High Lodore Farm Cafe Keswick

This place is great for a stop off. The cake and drinks are fantastic. The views are amazing. I've not had the savoury food but it looks pretty good and nice portion sizes. The staff are always lovely at the café. An important point at the moment it is cash only! It always has been but this has not changed and I don't remember the last time I used cash now 😀 what with the global pandemic. Another thing is the parking area is slightly smaller now as there are some bays now taken up and reserved for the cottages, which is fair enough really. Finally there is an honesty box for parking(£4) if you aren't going to the café and are heading up to Shepherds Crag. The climbing community can be divided about parking fees. The deal here used to be you parked but had to stop off at the café when you had finished your climb. Too many people haven't done this over the years and the parking is on private land as far as I know... So I think £4 per car per day is fair enough. If you are visiting the crags and the car park is full then you probably want to park down the road at Kettlewell or up the Rd Bowderstone way... Don't park on the Borrowdale Rd. on any yellow lines as it's an obstruction and I've seen lots of cars get tickets. Alternatively get the bus or the launch of they are running. The crag is an excellent venue from VD to E4 if climbing is your thing. It can get busy though.

The perfect place to park if you are climbing on Shepherd's Crag. A 5 minute walk in to some great trad climbs: Little Chamonix and Jackdaw Ridge are 3* low grade climbs for multi-pitch beginners and there are plenty of decent, harder routes. When you have finished, call into the cafe. Good tea and coffee and their cakes are to die for.