After years of welcoming cyclists with home-made fruity flapjack and lunches – as well as spare inner tubes and bike pumps – Annie Swarbrick and her family have taken the sad decision to close their Greystoke Cycle Café Tea Garden at Poplin Dub.
‘Lovely welcoming cyclists’
“It’s been lovely welcoming cyclists into our home and garden and we’ve met some fascinating people over the years,” says Annie. “The Quirky Workshops side of the business is flourishing and has now spread into the weekends and I’m juggling a bit too much to keep everything going. Cyclists often plan their rides months ahead, so we realised that we needed to let people know as soon as we could.”
Cycle Cafe Tea Garden opened 2005
Annie opened the Cycle Café Tea Garden in 2005 and has welcomed cyclists from all over Europe and beyond, as well as the many British C2C-ers and others touring the lanes of north Cumbria and the Eden Valley. There have also been occasional horseback riders, long-distance runners and plenty of walkers in need of refreshment over the years too.
Quirky Workshops continue
“We’d like to say a huge thank you to all those who’ve crunched up the driveway gravel on their bikes or walked from the village car park to visit us over the years,” says Annie. “We’ve had so much lovely feedback and letters and I’m really sad to be closing, but the business has to make sense and the Quirky Workshops are more sustainable for the future.”
Studios & garden craft workshops
“I’ll still be welcoming lots of people to our barn studios and garden for craft workshops, providing home-made lunches and drinks,” she says. “We’ve all sorts of new things planned for the coming months, from calligraphy to rush weaving and from life head sculpture to ceramic green men, as well as favourites like jewellery making, textile crafts and willow sculptures. I know I’ll miss the Cycle Café a lot, though I think my time’s going to seem pretty full once workshops get going in April.”
Alternative local cycling & walking facilities
Annie is hoping that cyclists and walkers will use the other facilities locally, such as the open air Greystoke Swimming Pool and the Boot and Shoe village pub and, on the C2C route in Penrith, Arragons Cycle Centre with its coffee and cosy log fire welcome.
“There’s a slight chance that we’ll open up the garden a couple of times a year, once we’ve drawn breath, especially for private bookings or local events and occasions. If we do, we’ll let people know via the website.”
