Banburgh Castle

We'd been to Banburgh Castle a few years ago and, despite it not being a National Trust property (and would, therefore, cost us actual money to go in) we had enjoyed it enough to decide to go again.

Set in a spectacular position right on the North East coast, the castle has a long history of varied inhabitants seeing combat on a number of occasions and also being used as a school, a hospital - and a private dwelling.

The castle boasts a small cafe, with not a great number of tables and even though the day was grey, overcast, cold and with fairly frequent showers, it was a struggle to get a table. Being a gentleman, I sat down to claim territory while Sara went and got the grub. The age of chivalry is not dead...

And 'grub' included a coffee cake.

It was only a small piece - but the icing looked nice and thick, the sponge was moist and tightly packed and there were big chunks of walnut visible, although none on the top. It should have been delicious. In fairness, it wasn't that bad. It just lacked 'something' and I've no idea what that was. The icing wasn't as sturdy as it had looked - much more 'fondant' than good, chewy icing. Maybe that was what left me feeling slightly underwhelmed?

I'm also writing this having just had a piece of my Mum's coffee cake so have to accept that all memories of previous offerings are somewhat tarnished (more of that in another post).

Price: £2.75
Walnut Garnish: no
Walnut in sponge: yes - lots and lots of nice thick pieces
Sponge: 8/10
Icing: 8/10
Filling: yes - a decent amount.

Kielder Castle

A holiday was called for. We'd been working hard and fancied a few days away. So, not having spent a great deal of time in Northumberland, we thought we'd venture that way and just relax, making the best use we could of our National Trust memberships.

We stayed in a lovely farmhouse B+B (Tosson Tower Farm) just a couple of miles out of Rothbury.

Setting off early in the morning, we knew that we'd be too early to book into our accommodation so decided to check out Kielder Water and Forest Park en route to take up a couple of hours.

Walks, mountain bike hire - all the things you'd expect of a good country park - with a castle in the centre. Now, it's not really a castle - more of a hunting lodge with a few displays of old gamekeeping implements and some stuff about recycling and the stars (all to do with the world famous Kielder Observatory). And there was a cafe, and free wifi - what's not to like?

The coffee cake, that's what's not to like. The staff member who served us clearly would have rather been somewhere else and, as the cake crumbled as she put it on my plate she just picked up the bit that had fell off and sort of jammed it up against the bit that was left. Maybe she thought it would prove that it was rustic, artisinal and home made?

The sponge was dry and loose, the icing hardly there and looked as though it had been added as an afterthought. Maybe it had been. Mind you, it was only £2.20 so I suppose I should make allowances.

Still, the wifi was handy and, after our snack we headed out to navigate the longest forest drive in the UK (£4.50 toll).

Price: £2.20
Walnut Garnish: no
Walnut in sponge: yes
Sponge: 4/10
Icing: 3/10
Filling: yes - but only just.

The Lowry

Living in Salford, as I do, gives me access to not just the theatres and other venues in Manchester but also The Lowry Centre at Salford Quays.

With an art gallery, exhibition space, 2 main theatres and studio space, there's usually something going on of interest.

There's a lively programme of comedy running throughout the year and I was picking up tickets to see James Acaster, Ellie Taylor and Justin Moorhouse this autumn and, having spent a few quid on tickets, I decided a cup of coffee and a cake was in order at the cafe.

I was delighted to see that coffee cake was on the menu - and it looked promising so...

Well, it LOOKED promising but: the icing, whilst nice and thick in places, was mushy and too sweet - not much coffee there at all. The sponge was quite nice but, again, coffee coloured but not coffee flavoured. And the slice wasn't as big as I would have hoped for. 

Now, to be fair, I didn't go there for the coffee cake, I went there for the comedy so I shouldn't be too disappointed but I was - as it wasn't cheap!

Price: £3.25
Walnut Garnish: no
Walnut in sponge: no
Sponge: 7/10
Icing: 4/10
Filling: no