Posts Tagged ‘pickering’
May 5th, 2009
Regular readers might remember that back in December 08 (read it here) we happened across a great Art shop in Pickering where we bought Peebles; an original piece of art that caught our eye.
With our ever busy lives though, Peebles has unfortunately sat propped upright against the wall that he was destined to be hanged on, while waiting on a picture hook to be hammered in. We never seemed to find the two minutes it eventually took last Sunday.
However, at last he has taken his rightful place in our dining room and now proudly hangs between the entrance to the conservatory and the patio doors.
It’s only taken five months to find the two minutes it took to nail a picture hook to the wall!
This does of course pale into insignificance compared to a certain Aussie friend of ours who is yet to complete her glazed tile bistro table after starting out nearly six years ago!
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December 20th, 2008
After walking around Pickering, we wanted a spot of lunch. The nice people in the Art Shop we had just visited recommended Mulberries on Bridget Street. Entering at around 2pm, the lights were out, but we were greeted by a friendly looking chap who said they were still serving food in response to our question. We sat at a table near the small window and next to a glowing electric fire. The friendly chap then turned the lights on for us and an assistant took our order. We both went for the Carrot and Ginger Soup at £3.50. To follow, I chose the Home Made Cottage pie with vegetables from the specials menu and Paul opted for a Roast Port with Apple Bap.
This is a small restaurant / coffee shop. It had a look of a mediterranean cafe about it with white washed walls and bare brickwork showing in places. It was very nice and clean but I got the feeling that it hadn’t quite decided whether it wanted to be a restaurant or an upmarket coffee shop.
Anyway, after a short while, the soup arrived. It was excellent. No other way to describe it. Piping hot, perfectly seasoned and clearly home cooked. Served up with warm crusty bread it was just what was needed to counteract the winter weather outside. The mains quickly followed. Pauls Roast Pork Bap was again excellent. Moist, tender and accompanied by warm freshly cooked apple slice. I took a bite myself to check and it was worth every penny of the £3.50 cost! A bargain for that price, given in most places you pay that for a limp takeaway sandwhich.
My cottage pie (£5.95) however was a little bit of a disappointment. It was tasty enough but the minced beef used looked as though it had come out of a can. This was a major surprise given my starter was so excellent. Accompanied by roasted parsnips I was just left a little unhappy.
As we left, a young boy was closing up the restaurant for the afternoon at around 3pm. Our total bill came to £18 which for lunch was fantastic value indeed. I think this place could be onto a real winner. The setting was certainly perfect for a cosy meal with other quiet respectful diners. We’ll pop back some time to see how they are getting on.
Pryordurkin rating 3 Stars. 01751 472337
December 20th, 2008
While out in North Yorkshire we stopped off at the Picture Place on Market Place in Pickering. What caught our eye was the fact that from the window, you could immediately see this shop only sold originals. No prints! We went inside to browse the collection and for our second observation noted that the prices charged for these originals was very good value indeed. There is nothing pretentious about this Art Shop, only it seems a genuine interest in selling good quality Art to people who know better than to pay over the odds for it. We chose a watercolour in the end. It was of peebles, a strange and funny looking cat. We now only need to work out where to put it when we get home. They wrapped our purchase carefully and we were soon on our way. We will certainly be back to buy other original pieces at what we think were very reasonable prices.
Pryordurkin rating 4 stars. Telephone. 01751 475660
December 20th, 2008
We headed off into North Yorkshire today for a spot of fresh air and sight seeing. Stopping off at Pickering we came across The Ginger Pig, a small farm shop on Market Place, selling a small range of delicatessen products. At the back of the shop was a small open kitchen area where they indicated that at certain times of the day, you could watch them baking products for sale in the shop.
It was a bit hickety pickety in layout with little by the way of flow. I found myself having to squeeze past other customers, some of which were just rude enough as to pretend to not notice. They seemed to sell a good range of imported products and I noticed quite a few cheeses and Italian meats for sale. In the end we opted to buy a couple of pies at £5.50 each. One Chicken and Ham, the other Beef and Kidney.
Getting them home we discovered the next day that the advice from the lady behind the counter to warm them in a medium oven for twenty minutes was completely incorrect. They were still stone cold in the middle. They in fact needed just over forty minutes to heat properly by which point our freshly cooked vegetables had lost all substance and taste. We were not happy. Why people give advice to questions when they simply don’t know the answer is a mystery. She would have been better off saying “I don’t know, go figure”. As for the taste and quality when they were eventually cooked through. Pretty mediocre.
On top of the above, the service was what you might call warm and friendly; we waited at the counter to be acknowledged for a little while but in the end when we asked a question, they did brighten up a bit and smile. I am going to put this down to the shop being in a tourist spot and judging by the rude customer I came across, the staff probably have a lot to put up with at times. I say if you are a customer, smile and you might just get a smile back.
We still prefer our own local Balloon Tree Farm Shop (read review) because it is closer and in our view much better.
Pryordurkin rating 1 Star.
May 27th, 2007
Although the website is a bit dodgy in places with some of the links not actually working, we decided to check out our local Theme Park. Exactly thirty minutes driving later, we arrived to find easy parking and quick entry into the site. The memories came flooding back for Mavis who last visited this place when she was in shorts and a member of the Girls Brigade. A great deal has changed since then, the park seemed much bigger than she remembered and there were certainly many more attractions to lose your breath on.
We started off gently by taking in a ride on Velocity. A motor bike affair which launches at speed. Great fun!!! Unlike me though, make sure you open your eyes as you go round. A more relaxed amble was then in order after lunch, (great fresh fish cafe) and we set off around the wildlife park which was well laid out, clean and interesting. A wide variety of animals and birds kept us interested for a good two hours as we walked around the landscaped grounds.
Arriving back at the area where most of the rides are we decided to try out the new Kumali ride. After about twenty minutes waiting we were off and it is certainly on a par with Nemesis at Alton Towers. We therefore give this park the thumbs up for a great day out at a price that will not break the bank. (When we checked, entrance to Flamingo Land was almost half that of the price for last minute entry into Alton Towers)
Score: 3 Stars. Visited May 2007
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