Searching for the perfect Cafe stop.

Many years ago the perfect cafe stop was the Eagle and Child near to Gradbach. For years it welcomed cyclists and served copious amounts of tea, cheese on toast, beans on toast, tinned pears, peaches, slabs of fruit cake providing that you didn`t mind chipped china, wobbley chairs and a double seated toilet. Unfortunately the health and safety brigade caught up with them and the place closed much to the despair of local cyclists and since then i`ve been searching for the perfect cafe stop. Through this new page on the website i hope to share some of the research that i have been doing into the cafe stops of Cheshire and the Peak District and some further afield. Also if any of you out there feel that you have found the perfect cafe stop then add it too the list.

So where will the perfect cyclists cafe stop be, will it be The Ice Cream farm at Tattenhall, Spinney Motors Cranage, The Plantation at Peover, Hopley House farm at Middlewich,  Chatsworth Farm cafe, Grindleford station, Outside at Hathersage, Delamere, Two Mills, LLandagna Forest or is it further afield could it be Caves of Campanet or Cap Formentor, Mallorca. Only research will tell. So where do we start?

The Colonial Cafe, Plantation Garden Centre, Lower Peover, Cheshire.

i discovered this one about 2 years ago and it has become a firm favourite of the Chelford Chicks. Located conveniently in the lanes between Chelford and Toft it has really captured the trade of recreational cyclists who fill the lanes at the weekend. It scores bonus points for providing a gazebo for storing your bike and a further bikes storage area within site of the cafe. Its a good all weather cafe with a choice of outside, under the canape or inside seating available. It by no means sells traditional cycling fayre but all the products are locally sourced and they do a mean bacon and egg breakfast barm, full range of coffees and teas and a huge range of cakes. The staff are always welcoming even recognising me out of cycling kit and with comfy leather sofas to relax in  i think i probably spend to much time there. Also any place that runs out of change and pays out in Rocky road has to be a winner. The only drawback is the long walk to the loos however with the recently added extension hopefully that will change this summer. Overall a great stop fairly close to home for a short ride and a good place to head for on a miserable day.