Sunday Sevens #34.

This weeks Sunday Sevens, devised by Natalie at Threads and Bobbins, will be coming to you from the Lake District.

B&B: We seem to spend more time exploring the northern part of Cumbria than any other area. Keswick is our town of choice and we have been visiting the same B&B in Braithwaite (10 mins drive from Keswick) for the past three breaks. Hermiston Guesthouse is run by the lovely and welcoming Phil and Helen whose five bedroom establishment is situated before the grand Skiddaw range. This time we were given the quiet ground floor room, Whinlatter, with views of their garden. Hermiston has become a home from home and every stay is just as comfortable as the previous.

Whinlatter Room

Blea Tarn

Wild Swimming: We spent a few days in the Lake District to mainly do some more swim/walks. Swimming in Blea Tarn was a highlight of the break and one off the ‘to do’ list!

Angle Tarn

#Walk1000miles: I actually thought my mileage this week was going to be good, but I have only managed 27 miles. A big chunk of that was aided by a five hour hike on Friday around Angle Tarn, more to follow on that epic day! My annual total is now at 710 miles. Not long to go now!

Wildlife: While walking around Beda Fell David spotted this gorgeous Golden Ringed Dragonfly at the side of the path. He was a big one!

Golden Ringed Dragonfly

Food from the Lake District

Local produce: On the way home we decided to stop off at Grasmere to buy some famous gingerbread. Sarah Nelson in 1854 created the recipe which is still being used today. The gingerbread is a curious mix between a biscuit and a cake. If you like ginger then you will like this. I found it enjoyable with a cup of tea.

We also bought a couple of small bars of Romney’s Kendal Mint Cake but haven’t tried them yet.

Dinner at Derwentwater

Fish and chips!

Food: No visit to Keswick would be without visiting my favourite lake, Derwentwater, (sorry Buttermere.) We spent a lovely evening sitting on a beach, enjoying the views, with swallows somersaulting overhead, while eating fish and chips from The Old Kewsickian chippie.

So, that was my weekly highlights, how was yours?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

‘Ladies that Lunch’ at Leaf – Liverpool.

Recently I met up with the lady I work with, Sue and her new guide dog, Kallie for lunch in Liverpool. With both of us not being ‘girls about town’ we were scratching our heads as to where to go for lunch. I know there are a myriad of places to visit but I was after somewhere were you weren’t turfed out after about an hour. Then I recalled an independent tea shop and restaurant in Bold Street, Leaf. I remembered visiting with a student of mine, now friend, years ago. I searched my blog and found that the visit was three years ago! How time flies!!

We visited Leaf at probably the most busiest time of day, 12 noon. The restaurant covers two floors with stages for live bands. The furniture is made up of an eclectic mix of wooden tables, picnic tables, leather sofas, arm chairs and plastic canteen chairs. Drapes cover the walls in a building that was once a tea shop, cinema, then clothes shop.

We were advised by one of the friendly staff that there were more tables upstairs which was less busy at that time. So we hit the button on the lift and made our way to the 1st floor.

At no point was the presence of Kallie an issue. A firm reminder to less welcoming establishments of Guide Dogs for the blind’s Access all Areas campaign.

We chose a table in the corner, where there was lots of natural light coming from the tall art deco styled windows. The first floor felt light and airy. There was a relaxed feel to the place, which I also got the first time I visited. Service was top notch. There were complaints in that area (nor any other for that matter). Our order for drinks and food was taken at the table, though you can opt to order at the bar.

There is a varied choice of lose leaf tea available. Sue chose the English Breakfast Tea and I the Ceylon. We both ordered for lunch the Pepper and Tomato Soup, which we did not have to wait too long for.

Where there’s tea, there’s hope.

Pepper and Tomato Soup

The soup was delicious, warming and of good proportion, it was served with a slice of focaccia bread. It also stayed warm for over half an hour as we took our time chatting and catching up. The Ceylon tea was aromatic and better served with no milk, much like the Darjeeling at Jam.

After about an hour we decided to prolong our stay and ordered a Leaf Cream Tea which consisted of another pot of tea (of your choice) and a scone, with clotted cream and jam. At £5.95 I thought was good value. The pots of tea filled three small cups. In total we had six small cups each! It was a very wet, caffeine filled afternoon!

Leaf Cream Tea

I liked the presentation of the cream tea and the scone was ‘huge’! I went home feeling very full!

In all we spent three and a half hours at leaf and not once did we feel the need to vacate our table. The service was friendly and approachable and the meals were value for money.

I would definitely visit Leaf for lunch again in the future.

Have you had a meal at Leaf? They have restaurants in Liverpool and Manchester. What was your experience like?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x