The Stables Cafe

The Stables Café at Ryder’s Equestrian Centre and Farm is the definition of a diamond in the rough. The equestrian centre itself is an excellent working farm and stables for horses, and when you visit, expect to be able to stroke a good dozen or so horses, take a photo of Edward the peacock, scratch Annie the sheepdog behind the ear, and be rubbed up against by an affectionate one-​eyed cat. It’s just that sort of place.
But as you wind around the corner, you see signs for The Stables Café, which given its location lives right up to its name. Opened late last year, Sandra the the owner has big plans for the place, including hosting events, special evenings, and encouraging local businesses to use her space to sell, or just to meet in.
The café itself sits in the reception building for the equestrian centre, so is very much still in use by the centre itself, and sees excited children coming in to collect their riding helmets and grabbing a snack before dashing back out again, but it’s definitely something you don’t expect. A touch of elegance and «bake off» amongst the hustle bustle, with a warm friendly welcome, and vintage décor and touches of pastels dotted about.
Sandra has even added touches like a little «lending library», a vintage dresser showing offerings of local crafties and chocolatiers, and couches with comfy cushions to relax on whilst enjoying a hot drink. The style and offerings cater for everyone. A couple of labourer types came in and got a couple of mugs of builders tea, which I’d say shows how you can get the simple good stuff, but they inevitably ended up going to the counter and ordering a wrap and a couple of scones too!
As good as simple fare is, today we were going for a treat, and indulging in an afternoon tea! Our table was set up ready for us, with vintage crockery and cutlery, and cute napkins and doilies, as Sandra brought us over a big vintage pot of tea (those old school pots hold a lot of tea!). The two-​tier stand of goodies that she had lovingly prepared for us included several types of sandwich (I liked the triple-​chicken-​stuffing sandwiches best, but Phil R was fawning over the delicious egg mayonnaise sandwiches!) and some tasty little home made pizzas! Only little pizzas, but absolutely bursting with flavour! If you got these little bad boys in somewhere like TGI Fridays, you’d be really pleased with them!
After a thoroughly enjoyable «main», Sandra called over, «are you ready for your scones now?» and proceeded to bring over a cake stand of massive home-​made scones, a vintage pot of jam, and a lovely big bowl of cream! The scones were dusted with the shape of a horse on them, reflecting the theme and location of the venue, and were absolutely delicious! I’d consider coming out to the Stables Café just for a pot of tea and the scones! I must take my dad here too, he’d love them!
The café may not be ideal for wheelchair users, and is still gaining its footing, but I sense real potential for this place, and I can see it doing well! Most people in the area are unaware you can even go onto the farm/​equestrian centre, but now that there’s the Stables Café here, more folks will be going along, discovering the farm butcher and grocer shops, and realising what a lovely place it is to visit. It only opened in Winter last year, so there is excitement for Summer this year, and I can imagine why. I see good things in the future for this place, and I’m not sure how much longer they’ll be able to keep their motto of «Kearsley’s Best Kept Secret»!