Cafés

The café beside Haywood Lock was always a bit quirky, but there would sometimes be a nice open fire when it was cold, a crowd of coffee-drinking gongoozlers on the outside tables when it was hot, and Sunday lunch done in two formal sittings. But for the last few months…

it has been closed, and shows every sign of being converted into residences. Just up the towpath Great Haywood junction, of course, is the Canalside Farm Shop and café, where we went for lunch today.

I know – should have taken the photo before we started eating! My best beloved had  a beetroot wrap (!) with chicken goujons, chips and bits and pieces on the side, and the chips were large, well cooked and crunchy – just what chips should be . I had one of their double Staffordshire oatcakes with four different fillings and a salad on the side – it's one of their more unusual and satisfying dishes.

Farm, shop and café all seem to be doing really well, which we're glad about, but you wonder whether it's this competition that has led to the closure of the lock café. Perhaps they're just doing a total re-furbishment and will re-open as an eatery in time.