Home > Teashops > SE of Sheffield

Adrian’s Random Guide to Tea Shops
and other places to spend money

SE of Sheffield, Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire, UK

BIG BIG BIG BIG CAVEAT ...
Much of the information on these pages is out of date. Please treat it with caution - some places mentioned have since changed hands or no longer exist!!!!!

Most of the following places can be found on the OS 1:50,000 Landranger Map sheet 120 (Mansfield, Worksop). As with the Peak District Guide, to help you find the places mentioned I have given 6-figure grid references (**) with links to ‘Multimap’ (http://uke.multimap.com).

The places mentioned here are a bit more sparsely distributed than those on the Peak District Guide, and I am going to break my own rules and include places that sound worth visiting, but which we have not been to recently or at all. As time allows I will try and fill in some of the gaps - any ideas and reviews would be welcome!

(** If anyone does not know how to read a Grid Reference, find out - you're an intelligent person - don't let a simple thing such as this beat you! Incidentally it is explained on every OS map.)

Browse the text below - or use the links within the list of place names - or use my interactive map of the area to link into the text ....

Alfreton (Restaurant)
Bawtry (Turnpike PH, Town House Tea Shop)Added 5/10/02
Bolsover (Bolsover Castle) Updated 29/9/01
Clumber (Park, Cafe)
Edwinstow (Craft Centre)
Hardstoft (Herb Garden and Tea Room)
Hardwick (Hall and Gardens (National Trust))
Heckington, Lincolnshire (Craft Centre, Windmill, etc.)
Hodsock (Snowdrops)
Hockerton (Farm Shop and Restaurant)
Lound (Wildfowl)
Rufford (Abbey, Galleries, Lake, and Restaurant)
Renishaw (Hall, Galleries, Gardens, and Restaurant)
Southwell (Minster Coffee Shop)
Upton (Clock Museum)
Welbeck (Garden Centre and Restaurant)

When we went out to Hardstoft last week to stock up on herb plants for the garden, I decided that I really ought to get on and write up some of the tea shops (etc.) to the South East of Sheffield. But before we go to Hardstoft I'll start off with a detour to Alfreton, down the A61 below Chesterfield and Clay Cross.


Alfreton (SK412557) is not your pretty country village with its tea shop - it probably has many interesting places to see, but we go there to visit Gordon Harwoods, the Apple Mac dealers (sad isn't it). And we have been known to have lunch at the Tudor Rose Restaurant - upstairs at 72 High Street (near the corner with Chapel Street I recall). In some ways it seems to be a left over from some past decade, but the food and service are excellent (as they were in those past decades!) and that's what matters.
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Now back to Hardstoft ... its not far from Hardwick Hall (of which more later) and has a splendid little Herb Garden (SK436633). As with most places in this guide there is something of interest - several beautifully laid out herb gardens - something to spend money on - they sell a good range of herb plants, pots, etc. - and a tea shop. The tea shop is small, but I heartily recommend the Lavender Cake!. You should be able to find it easily - it's well signposted - it says "Lavender Cake". And the Herb Garden is well signposted with the brown tourist signs. Note that it is only open March-September.
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And while we're here let's pop across the valley to Hardwick Hall (SK463637). The hall, gardens and much of the grounds are held by the National Trust. You have to pay to go into the house and gardens unless you are a member (see web site) - to get there look out for the brown tourist signs. The Old Hall is next to the 'new' hall and is English Heritage (see their web site - though I don't find it easy to use in its new format!!). A large part of the gardens is a formal herb garden and an orchard with old varieties of fruit - including mulberries. Its a few years since we went to the restaurant that was then in the hall kitchens (and I presume it still is). Paying to get in just to go for lunch wasn't an issue when we were NT members. There are some gentle walks down by the ponds - and there is parking by Millers Pond (SK453640) - but the best refreshments on offer there will be restricted to ice cream or your own flask and sandwiches.
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North of Hardwick - further along the Magnesian Limestone escarpment - is Bolsover. Bolsover Castle (SK471706) was a place we kept intending to visit but for many years it stayed on the "to see" list. The castle has recently been extensively restored, and its page on the English Heritage web site does show a knife and fork, so there was hope of refreshment ... We finally got there this summer and it proved to be a very worthwhile visit. As well as spending the day exploring the castle (use the audio guide, its excellent), there was also the cafe. Its by the entrance, so you could eat without paying to get into the castle - its a convenient spot for coffee when heading out to places like Rufford (see below).
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Before we head out into Nottinghamshire, I'll add a note on Renishaw Hall (SK435786). Its still on our "to see" list - perhaps we never get round to visiting these places because they are near to home. Renishaw Hall's main attractions are the gardens and galleries, but it does also have a cafe!!
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Let's now leave Derbyshire and head out into the wilds of Nottinghamshire (no offence meant, honest - as you will see it has a lot to offer - see the council's events web site). Let's start at Welbeck. We first came across the Dukeries Garden Centre (SK549741) years ago when I went to look at archery bows at Les Howis's workshop on the Welbeck estate. (If you read someone's web page, you discover all sorts of things about them and their murky past!). The Garden Centre is in the old walled garden of Welbeck Abbey, and when we first went, the cafe was in one of the old greenhouses. The place has developed a lot since then, and though we have been since, we have still to sample the new 'restaurant/coffee shop' - any reports would be welcomed.
While you're there, you could visit the Harley Gallery (it's next to the garden centre car park) - the exhibitions vary, and even if the art/craft is not to your liking, its worth a look if you are passing.
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The Dukeries were so named because of the number of Dukes who had their stately homes in the area - Welbeck was one and another was Clumber (SK625745). Sadly the house at Clumber has gone, but the park, lake and church remain and are maintained by the National Trust (see their web site). Go in autumn and you can search the woods for strange fungi! ... and then go to the cafe for lunch. Again its a few years since we were there, but I recall massive cups of tea, and splendid puddings! It costs to get the car in (into the park, not the puddings), but you can make a day of it.
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You're now into Sherwood Forest, and the 'centre' of it is Edwinstow. There are the Sherwood Forest Country Park, with its vistors centre and the Major Oak just outside Edwinstow (SK627676), but I wanted to mention the Sherwood Forest Art and Craft Centre just north of the village (SK625671) - we dropped in last year and it looks worth another visit - partly because we never sampled the 'Granary Cafe'. There are more crafty shops in the village as well - sorry if that sounds a bit dismissive, but we have not tried them ... and I want to get on to Rufford...
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On the A614 south of Ollerton is the Rufford Abbey Country Park (SK645647) - its our usual destination when we go to this part of the world. They have a web site that shows what is on offer - though its very slick, I find it hard to navigate and they do not keep the events list up to date - try the council's events web site for a better list. Its a pity about the web site, because the place is excellent - there is a craft gallery (well, several actually, including a permanent ceramics exhibition), woods, lakes, wild life, ruins, walks, gift shops .... and a cafe and a restaurant. The cafe in the courtyard is fine, but if you want lunch head down the stairs to the Savile Restaurant - its in the old kitchens under the main old house. The food is very good, the atmosphere is great, and it tends to be quieter than the cafe - but you have to book if you go on a Sunday. Admission to the country park is free, though you do pay for parking.
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Let's now head down towards Newark on the A617. As you approach the village of Hockerton you will find Christys Farm Foods with its Farm Shop and Restaurant (SK714566). When we called last year we only stopped for coffee - which was excellent - perhaps if you time it a bit later you could report on what lunch is like.
Incidentally, Hockerton is also the site of the Hockerton Housing Project which is "the UK's first earth sheltered, self-sufficient ecological housing development" - I quote from their web site.
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South of Hockerton is Southwell which (in passing) is the original home of the Bramley baking apple! It also has its Norman Minster (SK701538). There is a public car park opposite the 'Minster Centre' where there is a Shop and Refectory - its a few years since we sampled it so any reports would be welcome.
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If you leave Southwell on the A612 towards Newark you will pass through Upton. Its a place that has been on our "to see" list since we drove through it and noticed signs for the 'British Horological Institute' at Upton Hall (SK734543).
The clock museum looks interesting, and they have a tea room to try out!
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While we are down near Newark - I'll make a long detour well into Lincolnshire (and off my map) - beyond Sleaford to Heckington and the Pearoom Centre for Contemporary Crafts (TF146436). The Pearoom is where they used to dry peas (!) and is now a craft centre with workshops, a craft shop and a large gallery. There is also the cafe!
Heckington also has some other features of interest including the railway station that is also a museum, and a working eight-sailed windmill - both right by the Pearoom.
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And finally (for now) a few locations well to the north above Worksop. The first is Hodsock Priory (SK613854). It only opens for a few weeks in early spring to show off its impressive show of Snowdrops. Check out their web site for details.
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And Lound where there is the Wetlands Waterfowl Reserve (SK699853). Another for the "to see" list - it must be ten years since we last went. They don't seem to have a web site but there were some details at www.sheffieldcity.co.uk along with other places to visit around Sheffield.
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And a couple of new additions in Bawtry. We went there after visiting Turner's Retreat at Harworth - more wood, tools, demos, etc. We went to Bawtry for lunch and ended up at the Turnpike (SK652930) - its a typical market town pub, right opposite the market place. A nice Bacon and Brie Baguette. Peter and Jill went a few weeks later after visiting the Gainsborough Model Railway Exhibition (there's no accounting for taste! though I am told even Jill was impressed!). They ended up across the road at the Town House Tea Shop and Restaurant. They commented that the food was good but the service was a bit slow - we went later and decided that 30 minutes for a sandwich was too long to wait, but it still sounds worth a try if you are not in a hurry.