Whilst Lisa was enjoying her travels in Europe, I was in Yorkshire at Beck Hall, Malham.  In my blog I will tell you all about this lovely, welcoming place and also go on to big up serveral other places I have stayed and eaten at in the UK on past jaunts!

Beck Hall is a quaint little hotel nestled in the small village of Malham in Yorkshire.  It has recently moved to being 100% vegan and is dog friendly.  We were really looking forward to our stay.
The building is lovely and is in a beautiful setting and garden.  It was very cosy with lots of original features but also had a modern new extension for the dining room.  Our room was perfectly adequate for our stay but had less storage than we needed and was perhaps on the smaller size (but we did book a Classic room rather than a Superior).  There was a small flask of oat milk left for our tea and coffee and a delicious booja booja chocolate! 

Staying for two nights we were able to sample several things on their extensive menu.  Everything looked tempting and it was difficult to choose.  On the first evening we had the truffle wild mushrooms (on a garlic and herb-toasted ciabatta), followed by the sage and thyme seitan ballotine (crispy polenta, roasted red pepper puree, buttered seasonal greens) and slow-cooked seitan shortrib (warmly-spiced seitan short rib, cinnamon bone, hassleback sweet potato, charred corn, sour cream, crisp shallots, salted pumpkin seeds, shallot jus) with a side of onion rings. I found my seitan ballotine to be a bit dry and chewy but good and the polenta was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten!  David's hassleback sweet potato was a little under cooked but everything else was great.  This was followed by two amazing espresso martinis finished off in the incredibly cosy snug (where there was alway an open fire burning!).

The next morning we sampled the breakfast.  The choice was quite extensive with hot food available as well as pastries, toast, cereals and yoghurt - all, of course, vegan!  David had the full breakfast and I had the scrambled tofu with a sausage.  I have to say, this was the weakest meal we had.  David's food was all a little dry and the scambled tofu was plain and tasteless.  It was a shame as it looked great - well presented with good portion size. 
Lenny joined us for breakfast - dogs were welcome anywhere in the hotel and beds, blankets and treats were readily availble.

During our stay we enjoyed some lovely walks around Malham.  It is a very pretty village with very easy, accessable walks with rewarding views. 

Our meal on the second evening was also delicious.  David had the 'steak' pudding (steamed suet pastry, seasonal greens, pickled beets, truffle mashed potatoes) and I had the white bean cacciatore (mixed white beans, capers, black olives, tomato ragu, whipped tahini drizzle, puffed chickpeas, garlic ciabatta), followed by sticky toffee pudding and lemon chai cheescake.  All of these were very good.  The lemon cheesecake was to die for!  I thoroughly regretted not having pudding the night before.

After another comfortable night in our room (it was amazingly quiet at Beck Hall) we headed down for breakfast.  We tried something different today - David had the pancakes (which he had spotted on someone's table the day before) and I had the porridge.  The pancakes were too sweet for David but very good and I very much enjoyed my porridge.

This was our last day in Malham and at Beck Hall.  We enjoyed another walk in the morning to Janet's Foss.
On the Thursday and Friday we enjoyed walks with very few people around, however, on the Saturday vistors swarmed into the village.  It was amazing to see just how busy it got!  On the Saturday parking was being charged at £7 in an additional field.  Thankfully, we were able to stay in the carpark at the hotel.
After our walk we had lunch at Beck Hall.  No photos of this unfortunately but it was excellent.  We had a 'steak' sandwich with chips and a chicken pesto sandwich with chips.  The chips were amazing and I took the oportunity to have another slice of lemon chai cheesecake!!
Beck Hall's restaurant is open to any visitors and you don't need to be a guest to eat there.  It was busy every day and often had reservations for their Afternoon Tea.  Even if you don't stay there, a visit to Malham should include a lunch at Beck Hall!
The staff at the hotel were the real gem - friendly, helpful, accomodating and just the right side of chatty without being overbearing. I would definitely return to Beck Hall for a stay or for a day visit and would recommend to anyone - it's a must for any vegan!



As promised, I want to mention 3 other vegan places I have stayed and eaten at elsewhere in the UK.

We enjoyed a top quality meal here with vegetables cooked in wonderfully imaginative ways and presented to a high standard.  My one criticism would be the lack of textures - there was no 'meat' or 'cheese' substitute to provide a variation to the flavour or texture of the vegetables.  Here is shown a betroot ravioli, cauliflower steak, an aubergine dish, a chocolate mousse and strawberry dessert (apologies for the lack of detail - it was a long time ago!).

I would highly recommend Saorsa 1875 for a stay or a meal if you are in the area. 

The next place deserving of a shout out is the Plant Bonsai Kitchen in Brighton.  David and I visited Brighton in April 2023 and we went to Plant Bonsai as David really enjoys asian cuisine.  It would never be my first choice and so I wasn't expecting to enjoy it much.  I have to say it was the most incredible vegan meal I have ever had.  The food and drink was absolutely delicious, without excpetion.

I chose the 5 oz Redefine Meat flank with peppercorn sauce and David had the L*mb doner kebab on a garlic naan with sides of BBQ ribs and Dirty chips.  The portions were incredible so worth the money.  We both really enjoyed our food.  The dirty chips were especially good.

There was also a dessert menu which had so many options  - a real rarity for vegans.  They were all comfort puddings and just the sort of thing I like.  We had to try something!

I had the hot cross bun bread and butter pudding and David had the caramel cheesecake.  They were just delicious!

The Queen Inn is dog friendly and even has a little menu for your furry friend.  Lenny, naturally, came with us and enjoyed 2 vegan sausages and doggy ice cream for afters (not vegan).  We went on a Tuesday and there were several other diners but it was not too busy.  The staff were helpful and friendly and I would highly recommend visiting if you are in Wales or are planning a trip there.

I hope you have enjoyed my blog and found it informative as well as giving you some ideas on places to try as a vegan food-lover!  Happy travels and happy eating!  Cheers!

I have recently enjoyed a lovely week off work travelling by train to London, Paris, Brussels and Bruges with my partner, Glenn.  
We were eager to eat in vegan restaurants and eateries throughout our travels, and the choice was immense!  The movement really has come a long way in a relatively short time.  So here's a little look at where we ate and what we ate.  We used the HappyCow App and Google to search for great places and booked ahead of time so that we could ensure we got what we wanted.

I really enjoyed my doner snack pack of fries loaded with chicken, bbq sauce and mayo and my side of mac n cheese.  Glenn had a classic 2 piece chicken and fries with mayo and cheese sauce.  It was quick, easy and delicious and reasonably priced for the amount you got!

For starters we had smoked sweetcorn cakes (which I had really been missing since going vegan) and banyan spring rolls.  The sweetcorn cakes were amazing!  Just how I remember them.  There were three in a portion and six of the spring rolls, which were also very good.  For main course I had the peanut satay tofu and Glenn had smoked tofu chow mein.  These main dishes were nice, but didn't blow me away with flavour.  The menu had so much choice though, I'd happily go back and try something else.

Unfortunately, we were so stuffed from our Temple of Seitan for lunch that we couldn't eat a dessert!

For starters we had an avocado as a mock boiled egg.  It tasted very similar to a hard boiled egg and was very fresh.  We also had houmous with sundried tomato and plenty of bread (the best thing about French restaurants!)

For main we had rigatoni pasta with a basil cream and  a potato dish with white asparagus and mushrooms.  Like our mains at Plants of Roselyn they did not blow us away but were tasty and healthy.

For dessert we thoroughly enjoyed a chocolate mousse and nutella pancakes.  These were really good!  We had a bottle of white wine with the meal.  

We ate like kings!  The broccoli guacamole was surprisingly delicious, so light.  The garlic bread was amazing.  Glenn said it was the best garlic bread he's ever eaten.  Light and fluffy like a brioche bread.  The bean cassoulet was my absolute favourite dish.  It was so flavourful and moreish!  The croquettes were a winner too, so good in fact were the dishes that we added the mushrooms to our order, which ironically were the thing we enjoyed the least.  My snickers dessert was to die for!  Brownie like chocolate sponge with peanuts, cream and caramel.  Glenn's chocolate pudding was a bit strange.  Delicious but was presented spread thinly on the plate. It was the most expensive of our meals but, boy was it worth it!

Glenn volunteered to do a Land and Monkeys run for pastries and lunch for the train journey to Brussels while I chilled in the hotel.  There are a number of Land and Monkeys bakeries in Paris, we went to their store at 86 Boulevard Beaumarchais 75011.  Another pain au chocolat (not as good as VG Patisserie) and a pain au raisin.  For the train journey we had a ham baguette, a miso tofu sandwich, a lemon macaron and a tarte au citron - the most amazing thing I have ever put in my mouth!!!

To start we had asparagus croquettes with truffle and parmesan sauce and a small cake with lardoons, cheese and onions, a herb salad and wild garlic.  The croquettes were really good.  The cake was a little dry but tasty.

For mains we ordered a Fricassee of textured soy and spring vegetables in a puff pastry crust and Seitan tournedos, wine merchant butter, white asparagus with split pea cream and potato cake.  The pie was not what I was expecting at all.  The spring vegetables, which I expected to come on the side were actually in the pie with the soy.  It was delicious though and lots of it.  I preferred Glenn's seitan with asparagus and potato.

For dessert Glenn chose the waffle - he was in Belgium, after all - and I chose the chocolate 'snickers' cake as the one I had in Paris was so good.  This one was really tasty and I really enjoyed it, but I think the Faubourg Daimant comes out on top.

For dessert we went for the specials of chocolate pie and lemon pie.  I was a bit disappointed when two slices of sponge cake came to the table.  But, again, they were really good and we enjoyed them with an oat milk coffee.​

We spent the next day in Brussels seeing the sights and eating the food!  We started with a donut stop for breakfast.  Not 100% vegan but Coco Donuts (Rue Joseph Stevens, 30) had a great selection of vegan donuts.  I chose the peanut butter and jelly donut and enjoyed it with an oat latte.

I had a waffle with caramel sauce, strawberries and chantilly cream.  It was a lot...but I finished it, and it was really indulgent!

We really wanted the Breakfast Bowl but that was no longer available so we went for the Toast of the Day which was sourdough toast topped with houmous, vegan feta, roasted veg and salad.  I also went for an oat milk pink latte with pitaya powder.  It was all delicious and healthy and set us up for the day.  We also took away a pain au chocolat each too, you know, in case we got peckish!

We were in a mad rush when we got to London to drop our cases off at our hotel and make it out again for our early, pre theatre reservation at Mallow (1 Cathedral Street, Borough Market).

It really was a foodie holiday and we both certainly gained a few pounds but there were highlights that made it very much worth the tighter clothing.  I have to say it's wonderful that there are so many vegan places now.  Doing a city break made it very easy to have lots of options.  It was difficult to have a drink somewhere, though.  Many places just didn't know what I meant when I asked if they had a vegan beer, so it was great to be able to go to these vegan restaurants and order whatever I wanted without worrying about it.  

We've been vegan for just over 6 months now and for the last couple we have been super busy!  With all the events that have been happening in Lady Bay recently we have been inundated with new customers.  

The lady Bay Arts Trail made sure that we had a super successful May and I can't thank the organisers enough for making it happen and making it such an enjoyable weekend.  There were a few people visiting us who did not know we were vegan but the vast majority stayed to give it a go and were pleasantly surprised by the delicious food on offer and the plant based alternatives to cow's milk we have for their coffee and tea. 

The next event was the Lady Bay Safari sale, which as always was a great success for the community.  

Staffing is always important when we know one of these events is coming up so we ensured we had extra help to make things run smoothly.  An event that we were not expecting though was the freestyle kayaking championships being held at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre for a week.  We were understaffed and super busy.  Linsey and I were so focused on ensuring the full cafe was served with consistently good food and drink.  Our focus clearly boarded on 'grumpy'.

During the same week we had a few bookings made and we would really like people to get into the habit of making reservations.  It means we can better gauge how busy we will be and also people who want to come and try our food won't be disappointed.  

This is the kind of recommendation that really makes us happy!  We are really passionate about our menu and we're impressed that Andy could see we were focused on ensuring he got the good food and drink he had come such a long way for!  Hopefully next time he visits won't be during a kayaking championship and we can have a better chat - probably on our favourite topic - veganism!  Andy was wise enough to reserve his table. 

​On the flip side of the immense positivity we have received one terribly negative review:

On this day we had a reservation of 22 people at 11 and had tried to communicate that with customers to ensure they were aware that we were at capacity and anyone else wouldn't be served until at least 12.  Unfortunately this person hadn't known and drove a long way to be disappointed.  We are really upset by the one star on Google though as calling ahead to check and make a reservation would have solved the wasted trip.  My reply to the reviewer:

Linsey and I are now looking forward to a well earned rest.  We've been working at full throttle for the last couple of months and are desperately looking forward to our Summer break.  We will be closed for two weeks in August to recharge our batteries.  From Tuesday 16th August to Wednesday 31st August.  We will reopen on Thursday 1st September.  Phew!

We are super proud of our menu and we hope that those who are trying it are enjoying it too.  We've tried to provide a good mix of healthy, plant based dishes and also some meat alternative dishes too so that there is something for everyone.  By going vegan we did not want to exclude meat eaters but to show them that vegan food can be delicious and a way to reduce meat intake.  

We've introduced our new tea range Woodrows loose leaf tea and would love to know what you think!

We've also introduced a great range of vegan chocolate and vegan weekend specials.  Linsey and I are both vegan and love introducing our customers to delicious food that is surprisingly vegan.  From our cakes to our pancakes why not get on board and give plant based a go! 

With a new lease hopefully being signed soon we will be here for 10 more years if our luck stays with us!  Thank you again for everyone's support!

It'll be a happy day here at Bread and Butterflies on Monday 19th July when it really will feel like we're getting back to normal.

Linsey and I want to be really clear about what the tearoom will look like from Monday 19th July so that our customers can make an informed decision as to whether they wish to dine in with us.

We will continue to display our track and trace QR codes for you to check in so that the government can track any further spread of the virus.  If you do not have the app then we will ask you to complete a ticket with your contact details which we will keep for 21 days.

We will keep our sanitizing stations until our stocks of hand sanitizer run out.  At this point we ask our customers to wash their hands in the toilet sink or bring their own hand sanitizer.

Obviously we want our customers to feel comfortable at the tearoom but we also want to get back to the way things were!  Please, book a table with us if you would prefer to sit outside.  You can contact us on Facebook or call us on 0115 9455792.

We've had some challenges, namely having to replace one of our windows which shattered.  We'd like to thank everyone for their concern regarding this matter.  But Linsey and I took it on the chin and it was just one of those things.  We'd been sensible and made sure we were insured for our windows, as we expected that we would have to face this situation at some point.  As it goes, the replacement wasn't as expensive as we initially feared it might be and didn't claim on our insurance. All fixed as of last Friday and a great job done by West Bridgford Glass.

We've been super pleased that our cake boxes have proven popular and you can still order these for take away if you're interested.  We have vegan brownie boxes (6 for £12), gluten free cake boxes (4 cakes for £10), vegan 9" brownie pizza pies (£18 each) and scone boxes with clotted cream and jam (£5 for 2).

Now, we're looking forward to Monday May 17th when we can open indoors too.  We will have limited seating available inside to ensure social distancing.  We will have a table for 4, two tables for 2 and our breakfast bar.  Let's hope the road map stays on course for May 17th and let's see the back of Covid restrictions!

We will have a range of face masks for you to purchase at the tearoom if you require one.  Prices will range from £3 to £9.  We will have our original floral face masks available at £3, hand drawn animal face masks for £6 and hand embroidered face masks for £9.

While we are only able to provide a takeaway service we have had a number of ideas of various cake and scone boxes to offer you.  Photos and prices to follow.  Please bear us in mind for something delicious for your mums on Mother's Day on Sunday 14th March.

​From the 12th April we will have limited outdoor seating.  Tables and chairs will be spaced to allow for social distancing.  From 12th April there will be the rule of 6 (maximum of 2 households), so please book ahead if you are in a large party of 6 so we can accommodate you and ensure distance between you and other diners.  At this point it is likely that we will be back to our original menu and possibly extend our opening times.  Let's hope for sunny weather!  Customer toilets will reopen and you will be expected to wear a mask when moving to and from your table.  You will also need to scan the QR code or leave us with your contact details.

From 17th May we will be allowed to have diners sitting inside and outside.  Again, there will be limited seating inside to ensure there is adequate room between customers.  The rule of 6 or 2 households will be accommodated inside if you call ahead.  We will be able to accommodate parties of 2 or 3 more easily.  As before, you will need to wear a mask when not seated at your table and will need to leave us with your contact details.

From 21st June we will have all our tables and chairs back in the tearoom and there will be no legal limits on social contact.

We do hope that all of the above goes to plan and that there are no further restrictions applied due to increased Covid infections.  We look forward to seeing you all when we get back on Thursday 11th March.  Please do pop in to say hello and grab yourself a coffee and cake!

We're currently closed due to the coronavirus national lockdown but we will be back in December, perfectly timed for a Christmas shop!  It's so important this year that you try to support small, local shops rather than relying completely on big online stores.  So, here I present you with a complete guide to what you can find at Bread and Butterflies this Christmas.  Something for everyone's pocket and truly, personal gifts that can really mean a lot.

Our best seller at the moment is commission drawings.  Both Linsey and I take on the drawing and charge just £10 an hour (plus VAT).  This means that a beautiful drawing can cost as little as £35!  All we need is a clear photo and we will take it from there.  Here are a few of the drawings we have previously done:

You can send us your commissions as soon as you like and we will start them as soon as possible and let you know when they're ready (please ensure you allow time if they need to be posted).  Please contact us at [email protected] with you requests or questions and to attach photos.

Our selection of ceramic products are great, affordable gifts. Starting from just £5 we have a large selection in stock but we can take commissions on these too for a specific request.  Prices for all of our products can be found on the craft tab on the website, or just pop into the shop for a browse in December.

We also have a range of fabric gifts such as tote bags, aprons, pencil cases and shoe bags.  Again, very affordable and would make excellent stocking fillers.  Check out the craft tab on the website.

For those with a sweet tooth we are happy to make cakes, cupcakes, brownies and cookies for you.  We have a large number of gluten free, dairy free and vegan cakes that we can bake, so if you have a dietry need just let us know. Again, these are very affordable and a guide price list can be found on our website by hovering on the tearoom and menu tab and selecting celebration cakes from the drop down menu.

After the year we have all had, it would be nice if we could enjoy a fabulous Christmas.  So, support small business when you can, but definitely have a very merry Christmas.