Ambleside. The Lake District National Park.
Open every day 10-4. lunch served til 3.30.
Nestling in the centre of The Lake District National Park, Ambleside is a destination for all sorts of folks. Along with a vibrant local community, Ambleside attracts outdoor enthusiasts from cyclists to runners, photographers to walkers (and many more). The beauty of the park draws people in from all over the world, who enjoy the Park in many different ways.
Here at The Rattle Ghyll Cafe, we provide hearty, home cooked goodness. Whether it's for one of our local regulars, out for lunch, runners just back from the famous Fairfield Horseshoe or cyclists out to bag some of the notorious Lakeland passes. We provide that honest feed that folk crave, no matter what they've been up to.
At Rattle Ghyll we bake the food ourselves, each day brings different cakes. We also offer our famous Cake Platter... 5 different slices of cake for the discerning cake connoisseur.
We offer an extensive savoury menu, fully vegetarian. This ranges from homemade soups (no tins in sight), to veggie chilli, jacket spuds, sandwiches and toasties. We also have a special on each day.
Our Teas and Coffees are all fair-trade, and where possible, organic. along with speciality coffee and regular tea, we offer herbal teas, delicious fruit smoothies, milkshakes and juices.
We're all about the interaction and relaxation at Rattle Ghyll Cafe. We have the daily papers in, along with magazines, there's nothing like relaxing to the sound of the beck, whilst sipping coffee and reading or chatting.
Alec and Claire always dreamed about owning and running a café. They found out they both had this shared dream whilst on a 7 day bush walk in the blue mountains of Australia. The long slog up the 'Strong Leg ridge' gave them a chance to work out how, where and when they would do this.
They would go into cafes around the world, quietly critiquing them, discussing which ideas they would steal or commenting on what they wouldn’t do, until one day they walked into the Rattle Ghyll Café in Ambleside.
They both fell in love with it! The food, the atmosphere, the location, even the furniture was similar to what had talked about. It came on the market in April 2013, they were getting married in May… No way was there any chance of having time to think about buying it. The summer passed and it was still for sale, they did some thinking and then some more and decided to go for it in September. The deal was closed a day before Alecs birthday (his present that year was a café!!) and they haven’t looked backed since!
Prior to buying the café they both had careers working in the outdoor education industry. This has seen them work with inner city youth, guiding in the mountains, living on an island in New Zealand and many other adventures along the way!
They love coming up with new specials to serve that are wholesome and nutritious vegetarian food. Being inspired by their travels and the various foodie magazines that arrive each month!
Living in the centre of the Lake District gives them the opportunity to get out and explore the many fells and beautiful locations across the park.
I’m afraid we’ve had to close the door today for some essential maintenance....back to it tomorrow folks.