Orton

Sometimes I've been to large cities and struggled to find anywhere worthy of inclusion in the Good Foods Blog!  In contrast the next four posts are all going to be in a tiny village in Cumbria!  It's near nowhere (it's 15 miles (24 km) south of Penrith), but it's actually quite easy to get to as it's just 2 miles from the superb (and soon to be mentioned in this blog) Tebay services on the M6. 

Before I get to the shops (and one of the best Farmers' Markets I've ever been to) I thought I'd explain how and why I went to visit Orton.  If you want to know anything about food in Lancashire, Foody Phil Keenan of Thoroughly Food is one of the best people to talk to.  Phil happened to mention on Twitter about a B&B that was very handy for the RSPB reserve at Leighton Moss.  We'd visited the reserve a few years ago (but hadn't managed to see any booming bitterns or bearded tits) so we decided to give the B&B a try.

Tythebarn House was every bit as good as Phil had described.  We were greeted with home made cake and nothing was too much trouble for hosts Diana (a finalist on TV’s Britain's Best Dish) and her husband Vic. The breakfast was superb. We had lovely home-made bread and jams made with fruit from their allotment, and a great cooked breakfast.   

Anyway Diana, who also does cookery courses for two people (Tasting Cumbria Cooking Weekends), recommended we visit Orton Farmers Market. There's another one this Saturday, 14th December 2013.   I hope you'll go, we're very glad we went (there's a post coming up soon). 

There's a nice guide to the village here, and Orton is on the Eden Valley Food Trail.

You just know that anywhere where they paint the bus shelter like this:

 

is going to be different and exciting!