For me, one of the best things about working from home is that you can be flexible about when you work and so take advantage of beautiful weather, quiet times in the shops and so on.  This morning we took some time off to try out the breakfasts at a café we’d spotted in nearby Bradford-on-Avon.

A had the full English, which came on a plate almost the size of a dustbin lid, and I had a BLT, served with salad and coleslaw.  All the food and coffee was well-presented and delicious, and the whole experience reminded us of the halcyon days of the late Strand Café in Newlyn.

The Strand Café consisted of just a few tables in a conservatory tacked onto the side of the kitchen but the consistent excellence of the coffee and fresh, local food were legendary among its cult following.  The bacon sandwiches were quite literally the size of doorsteps and included liberal amounts of mayo and fresh organic herbs.  Eating them required at least two napkins to clean up face and fingers and maybe a shower if you were a messy eater.  Only if you were extremely hungry or particularly greedy could you manage a slab of sticky fruit loaf afterwards, but somehow we usually did, along with another mug of coffee with a biscotti on the side.

We had despaired of ever finding anywhere even remotely similar in quality of ingredients and generosity of portions but Canterbury House comes very close.  Fortunately for our waistlines it requires a drive rather than a short stroll down the hill, like the Strand Café.