What no rain. (Marchelles, Wymondham)

Marchelles,

Wymondham,

Opening times Mon-Sat from 09:30-16:00

It was raining heavily when Andrew (who is notoriously hard to please) arrived at Crusader Towers for today's potential cafe cycle ride. I was already changed and ready to go but he was still in his civvies and wanted to know if we were still going as he had just had his hair done and didn't want to mess it up.

Speaking as a man with virtual no hair I didn't understand what the problem was and anyway my weather app, Inaccuweather, assured me there was a dry window for the next 2 to 3 hours. He reluctantly agreed and dashed to the car to retrieve his cycle kit while trying to avoid getting his hair wet.

Cycling guest top cycling tip no 52. If you want to avoid being forced to go on a cycle ride in the rain (and potential mess up your new hair do) then send a text saying you are not coming as once you turn up in person you will be going.

By the time he was changed and had stopped faffing about then, as predicted, it had stopped raining and we set off to Wymondham via Attleborough. Despite it being a dark threatening sky the rain stayed away and we made it to Marchelles in Wymondham still dry.

Outside Marchelles by the outdoor seating area

There were a couple of tables available in the outdoor seating alley area but despite my no rain prediction we decided to play it safe and sit in the dimly lit indoor seating area. 

I checked the cakes on the counter which was a rather small section although on further questioning there was also some carrot and lemon cake available but not out on display, which was a shame as they were probably good looking cakes. With the inclusion of these cakes I awarded a reasonable effective cake selection (ECS) mark.

Cake selection minus the two missing ones in the kitchen

I ordered the as yet unseen carrot cake and Andrew chocolate cake to go with his cappuccino. Our drinks arrived first and were both reasonable offerings.

Reasonable drinks

Our cakes then arrived. Mine on an oval plate but Andrew's chocolate cake had come on a triangular plate. 

Cakes arrived on different shaped plates

This was fine when his cake was placed on it in its upright triangle slice way up. However when placed on its side then elementary geometry teaches us that the cake now becomes rectangular and will therefore no longer fit on a triangular plate. 

Chocolate cake the way it fits on the plate

Andrew was frozen with indecision and just stared at his cake for some time unable to decide how to over come his geometric challenge. In the end I took the the plunge for him and pushed it over knocking the ill fitting piece off which, fortunately, he caught on his fork before it hit the table and the issue was averted. 

Cake no longer fitting on plate when on its side

I now had yet another cake serving challenge (CSC) to add to the list of such issues that I keep a log of (ref CSC 7.2.1). Obviously CSC 7.2.1 pales into insignificance when compared with the #keepcakeoffserviettes problem which fortunately wasn't in play here.

Despite the presence of CSC 7.2.1 the cakes were actually really, really good; moist and nicely iced, and we both agreed they should get a very high cake taste quality (CTQ) mark.

All in all Marchelles proved a good solid stop with decent drinks and very good cake, if only a small selection of it.

As we had covered most of the route on the way out and it still wasn't raining, I was confident we would get home dry, which we did. However as Andrew loaded his bike back into his car ready for the return trip to Hard to Please House he complained about how dirty his bike now was and would need to decide if to wash it before his next ride. It was turning into a very stressful, if dry, day for him. 

Scores

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
6.0	6.0	5.0	8.25	6.0	6.25

Map of route

Click here to download 31 mile Norwich Attleborough loop gpx file for your GPS