Milestone. (Cherryleaf Coffee House, Norwich)

Cherryleaf Coffee House,

Norwich,

Monday-Friday 8:30-15:30, Saturday 9-14:00,

Highly Recommended

When I checked my Cake Crusader blog stats this morning (like I do everyday) I was excited to see I had finally had my quarter millionth visitor. I had hoped to hit this target by the end of last year so wasn't far off track. At current rate of progress I should have my millionth visitor in 2034, if blogs are still a thing then.

To celebrate I got Mrs Crusader out of bed (she has had a bad cold and is coughing a lot) and despite her illness insisted she came on a celebratory ride. I promised to keep it short and let her have a sachet from my supply of extra strong Lemsips.

Recently a friend of mine told me about what he thought was the best coffee shop that he knew of (Cherryleaf Coffee House in Norwich) and I promised I would check it out. As it was in Norwich Mrs Crusader said she would come thinking it was only 2 miles away, little did she know we would be going the long way round.

Mrs Crusader was surprised that her 2 mile ride went on for over 20

On a typical grey winters day we visited Wymondham, Hethersett and Bawburgh before I eventually delivered us to the target cafe on St Giles street.

Outside the Cherryleaf Coffee House on St Giles street in Norwich

Once inside I was impressed with the range of cakes (including Vegan options) and had difficulty making my selection so a very effective cake selection (ECS) indeed. I eventually went for the brownie while Mrs Crusader had a caramel cupcake with her Americano.

A very effective cake selection

You may remember that this year's thing of the year is Egg on Toast so I was excited to see egg on toast with avocado on the menu but sadly I was outside the breakfast availability zone (BAZ) so it was no longer available. I think this is a problem I may encounter on many occasions on this years thing search.

Being lunchtime it was quite busy so we opted to sit at the indoor breakfast bar seating area.

Making use of the indoor breakfast bar seating area

The cakes and drinks soon arrived. I had been offered a choice of hot chocolates (always a good sign) and as always went for dark. It was a very good hot chocolate and with Mrs Crusader enjoying her Americano then high hot drinks scores all round.

Todays cakes and drinks

The brownie was exceptionally good with a proper gooey middle. If only it was still 2018 then it would have been a contender for brownie of the year but it isn't so it's not. Mrs Crusader had similar views re her cup cake although she has never held a cup cake of the year contest.

My friend was certainly right about the Cherryleaf Coffee house which is now just inside my top 10 cafes and I certainly highly recommend a visit (although get there in the BAZ (before 12) if you want egg on toast).

As I was in a good mood I let Mrs Crusader go the quick way home, especially as her coughing fits were beginning to get a little bit annoying. 

Scores based on two visits last on 18/11/2022

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
8.43	8.0	7.7	8.9	7.45	8.10

Route

Click here to download 28 mile Norwich Wymondham loop GPX file for your GPS

Birthday Boy. (Old Cobblers Cafe and Deli, Norwich)

Old Cobblers café and deli,

Norwich,

Everyday 08:00-16:00,

Highly Recommended

As the days get colder and the nights draw in then opportunities to get outside are becoming more limited. Therefore I have been using this extra time wisely to get my Cake Crusader admin up to date. In the process I have noticed I'm approaching two exciting landmarks. The first is that my blog has nearly been visited a quarter of a million times (probably mainly by bots from Russia and my mother) with only about 3000 to go. Secondly, after updating my locations map with recently visited cafes and removing all the closed ones I'm just 12 short of 250 active venues. I therefore think that with a bit of effort I might be able to hit these two milestones by Christmas.

If I do you will hear all about it, if not I probably won't mention it again. However as well as lots of cafe visits I will be going for a bit of a social media blitz on my facebook page and twitter feed too.

To start with then yesterday I was joined by Mrs Crusader and birthday boy Mick for a short loop into South Norfolk before searching for a cafe in Norwich.

Things started well as we set off on a crisp autumn sunny day but before long the skies darkened, the winds picked up and it started to pour with rain. As this was the first time since summer we had hit these conditions we were ill prepared and had a distinct lack of waterproof footwear and gloves. Unsurprisingly it wasn't look before we had all lost contact with our extremities and what had started as a lovely birthday gift for Mick had turned into an ordeal which was now just an unpleasant slog.

Conversation had come to a halt as we were pedaling as fast as we could towards today's target cafe area whilst being too numb to speak.

After what seemed like an eternity we made it back into Norwich's Golden triangle and headed for the nearest cafe on my potential list which was the Seedhouse cafe and deli (although it seemed to be being renamed to something cobbler related as it used to be a shoe repair outlet).

Freezing outside todays cafe venue

I sent Mrs Crusader and Mick inside to buy anything hot while I struggled to lock the bikes with my super feeling free fingers.

The Seedhouse cafe (which might be now called something cobbler related) had a hipster/vegan (in a goodway) feel and we awarded it a high atmosphere and ambiance score although we may have been biased just because it was warm and dry.

There were several seating options including outside, which was instantly dismissed, but we opted for the indoor breakfast bar style window seating area. The cake selection was a bit small but had a GF brownie (which I went for) and a sort of bakewell vegan cake that Mrs Crusader went for. 

Cake selection

As it was his birthday then as well as taking him on a lovely pneumonia inducing and character building bike ride Mrs Crusader gave Mick a small piece of her cake and bought him a flat white coffee. I think he was touched by our generous gifts.

My GF brownie, the vegan bakewell cake looked similar but lighter in colour

The hot chocolate did a good job of warming me up while Mick and Chris though their coffees were great. 

Todays drinks, we had to drink some of them to get warm enough to operate the camera

The cakes were excellent too and we all agreed that the Seedhouse (or cobbler based named cafe) was an excellent find and I highly recommend a visit.

Fortunately it was only a couple of miles back to Crusader towers where I spent the afternoon in the airing cupboard.

Scores

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
6.5	8.4	5.2	8.0	8.7	7.36

Map of Route

Click here to download 28 mile Norwich Wymondham loop GPX file for your GPS

Dogs! (Blackberry Tea Rooms, Wymondham)

Blackberry Tearooms,

Wymondham,

Mon-Fri 9:00-6:00, Sat 9:00-4:00

Highly Recommended

My hunt for fruit scone of the year, #FSOTY, has got off to a poor start with bad weather curtailing some rides and no fruit scones available at my selected stops on the others. I was therefore hoping for better luck on today's ride with Mrs Crusader.

I had recently heard about a new tearoom near Wymondham that was within Mrs Crusaders 30 mile winter ride limit. The only problem was it was at a dog training and grooming centre. For doggy people this probably sounds like a good thing however despite giving the appearance of being a big strong chap (who has done 4 ironman triathlons, although I don't like to talk about them) I'm actually a little bit afraid of our canine friends as I'm convinced they are out to get me.

If I was going to continue to be the self proclaimed number one cycle cafe reviewer (in the South Norfolk region) I felt it was my duty to man up and check it out. Mrs Crusader promised I could hold her hand if necessary.

On the ride out we passed some sheep who I have more empathy with as they are not big doggy fans either.

Empathetic sheep

After 20 miles of winter riding we found the Blackberry Tea rooms just outside Wymondham. There was a nice outdoor seating area, a play area (for dogs) plus a dog obstacle course training area type thing.

Outside the Blackberry Tearooms

Inside there were lots of people and they all had dogs, whereas we just had bicycles. I bravely went inside and checked out the cake selection which was a very good one and included doggy cupcakes. 

Good looking cake selection

As bonus on a Tuesday you get a 10% discount so my hot chocolate and coffee cake and Mrs Crusaders Americano and white chocolate cake came to less than a tenner. The only issue was once again no fruit scones although they did say they had plain and cheese ones (not that helped). 

Without making any dog based eye contact I managed to make it safely to the comfy sofa in the corner. Here there were cushions I could hide behind in an emergency. Our drinks and cakes arrived and we were both impressed with them. The coffee cake being the star attraction.

Cakes and drinks

Mrs Crusader then spotted an old work colleague with her two dogs and went over to pat them as she was lept upon (by the dogs not the work colleague). I hid behind my emergency cushion.

Despite the presence of our four legged friends the Blackberry Tea rooms proved to be an excellent stop with good refreshments. I would highly recommend a visit, especially if you own a dog, like dogs or are a dog. 

Even with my cynophobia tendencies it had been a very enjoyable ride but I was no further forward on the #FSOTY front. Therefore on my next ride I shall be going to Holt to visit a number of cafes and tea rooms and won't leave until at least 3 fruit scones have been tested.
Scores based on 2 visits, the last in April 2022

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
5.95	6.75	7.15	8.2	7.2	7.05

Map of Route

Click here to download 28 mile Norwich Wymondham loop GPX file for your GPS

Meal times (Janeys Village Cafe, Hethersett)

Janey's Village Cafe,

Hethersett,

Open Sun-Thur 8.00-3.00, Fri-Sat 8.00-7.00

It's always good news when I hear about a new cafe that has opened and available for a cafe cycle ride. It is especially good news if you are planning to set the world record for a calorie neutral bike ride (see Calorie Neutral Cycle ride) and need some cafes that are open after 5.00pm. Janey's Village Cafe in Hethersett ticked both theses boxes so with today's guest, Chris (Mrs Crusader), we set off on a 27 mile loop to try it out.

The ride itself was uneventful and despite the strong wind it was an enjoyable couple of hours  spent in the saddle. We cruised through the sunny Norfolk country side until we arrived in Hethersett and Janey's Village Cafe.

Outside Janey's Village Cafe

Today's weather was sunny but windy and a bit cold. As there was no outdoor seating area we were saved the difficult sitting choice (in or out) that one always gets wrong on day's like these. 

Janey's village cafe operates a waitress based serving system so there is no counter with cakes on display. To decide what we wanted, and award the effective cake selection (ECS) rating, we could only go off the cake selection blackboard. On the cake selection blackboard there were 4 cake qualifying items, so we ordered them all, but could only awarded a lowish ECS score. For clarity although toasted tea cake has the word cake in it I consider it to be a fruit bread and therefore it doesn't count as cake.

Cake selection blackboard

For drinks it was hot chocolate for me and skinny Mocha for Chris. While we waited for our order I noticed that despite the time being well past mid day everyone else in the cafe had ordered the full English breakfast. When I was a lad breakfast was the meal you had to start the day, it had to be done and dusted by 9.00 and be oat based. Sadly times have changed and Breakfast is now just another menu item rather than a meal time in it's own right. One could argue that cake and scones are tea time fare and shouldn't be eaten for lunch either but lets not go there.

Good looking scones and cakes

Our drinks and cakes arrived and I was pleased to see that my very large cheese scone had been warmed. We opted to try the scones first and found the cheese one to be a little disappointing being a bit dry and not very cheesy whereas the fruit scone was excellent and in fact Chris felt it was one of the best she had ever had. The cakes were nice and we both agreed the carrot cake was the better of the two as the lemon drizzle was a bit too sweet for our tastes. Overall a pretty good showing on the cake front.

Drinks, the hot chocolate was very good

The scone contrast continued with the drinks as I found my hot chocolate to be very good on all three key criteria of flavour, thickness and temperature. Chris however found her Mocha too sweet but this was probably as there was no proper frothy coffee machine in operation. In these circumstances it is always best to stick to a normal filter coffee rather than go fancy.

Janey's Village Cafe is only in it's third week of operation so it was good to see it busy and looks like a good addition to the cafe world. I wish it well for the future. I will certainly be putting it on the list of cafes on my world record attempt in August. With its late opening time I will visit it towards the end of that day when I expect people will still be having evening breakfast and I hope to still be having late evening afternoon tea. 

Scores

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
7.5	5.0	4.5	7.0	5.0	6.0

Map of Route

Click here to download 28 mile Norwich Wymondham loop GPX file for your GPS

You didn't see me, right! (The Coffee Shop, Wymondham)

The Coffee Shop,

Wymondham,

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

Yesterday I was able to squeeze in one last ride before Christmas. It had to be a quickie as my guest, Big George, had to get back in time to prepare for their Annual Christmas drinks party. Mrs Big George was at work and didn't know he was sneaking out to play with me instead of doing his pre party chores. So it was a hush hush operation.

As we were in a hurry we set off far too fast and got to today's destination, the rather imaginatively named 'The Coffee Shop' in Wymondham, gasping for breath.

Standing by covered outside seating area. After locking bikes with Alarmio.

Once again it was good to see an outside seating area provided. This one was also completely undercover making it possible to have a hot drink whilst enjoying expansive views of the Wymondham one way system even in the wettest of conditions. 

On entering, the décor was slightly tired but at least there was a token bit of tinsel to give a slightly festive feel. Sadly there was no sign that the mini Father Christmases had made their way down from Holt to give it a proper Christmas feel.  (see Spoiled for choice). 

The cake selection was rather scone rich. There were a few other cakes but none looked that tempting and looking round all the other punters had all gone down the scone route. I could therefore only award a below average effective cake selection rating.

I ordered hot chocolate and cheese scone and Big George Cappuccino and cheese scone. Both our drinks were nice as were the scones but overall not a cafe I'll be rushing back to. I think the cafe is targeted more at the shopper and all fans of Norfolk market town traffic calming systems, rather than the cyclist.

As a result of our ride Big George said he won't have time to make the normal Christmas canapés that he has become famous for, which was disappointing news. We spent the way home coming up with excuses for him to tell Mrs Big George as to why there would be no canopies tonight and decided the best would be that the dog ate them. It was only when I arrived at the drinks party I remembered they didn't have a dog and we were rumbled. 

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
6.0	7.0	4. 5	6.5	5.5	5.90

Map of Route

View 28 mile Norwich Wymondham loop in a larger map

Click here to down load 28 mile Norwich Wymondham loop GPX file for your GPS

Cold comfort (The Courtyard Cafe. Wymondham)

Courtyard Coffee Shop,

Wymondham,

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

On my last ride (A matter of taste) Big George recommended I try the Courtyard Cafe in Wymondham, a more down to earth cafe with no Victorian waiters to freak him out. So despite the chilly weather I set of on a ride with today's guests, Chris (wife) and Barry and Helen and their tandem, to try it out.

Due to the freezing fog my hands were very cold and I found myself cursing Father Christmas. Santa had let it be known that he couldn't think of anything he thought I would like to find in my festive stocking this year. I had therefore written to him suggesting that inner cycle gloves would make an excellent Christmas gift and although I had been planning to buy a pair I would wait in order that he could give me a present. I was now thinking this was a bad idea as by Christmas I would probably have got frost bite and have had a number of my fingers amputated. This would not only mean the inner gloves will no longer fit but would rendered the gift useless causing me to have to think of an alternative one. 

Despite the onset of hypothermia, Chris was also struggling with very cold feet, we arrived safely at The Courtyard Cafe in Wymondham.

Outside The Courtyard Cafe. It was much colder than it looks

The outside seating area overlooks the carpark and was far too cold for today so we went straight inside. While the others found a seat  I checked the cake selection. Carrot or coffee cake and fruit or cheese scone. Not a huge selection but all looked nice giving an average effective cake selection score. I ordered hot chocolate and cheese scone, Chris skinny mocha and fruit scone, Helen skinny mocha and Barry cappuccino.

It was at this point Chris came up with her new invention to warm up feet. Scloves or was it Glocks.

First ever photo of Scloves/Glocks in action

This was the brilliant idea of putting her gloves on her feet. Chris seemed to think this would quickly warm her toes up and was very excited when the feeling soon returned to each foot. She was quickly on her smart phone looking for the application form for dragons den and would not listen to the possibility that sitting by the radiator was probably the true reason for her warm toes. On the positive side if anyone is going to a poultry based fancy dress party then she maybe onto something.

The scones and drinks were all good and were just what we needed to fuel us for the return journey. The Scloves/Glocks were returned to Chris's hands, which she claimed demonstrated their multifunctional use, (or only use) and we set off home in order to warm up again.

For the latest ratings of the many cafes I have so far rated see the table at the bottom of the blog.

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
6.5	7.0	5.5	6.5	6.5	6.40

Map of Route

Click here to download 28 mile Norwich Wymondham loop GPX file for your GPS

First aid? (Lemon Tree Teashop - Wymondham)

Lemon Tree Tearoom,

Wymondham,

Opening times Tue-Thur 9-3, Fri-Sat 8-3 

I overheard that Chris (wife) was planning a short ride to Wymondham with Sue (friend) who she had persuaded to do a triathlon and needed some cycling practice. I saw this as a cycle cafe or tearoom rating opportunity and volunteered to come along as support crew in case of mechanical issues. My offer was accepted and I immediately raised Sue's saddle to demonstrate my bike mechanic expertise. My skills were not required again as we had an uneventful ride down to Wymondham.

I had no particular venue in mind as I knew Wymondham had a number of tearooms we could try.  So on arrival I slowly cycled down the high street looking our for a good stop. Just as I was turning a corner I spotted the Lemon Tree Teashop. I slowed down, looked behind, pointed at the Lemon Tree Teashop and gently bumped into the raised curb. The laws of Physics tells us that it is impossible to keep your balance when doing all these activities at once and I slowly toppled over landing softly on the edge of the road. 

This was clearly the most exciting thing that had happened in Wymondham town centre for many a year as I was soon surrounded by a gaggle of old ladies all keen to help. I was completely unhurt but I couldn't unclip my foot from my pedal so was trapped under my bike making my helpers think I was badly injured. Suddenly a man pushed his way through the crowd announcing that he was first aid trained. I managed to free my foot and stand up ensuring everyone I was fine. There was audible disappointment, especially from the man who had been first aid trained who had seemed desperate to put me into the recovery position. I was tempted to fain an injury just to keep the kind folk of Wymondham happy but there was a teashop to be rated so I thanked them all again and hurried inside. As we left the scene I saw the first aid trained man asking the old ladies if the incident had made any of them feel faint and if they needed to be put into the recovery position.

Lemon Tree Cafe with large outside seating area for use on warmer days.

The Lemon Tree Teashop was busy and cosy but a bit dark (there were a number of tables on the pavement outside for use on warmer days). The cake selection had two sponges and cheese or fruit scones. Fairly standard fair so I awarded the appropriate effective cake selection (ECS) rating. I ordered hot chocolate and lemon sponge, Chris decaf americano and fruit scone and Sue cappuccino and toasted tea cake. Although toasted tea cake has word cake in it's title I consider it to be a bread and not a cake so Sue was unable to play any part in rating the cake quality (which were good but not great). The hot chocolate was nice and chocolaty but unfortunately in the eagerness to fulfil the hot part of the name, the milk was burnt so spoiled the taste. My guest's coffees were described as a bit weak. Not the best tearoom I have visited but fine for a cycle stop.

We left the tearoom, avoiding a number of old ladies lying on the pavement in the recovery position, and set off back on an equally uneventful ride home. I will be purchasing the next edition of the Wymondham Times as I'm sure my bike falling incident will be front page news and I can add the cutting to my scrapbook. 

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
5.0	5.0	6.0	6.5	6.0	5.70

Map of Route

Click here to download 28 mile Norwich Wymondham loop GPX file for your GPS