with a smile and the food and drink is excellent.  Local rides posted and great location.  Would highly recommend 

 

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Judge dreadful | 2 years ago
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Velo Domestique in Southbourne.

https://www.velodomestique.co.uk/

Cafe Velo in Ringwood is great.

look mum no hands Old Street in London, is always good.

https://www.lookmumnohands.com/

A tiny little tea room called the  tea cosy in Hurstbourne Tarrant is fun, as they actually use knitted tea cosys of different designs on their tea pots, and the cakes are lovely.

there's my favourite more 'local' one, called the old bake house in Beaulieu as well.

There's probably loads I've forgotten, but that list will do, I reckon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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peted76 | 2 years ago
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I'm putting five cafe stops down because each is so good for different reasons they deserve to be visited.

1) The Straw Kitchen, Whichford CV36 5PG. Why, it's a beautiful unique Warwickshire village full of flowers in pots. The cafe itself was made from wattle and daube and has glass in the walls, it was made by and is run by hippy types. Everything is compostable and locally sourced, the food is fantastic and award winning, the coffee is super. The cafe is located within a carefully planted wild flower garden, it is glorious. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g8468653-d8465670-Review...

2) The Mulberry Cafe, Cropredy OX17 1NH. Why, location, service, quality of food in an unexpected setting. Locally sourced food is top notch. In the middle of a unassuming village there lies a converted house, a tiny little cafe run by a flambouant young man who really should be on reality TV somewhere, the juxtaposition is one of the main factors why this cafe stands out, The food is top top notch, coffee is excellent and Cropredy villiages echoes this cafe. This quaint little rural chocolate box village seems to be home to an unusual amount of aged rockers and has since 1976 hosted the largest folk and rock festival you've never heard of. https://themulberrycafe.co.uk/

3) Napton Post Office, Napton CV47 8LR. Why, location, service, character. This place never ceases to make me smile. The coffee is mediocre, the food is good, but the place is such fun. Family run and packed from floor to ceiling with local produce for sale there is something for everyone. Location, it's a charming village on a hill the post office is located just a few hundred meters in one direction from a Water Buffalo farm and at the base of a nice steep grind up tiny narrow lanes past a church to a windmill the place has character. You can sit inside or out and it's busy with village life and characters as people pop in to get a paper or meet for a coffee, it's a glorious slice of life. https://www.naptonvillagestores.co.uk/ 

4) Gilks Garage Cafe, Kineton CV35 0JZ. Located on the main road into Kineton which is a main gateway to the coltswolds from Warwickshire, this is a popular edge of village cafe. Why, it's an old car garage and sort of museum to it's history. It's cooler than I'm making it sound, think 1960's machanics garage.. anyway, it's owned by and run by the same family who founded the gargage in the same building in 1949, generations of old fella's later and the father/daughter team of the most recent 'Gilks' decide to do something different, and it's ace. Lots of outside space and bike parking, always cyclists passing and stopping, the food is fantastic, it's a popular eatery for the local villages and they do Sunday lunches when they aren't doing coffee and cake. You can't help but like this place. https://gilksgaragecafe.com/ 

5) Bakery on the Water, Bourton-on-the-Water GL54 2BY. Why.. Location, service &  that bakery smell. I've never had anything from here which isn't fantastic. Awesome food & good coffee. Lovely friendly family run bakery and cafe servicing a horde of locals and vast numbers of tourists in the summertime. Located in a beautiful village just over a tiny bridge which I'm sure American tourists would stop and take a picture of. Outside seating in the rear, good clean toilet facilities. There's always something to see here, it's a top drawer cafe! http://www.bakeryonthewater.co.uk/

Don't ask me to choose one.. I can't, they are all awesome.

 

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mdavidford replied to peted76 | 2 years ago
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peted76 wrote:

has since 1976 hosted the largest folk and rock festival you've never heard of.

<pedant> 1980 was the first proper festival year, and in 1981 it was held at Broughton Castle.

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peted76 replied to mdavidford | 2 years ago
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mdavidford wrote:

peted76 wrote:

has since 1976 hosted the largest folk and rock festival you've never heard of.

<pedant> 1980 was the first proper festival year, and in 1981 it was held at Broughton Castle.

Meh.. debatable..  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairport%27s_Cropredy_Convention

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Chris Hayes | 2 years ago
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I'm going to save this page.... I like a good cafe stop.  There's a couple on the Kent   - Sussex border:  Kingdom near Penshurst if you're in the Kent Weald area, and if you carry on through the Ashdown Forest there's the Duddleswell Cafe (if it survived lockdown). 

Kingdom is well worth a visit, though busy (with cyclists and others in the know) at weekends - though it's difficult to see how they could run out of seating space.   Very stylish.  Great coffee.  Great food.  And very helpful staff.  You won't be disappointed, though there's a bit of a slope to get up there. 

https://www.thiskingdom.co.uk

 

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Steve K replied to Chris Hayes | 2 years ago
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I should definitely go there, given it's my surname.

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james.bowman replied to Chris Hayes | 2 years ago
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Keep meaning to give this a visit after moving into the area (Hartfield). Penhurst Place is supposed to be good although haven't tried it myself yet. Heading to the south there are some good options suggested below and I really like Cadence Cycling hubs which seem to be popping up across Sussex. Tablehurst Farm and Plawhatch Farm both have good coffee shops and are very convenient if on the bike. InGear Cycling in Forest Row is always worth a trip too (good coffee and a chance to lust after all the amazing bikes they have).

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Chris Hayes replied to james.bowman | 2 years ago
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.....There's always the Winnie the Pooh cafe! Haven't been to InGear since they started selling coffee. Penshurst Place is a bit 'meh' and it's usually full of tourists (plus the coffee isn't great) and the tourists eat all the cake.  Kingdom has the advantage of sounding like it might be full of Scientologists or Jehovah's Witnesses....not so many tourists! 

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zeeridesbikes | 2 years ago
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Kickback Coffee on the brickworks climb near Pott Shrigley, Cheshire is great. It's a roasters really with a coffee shop attached. Brew is absolutely superb. I drive up there to buy a kilo of beans at a time now. 

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blackbikerider | 2 years ago
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Caffe Velo Verde in Nottinghamshire - Screveton is my favourite stop, only a 10 mile ride away, but i make it the end of a longer loop at the weekends that sees Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland and Lincolnshire all covered, easy access to miles and miles of quiet country lanes. Whilst not having the hills of the Peaks or Yorkshire the countryside is a hidden gem and certainly once over towards Rutland and the Lincolnshire wolds is undulating and makes for a good ride.

The coffee is always consistently great, food and cakes are very very good and its a popular stop. Sometime themed rides are run with foosd and drinks at the end, guest speakers on some evenings as well.

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OnYerBike | 2 years ago
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Not local, but I stopped in at the "Yorkshire Cycle Hub" cafe whilst on holiday and was very impressed. Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, very bike friendly (naturally); good menu from cakes to full meals; sensible prices; friendly staff. Plus there's some cracking bike rides in the area (provided you stay away from main roads - drivers seemed particularly terrible...).

The Stove in Bourn, Cambs is another favourite - excellent scones. They're not a cycling cafe as such, but had nothing but warm welcomes when stopping there, even dripping wet...

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Welsh boy | 2 years ago
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Either the Red Door cafe in Milbrook Garden Centre just outside Mitchel Troy (near Monmouth) or the old Tintern Railway Station in the Wye Valley (near, believe it or not, Tintern).

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richliv | 2 years ago
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Ginnys at the Ginger Piggery in Boyton, Wylye Valley near Warminster. Toast with their lemon marmalade and good coffee. Yeah! Just right for a good loop from Bath.

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Steve K | 2 years ago
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Something a bit different, but a special mention from me for this place near Milton Keynes.  https://www.thrift-farm.co.uk/  

The cafe here became a regular stopping off place for me on rides from South London to various northern football grounds in 2016/17.  Very nice cakes/sandwiches etc; the chance to see the odd animal; and to support adults with learning disabilities.  

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qwerty360 | 2 years ago
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Another for velolife.

Also Manor Farm Tea Room in seale - https://www.facebook.com/Manorfarmtearoom

The Dabbling Duck in Shere (though minus for no bike racks  2 ) before ascending Lieth Hill... https://www.thedabblingduck.uk.com/

Or all three for a nice century with a stop every ~25 miles if riding out of West London (With an honourable mention to Box Hill cafe (to ensure the legs are totally destroyed)  3

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HoarseMann | 2 years ago
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Good stop on a lakes ride is Chesters in Skelwith Bridge, but can get busy (veggie only, but cakes make up for the lack of bacon).

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quiff replied to HoarseMann | 2 years ago
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Never been as a cyclist, but it's a favourite haunt when holidaying up there. Only been once on an audax route, but The International Welsh Rarebit Centre in Defynnog, Brecon Beacons has legendary status in my memory. Nom nom nom.  

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kil0ran | 2 years ago
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Hockey's Farm in the New Forest

https://www.hockeys-farm.co.uk/cafe

Plenty of space for outdoor dining (as well as inside). Bird aviary in a shady nook which is great if you're riding as a family (or find birdsong as restful as I do), plus chickens, geese, pigs, donkeys, and alpacas to admire.

Currently open for takeaway only, but there is indoor seating once that's allowed. Parking for about a dozen bikes. Clean outside toilets if you just need a loo break and feel awkward about popping in to a cafe to just use the facilities.

Cafe mostly uses local produce and has extensive cake options. There's also a farm shop on site which is a bit more focused towards higher end products. Only downside is no fig rolls or malt loaf. Not the cheapest place to eat overall but I think the atmosphere, cycle-friendly layout, and quality more than makes up for that.

Being the forest access is via a cattle grid so take care on entry (probably better to hop off and use the pedestrian gate).

It's really well placed on a flat section linking Fordingbridge with Ringwood. Plenty of gravel nearby if that's your thing, and the mighty 25% Blissford Hill is just up the road. Heading south and west from there will hook you up with the Red Shoot Strava segment (https://cycle-newforest.co.uk/cycle-routes/red-shoot/) on the way to Bolderwood which is always a lovely fast rolling ride under trees - about 5 miles of the very best cycling the New Forest has to offer. Alternatively, heading north there's a scarp to the east with plenty of sharp steep climbs if you want to get some hill reps in. Squint hard enough and you could be in Flanders...

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Kapelmuur | 2 years ago
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A couple of stops for me as I trundle around the Cheshire Cycleway, the café at Jodrell Bank - popular with cyclists and has a bike shed visible from outdoor tables and the ice cream farm at Great Budworth.  
I'm a big fan of ice cream so I've never noticed whether they offer coffee etc.   I don't want anything else when ice cream is available.

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Caven O'Hara | 2 years ago
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In East Sussex you need to visit all three of these, maybe on the same route  3

Dennikers - Fletching
https://www.denniker.co.uk/ the best bacon sandwich for miles

The Forge Inn - Ringmer
https://www.facebook.com/forgehyggecoffeelounge/ great coffee

The Hubbery - Barcombe
https://spithursthub.co.uk/the-hubbery-cafe/ incredible cardamom or cinnamon buns

If you find yourself further across in West Sussex
Lindfield Coffee Works - great coffee and cake
https://www.lindfieldcoffeeworks.co.uk/
 

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sean1 | 2 years ago
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In the Gloucester/Wiltshire area I would recommend the following as all being cycling friendly with good food and coffee.

Wild Carrot Cafe, near Tetbury

https://www.wildcarrot.co.uk/indulge

Gilbertine Kitchen, Poulton near Cirencester

https://www.facebook.com/Gilbertinekitchen/

Waterside Cafe, South Cerney

https://www.lakepochard.co.uk/waterside-cafe/

Sticks and Stones, Woodborough (near Marlborough)

http://www.uksticksandstones.com/product/our-cafe-1

 

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shufflingb replied to sean1 | 2 years ago
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+1 for Wild Carrot - great stop if riding Chavenage Lane bw next door.

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mdavidford | 2 years ago
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https://astonpottery.co.uk/country-cafe/

Excellent and inventive range, local ingredients, garden outside for the sunny days, with plenty of room for bikes - only drawback is the slices of cake are hyooooge, and could make riding home after more of a challenge. 

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Secret_squirrel | 2 years ago
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2 stops for me.

Velolife - though they get a 1/2 point downgrade for no piggy products, some days only a bacon sarnie will do ymmv.

https://www.facebook.com/velolife.co.uk/?fref=ts

Waterfront Cafe at Benson Oxon. Influenced by their amazing "just come off a pig" bacon sarnies.

https://www.waterfrontcafe.co.uk/

We should have another poll to see if I'm a cakey heretic or bacon (or sausage) sarnies are allowed under "the rules".

 

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Woldsman | 2 years ago
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Probably any of the entries listed here but the first two, Cafe Velo in Beverley (mainly sausage and mushroom sandwich, banoffee pie & Blending Room coffee) and Fiddle Drill in Goodmanham, East Yorkshire (runny yoke scotch egg and range of homemade cakes) are particularly worthy of note.  More info here:

https://www.yorkshirewoldscycleroute.co.uk/eat-and-drink

Neither are great on the Internet, but fortunately they'll make up for it with their grub when they're fully open again.  

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