Two Cafes in Northumberland / The Britishness of Duvets and Tea

CoffeeBeer >> Double Shot Buzz >>Northumberland 2

On the northeast corner of England bordering Scotland and the North Sea, is the ceremonial county of Northumberland. It’s the location of various castles (including Bamburgh, Lindisfarne, Alnwick, Dunstanburgh, Warkworth, and Mitford), and also the 73-mile-long Hadrian's Wall, built around AD 122 to mark the boundary at that time of the Roman Empire. But Northumberland is also known for its uncrowded beauty, which is why it’s a favourite place for camping and stargazing. It’s bordered on the east by the North Sea, and to the west lie the Cheviot Hills and the North Pennines. The name translates easily from Old English into “north of the River Humber", which is yet another geographical feature.

Besides being a gorgeous place to visit, Northumberland is also the birthplace of Earl Grey tea, which was gifted in the 19th Century to former Prime Minister Charles Grey at his Northumberland estate. And only recently, archaeologists working just south of Hadrian’s Wall excavated 2000-year-old Roman boxing gloves, which are thought to have been used for the sport of boxing as opposed to combat protection.

A few months ago, when my friend Mike and I spent a few days in Edinburgh, we took a route through Northumberland, staying for a night in Seahouses. The next morning we continued our seaside drive up into Scotland. Near Holy Island we stopped at Bean Genie, in the small village of Fenwick, to have a late-morning coffee.

The cafe was pretty small but very friendly, and considering how windy and rainy the weather was, we decided to wait inside for one of the small tables to become available. Mike ordered a cappucino, and when I ordered a cortado, the woman at the till had never heard of the drink and kept pronouncing it “cortadado". But fortunately the barista knew what it was, and she made me a very nice one, topped with a lovely-shaped rosette--or was it a jellyfish? A squid? Something marinelike, anyway. Mike’s cappuccino was good too, and the coffee itself was very smooth but nice.

As we sat at the table by the door, I surveyed all the local produce and gifts for sale on the shelves: honey toiletries, jams and chutneys, bags of locally made muesli, earrings, and other things. For a souvenir to take back to Andrew, I bought a packet of stem ginger shortbread biscuits from the Northumbrian Bakehouse, which later proved to be pretty gorgeous. We were entertained by the barista who, in an attempt to open the very high dormer window, used a tool that suddenly burst apart into two pieces and crashed noisily to the ground. Everybody, including the barista, just sort of smiled, so this probably happens often.

Bean Genie is both child and dog friendly, and their menu features not only breakfast pastries and croissants but also sandwiches, paninis, toasties, quiches, and salads.

After our Edinburgh visit, we drove down the A697 to Ripon in North Yorkshire to spend one last night. On the way down we stopped, very randomly, in the Northumbrian town of Wooler to find some lunch. Lying on the St Cuthbert’s Way footpath between Lindisfarne and Melrose Abbey, Wooler has a population of around 2,000 people. An interesting and slightly thrilling fact about Wooler is that during World War II the surrounding area was used for military training, and earlier this year approximately 177 practice bombs were found buried under the playground in Scotts Park, over on the east edge of the town.

We parked (safely) in the centre of town, in what appeared to be a small public car park, and we walked around to Grinders Coffee Shop. As we entered the cafe we found it populated with classic “little old ladies", who looked as if they’d just been to the hair salon to have their hair washed and set before meeting a friend or daughter for a cup of tea or lunch. I don’t mean to be ageist here, as I’m pretty old myself, and I hate it when anybody automatically assumes things about me. I mean, I hope that my multi-coloured neon hair and thin spry walking pace prevents most of that--but I still get young people insisting I get on the bus first, whether they’ve been waiting longer than me or not. (Sorry, that’s just my daily anti-ageist rant for today.)

But the cafe just seemed like such a classic English-village-style cafe setting, with some of the decor suggestive of the past century, which I found very charming. But immediately I was zoomed back into the 21st Century when I spotted the young woman manning the espresso counter and the fact that the menu features paninis and ciabatta sandwiches.

Mike and I were seated near the young woman, and we immediately ordered coffee: for me my usual Cortado and for Mike his usual Flat White. Both of our coffee drinks were properly done and served in the correctly-sized cups, and although the beans themselves were a bit too smooth for my taste, the drinks were good. Both of us ordered the Cheese and Onion Panini, which came with crisps, salad, and coleslaw. And both of us were equally amazed at the quality of what sounds like a very simple sandwich. The bread was really good and obviously freshly-baked, the cheese was decent mature cheddar, and the red onions were top quality, and there was enough of everything, and they were both perfectly toasted. I was so impressed I kept commenting about the food when I wasn’t moaning with pleasure. Really, this was a really yummy panini, probably worth the drive all the way up--or down or over--to Wooler.

As we enjoyed our meals, I took in some of the decor more closely. Near us was a wall shelf full of cookbooks, and over near the windows was a collection of owl-themed pottery. On the walls near us were posted those classic corner-tavern-style jokes, like “Chef’s Special--but we treat him the same as everyone else", and the No Nonsense Coffee Guide (where a macchiato is translated to “milk topped coffee"). Out through the front windows we could see the Wooler Wool Shop opposite, and for a moment we wondered if Wooler was a person’s name or actually did refer to the wool industry. With further research I learned that although Wooler, which became a market town in 1199, was an important centre of the woollen industry for years, the name actually derives from the Old English wella-ofa which means “stream bank" and refers to the Wooler Water. Wooler is also known as the Gateway to the Cheviots, and in 1791 Sir Walter Scott visited the town for health reasons.

So now you know as much about Wooler as I do, and that Grinders Cafe is a truly great place to stop in for breakfast or lunch. Besides paninis and ciabatta sandwiches the menu also features fish finger sandwiches, full English breakfasts (including a veggie version), breakfast buns, toasted teacakes, beans on toast, jacket potatoes, burgers and chips, and ham, eggs, and chips, which are all traditional items. But I’m sure they’re all top quality as well.

Speaking of traditional British things reminds me of a recent very short conversation with my California adopted brother:

It’s a little chilly here [in Bakersfield], but you know Californians. Anything below 50° Fahrenheit and they’re bringing out the heavy coats and mittens. I finally switched my lightweight summer duvet to my winter duvet tonight. Now I’ll probably be kicking it off in my sleep when it gets above 40° F. I guess I’ve turned sort of British or something. But I’m never going to like tea. Hey, we fought a whole war over that stuff.