The 3 Cs: Cycling, Cafes and Cakes

Cycling and eating are two of our favourite things to do when we have a bit of time to ourselves. So we have taken one for the team and toured most of the cafes in the local area to find some amazing places for you all. The things we have to do – it’s a hard life!

Initially I was going to write about all the great restaurants, pubs and cafes near Barend Holiday Lodges, but I realised there are too many for just one post. So pubs and restaurants will have to come in another blog post! Upon reflection it is great to realise just how many brilliant places we have to eat near us. If you have a cafe that we haven’t written about, please don’t be offended – we probably just haven’t made it there yet! (These are also genuine reviews, we don’t get freebies or anything, we just like to go to them!)

The cafe list!

Treats and Eats was one of the first cafes we found, whilst still looking to buy Barend. Handily situated in Colvend, just opposite the girls’ school and only 5 minutes from us. This one gets top marks for great home-made food and excellent prices. Being so close, it is great for brunch as well – their pancakes are firm favourites with the kids!

Early walks took us down to Kippford, a beautiful village on the coast about 10 minutes in the car from Barend. After a lovely stroll through the village and along the causeway to nearby Rough Island, we love to sit in the window seat at The Ark .  We love this place for lunch and its views over the estuary.

Great for bike rides…

Bike rides with kids in tow require many cafe stops (well, that’s our excuse, but to be honest, cafe stops are always great!). We have a great circular route with a stop off in Beeswing at Loch Arthur Farm Shop, and a second stop at The Abbey Cottage tearooms in New Abbey.

Loch Arthur’s farm shop and cafe is a social enterprise, enabling people with disablilities to live in the community and contribute to the running of the business. Their organic and free trade food is fantastic; Mr G is a particular fan of their meat pies and I love their cakes. This is also a good one to visit in the car; you can stock up on great quality fruit, veg, meat and bakery goods here.

Down the valley towards the coast, you are greeted by the towering sight of Sweetheart Abbey, founded by Lady Devorgilla in memory of her husband, John Balliol. Perfectly situated next to the abbey, Abbey Cottage Tearooms is a quintessential tea room offering excellent food and service, including afternoon tea – what more could you want!

One of the advantages of Barend being within cycling distance of Dalbeattie’s 7 Stanes mountain biking, is that Brambles Tea Room crops up half way around the ride. When a stodgy Scottish breakfast is what you’re craving, this is the place to come! We also like to bring the Barend Beagles along after a walk in the woods; Brambles is pet friendly, which is great if you’ve brought your furry friends along with you. (Brambles is next door to the 7 Stanes car park, so also convenient after a ride or walk if you’ve driven).

New in Dalbeattie

Dalbeattie may only be a small town but recently lots of lovely new shops and cafes have opened up, which is great to see. Two of our favourites are The Granite Kitchen and The Galloway Soup Kitchen.

The Granite Kitchen opened last year and is top of our list for awesome Scottish Breakfasts and homemade cakes that will use your whole week’s calorie intake in one day – perfect! Also opening recently, the Galloway Soup Kitchen serves (as the name suggests!) wonderful soup. Great for lunch and milkshakes, it uses local suppliers where possible and has a little deli onsite.

And Castle Douglas; Dumfries and Galloway’s Food Town

As Dumfries and Galloway’s Food Town, we couldn’t omit Castle Douglas from our list. Great for a slightly longer bike ride along the Solway Coast, there are lots of good options in Castle Douglas.

Designs Cafe does fantastic food and drinks, including daily specials, and has a lovley shop attached. A little further down the high street, Streetlights Cafe first drew our attention with its bike in the window. When we saw they were dog-friendly, we were sold! The Barend Beagles always appreciate their treats and bowls of water here, and we like it for lunch.

However, my current favourite cafe is the Earth’s Crust Bakery. As a full on carb lover, I cannot think of anything more wonderful than artisan croissants accompanied by proper fair trade hot chocolate, whilst reading a book. It takes me back to living abroad and the cafe culture of European cities. It’s a little pricier than some of the others, but it’s worth it!

If you’ve found any great local cafes during your stay with us, please let us know; we always like somewhere new to try!