Going National (The Organic Shop, Fornham All Saints)

The Organic Shop,

Fornham All Saints,

Now Closed Down

It was time to expand the coffee shop and tearoom reviews beyond the boundaries of Norfolk and move my search further a field to become a national cafe cycle review blog. Therefore yesterday morning myself and Big George met up at Norwich station to catch the train to Cambridge before cycling back via a Suffolk based cafe. It was going to be an eighty mile epic but we had the energy (bars, gels and drinks) that should make it possible.

To add an element of jeopardy to our trip Big George had to be back by 5:00 to see his son perform in his Drama GCSE assessment (no I didn't know you could get an academic qualification in poncing about either). We would be up against it and need to pedal at full pelt with no mishaps.

We loaded our bikes and boarded the 08:57 train. We had just settled down when the guard announced that off peak tickets, like the ones we had just been sold, were not valid until 09:00. Anyone with such a ticket would either have to pay for a full ticket or jog on. We decided on the jog on option and not to risk it. We hurriedly got off the train talking loudly about "how we shouldn't have been sold the ticket" and "this wouldn't have happened  pre-privatisation". We then had to sheepishly creep back on the train to collect our coats which we had left on board.

We were now delayed by 40 minutes putting us in real danger of not meeting the drama deadline and creating drama of our own.

The journey to Cambridge was uneventful as was the start of the ride back so with the wind behind we arrived at the Organic Shop in Fornham All Saints still just on schedule.

Sitting in the outside seating area at the Organic Shop in Fornham All Saints, Suffolk

The Cafe is through the back of the Organic Deli and shop but we choose to sit outside. We did, however, have to go into the cafe to order and decide on the effective cake selection (ECS) rating. The ECS  was poor with only carrot cake or fruit scone or cheese scone on offer. Big George didn't like the cafe area as it wasn't what he had expected being a bit minimalist and clinical. I ordered a cheese sandwich, hot chocolate and carrot cake. Big George struggled with his selection. The pressure of getting back in time mixed with his clear disappointment in the indoor seating area had effected him badly and he was unable to think straight. He panicked and ordered the same as me (except coffee and not hot chocolate) rather than have to make taxing menu choices which might have pushed him over the edge. With the stressful ordering complete and free from the ultra modern cafe décor Big George grew visibly calmer as we returned to the outside seating area to await our order.

The hot chocolate was very good and they had added a touch of cinnamon which gave it a nice twist. Big George's coffee was also very good. We had a difference of opinion on the carrot cake with Big George stating it was the best he had ever had. I thought it was good but not stunning and slightly dry. Over the last few months I have tried a lot of carrot cake so felt I had some authority in the area but I couldn't let Big George's comment 'that this was the best carrot cake ever' go in case I was missing something. However on further questioning I discovered he had only had carrot cake once before, which was apparently a bit rubbish, so dismissed his opinion as being irrelevant and stuck with my rating.

Our stop had been longer than planned so we would have to cycle back faster than we had been going so far if we were to get back in time. Which we did, so it was a bit of an anticlimax.

The Organic Shop in Fornham All Saints was rated comfortably mid table (see latest ratings at bottom of blog) and although I wont cycle all that way just to go there it would certainly be one I would stop at in the future. 


Ratings for The Organic Shop

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
8.0	7.5	5.0	7.5	6.0	6.80

Map of route taken

Click here to down load 79 mile Norwich to Cambridge GPX file for uour GPS