My little flock likes nothing more than to roam around our glorious county admiring the views and eating yummy things at the same time if possible, as you know. We don’t need an excuse to get out and about but the arrival of The Man Birds Mummy certainly warranted a little flight out, especially when the weather was on our side, so we ventured up to Hassop Station. It is extremely popular with cyclists as the old railway track is now a cycle way of a fair few miles, that takes in some breath-taking scenery and indeed the car park was absolutely chocka when we pulled up at Midday.
As well as being one of the stop off points on the Monsall Trail for cyclists the old Station building itself has been converted into a cycle hire centre, eatery and gift shop mini-complex. Although we were only stopping for lunch, they do also open some evenings (see their website for more details) for later meals.
The restaurant area is very light with fantastic high ceilings and a well thought out layout so that even when it got really busy you never felt squashed in or over crowded. We perused the menu for a couple of minutes and in that time a server came over and placed a chilled bottle of water on the table for us, which I thought was a lovely touch. My Chickadee decided to have a toasted Bagel with Bacon and Cream Cheese with a dressed Rocket Salad, His nibs had The Hassop Burger with Brie and Caramelised onion (and a sly bottle of Becks lager), his Mummy opted for a white Toasted sandwich with Mature Cheddar and Red onion and I just fancied the Hassop Station Ploughman’s lunch with Mature Cheddar, Stilton, Apple and Cider chutney , Celery , Apple, Crusty Bread and a selection of Salads.
I have to say that all the meals were beautifully presented, and where appropriate, piping hot. My Mum in law remarked that it’s always hard to get a toasted sandwich just right; there is a definite skill to toasting the bread enough without burning it whilst ensuring that the filling is hot enough. The Hassop team have obviously got it down pat, she was mightily pleased with her toastie :) judging by the speed it was polished off, my chick’s bagel was very tasty too - there was a great amount of Bacon and a huge dollop of cream cheese for you to spread how you wanted.
My Ploughman’s was a huge plateful of yumminess, and I enjoyed every single bit, but be warned it really is a belly filler, so not for those with a tiny appetite! :) The Boy Wonder couldn’t praise his burger highly enough; the burger itself was a meaty monster and the two thick slices of Brie were perfectly gooey so that they oozed over the meat very pleasingly and then the sweet caramelised onion was just the proverbial cheery on top.
It isn’t often that we can’t manage Pud, as you know dear reader, but I have to admit that on this occasion, the Boy and myself were beaten. It was a combination of a very filling breakfast at The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop tea room and the very generous portion size at The Hassop Stations menu. However, we couldn’t admit total defeat so the Man and I shared a slab of Rocky Road, and our Chick “took one for the team“ and devoured a slice of Cherry and Almond Brownie. Both sweet treats were moreish.
There were also some seats outside that I hadn’t noticed when we first arrived and these were occupied by people that had dogs with them, so if you don’t fancy cycling you can take the dogs and admire the breath-taking scenery on foot.
The Hassop Station is definitely worth a visit, both for its food and amenities. Hot Wings ahoy :)
