Our Courtyard Café
Whether you are visiting the gardens or not you are always very welcome in our courtyard café! It’s free to enter and is at the heart of what the Gardens do.
Run by our fabulous volunteers it offers a casual, friendly and pretty spot to idle away an hour or so. The café cabin may be small but we offer a good selection of drinks and food. You won’t be able to resist our delicious cakes and bakes produced locally and by our staff and volunteers.
Choices vary according to the day and season, but think chocolate and caramel brownies, spiced apple cake, vegan oaty cookies, Victoria sponge and toasted tea cakes. At lunchtime we serve our famous toastie, and on the side, a little pot of tasty homemade chutney.
During the warmer months, the Courtyard’s walls are warmed by the sun, making it the perfect place to sit and indulge in a cream tea or an ice cream. When it gets colder, the covered space is made cosy by overhead heaters, twinkling fairy lights and of course, hot chocolate.
On event days, we operate a well-stocked bar, selling a range of bottled lagers, ales, wine and ciders. In the Summer, this often means ‘Pimm’s O’clock!’, whilst in the Winter, across a variety of traditional and unique events, the Café is redolent with mulled cider.
Our Little Shop
As well as the café, the Gardens has its own little shop. Here, you can buy the really popular homemade chutneys, jams and marmalade, as often as can be made from fruits from within the Gardens and Parkland. The best seller is a spicy ‘Tongue Tickle Pickle’ – great with cheese!
Kitchen Table
For the kitchen table, there is the honey produced by our very own bees (this sells as soon as it appears, so if you see a jar, buy it!) and delicious apple juice, pressed from the great variety of heritage apples we have in our orchards.
Whether it’s for Mother’s Day, Christmas or birthdays, the shop is full of ideal gifts. Beautifully hand-crafted wooden pieces by local wood turner, Bob Bugg, populate the shelves, as well as ‘Let it Bee’ honey products, including lip balm and handmade soaps and children’s pocket money buys.
Gifts and Ephemera
There is also a varied second-hand book section, a plethora of greetings cards, where Midlands-artists are purchased from where possible, as well as pin badges, eco-friendly refillable Miniml cleaning products, dog treats and our own fruit vinegars. So much in such a small place!
So if you’re looking for somewhere to treat yourself after a dog walk, a saunter round the Gardens, or a pit-stop off the M6, then our Courtyard Café is the perfect place. We can’t wait to welcome you.
