Orton Scar Café, Penrith: The perfect countryside pit stop for bikers

• Open: Mon-Sun 9am-4pm
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• Unit 1 Silver, Orton Rd, Penrith, CA10 3RQ

If you’re out between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, then Orton Scar Café makes the perfect place to relish in the marvellous countryside.

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“We’ve got a lovely location,” says owner Kate Parsley. “It’s on the way to Appleby so it’s the perfect stop for bikers.”

The café was originally a deli where Kate worked, but when she took over 11 years ago, she transformed it into the biker friendly café it is today.

To entice new customers – mainly bikers – through her front doors, Kate had a brainwave.

“When I first opened, I went down to Devil’s Bridge in Wales and put a poster up on one of their telegraph poles,” laughs Kate. Despite the posters being taken down, bikers got the message, and word spread like wildfire.

“Everyone is really nice. A lot of them keep coming back and it means we have our own banter with them.”

The café has won customer service and best café awards, but Kate prides herself on what’s coming out of the kitchen.

“We do our own homemade cake and scones,” says Kate.

“We get proper sausage, as well as simple things like making our own coleslaw. But of course, we do a full English breakfast and our special boards are always on. We also do a Sunday roast dinner.”

The menu is full of hot and cold sandwiches with any coffee you could ask for, and the butties are a favourite for car park-wandering bikers.

An Orton Scar loop

Head north on B6260, turn left onto Gilts Lane and then onto Crosby Ravensworth. Turn right on Maulds Meaburn to Littlebeck Lane, then right towards Bolton. Join the A66 and turn off at Appleby-in-Westmorland, then join the B6542, A66 then B6259. Hop on the A685 then back on the B6259, and turn right onto A684. From here, it’s right onto the B6257, A685, over the roundabout onto the B6260 and back to the café.

For more inspiration for places to go and things to do on your motorbike, head to our interactive map.