Bernie's Closed

[Ian Ball]

Agreed!

 

[Maisie Syntax]

I don't disagree, but it will take a whole lot more than the fondness of the caving community to sustain a cafe owner in the manner in which they feel is worthwhile. You need bums on seats, and realistically, the vast majority of the owners of those bums frequenting the cafes of Ingleton will not be cavers. Being a local to these establishments, apart from the usual faces, I don't really see these cafes packed with the caving community anymore.

 

[thehungrytroglobite]

I doubt the caving communuity has quite the same fondness for most of those cafe's though. After all, there's only one Bernie's.

Unfortunately the caving community alone can't sustain a cafe. I agree that Ingleton has too many cafes given the population size - they might all be able to get by in tourist season in the height of summer but it's tough to keep them all running through the year. It's a shame we don't have a summer & winter season like many places in north America & continental Europe do - it would certainly support local economy a lot more if we had more snow and less rain!

I'm sad Bernie's is closing because it had more character and was cosier / nicer to sit in on a rainy afternoon than the other cafes in Ingleton. I'll probably stick to the cafes in Settle / Elaine's tearoom / middle Studfold tearoom now Bernie's has gone. I also don't think the younger portion of the caving community have as much fondness for Bernies as older members - for those my age, Inglesport was the main caving cafe when we started caving. Despite that, we made up a decent number of Bernie's customers, mostly because of our fondness for Kristian rather than having a living memory of it being a caving cafe as some others do. Interesting how things change over time. The Old Hill Inn isn't thought of as a caving pub by younger cavers anymore either, though I'm aware of the legacy.

 

[kay]

thehungrytroglobite​

you say for cavers your age, Inglesport was the main caving cafe, but you say now Bernie's has closed you'll stick to Settle etc - why not back to Inglesport?

 

[Lankyman]

I miss 'Breakfast with Beans' at the Fountain (although the bacon could wreak havoc with your teeth)

 

[Lara_]

thehungrytroglobite​

you say for cavers your age, Inglesport was the main caving cafe, but you say now Bernie's has closed you'll stick to Settle etc - why not back to Inglesport?

Inglesport is spenny! And their veggie options are a little lacking. It being above a caving shop is a definite plus though

 

[alastairgott]

Completely over my head - some assistance below from Cambridge dictionary:

spenny
adjective
UK slang

UK

/ˈspen.i/ US

/ˈspen.i/

Add to word list
expensive:
Those boots are very nice but very spenny.
Fewer examples

• I like that place, but it's kinda spenny.
• Spenny or penny - do cheap moisturiserswork as well as their pricey equivalents?
• Alcohol in Australia is "spenny" as hell!
• I'm not buying some spenny engagement card. I'll just send them a text.

 

[rm128]

I miss 'Breakfast with Beans' at the Fountain (although the bacon could wreak havoc with your teeth)

I remember the Fountains breakfast and the ladies who served it fondly. I know exactly what you mean about the bacon. A friend of mine used to ask for raw bacon, which came out almost edible.

 

[skippy]

I remember the Fountains breakfast and the ladies who served it fondly. I know exactly what you mean about the bacon. A friend of mine used to ask for raw bacon, which came out almost edible.

I also remember you had to queue to get into the Fountain cafe..Perched on the clint topped wall. Then it was like wacky races up Kingsdale to get the best parking spots.

 

[Inglesport]

I'm sad Bernie's is closing because it had more character and was cosier / nicer to sit in on a rainy afternoon than the other cafes in Ingleton.

For what it's worth, a major redecoration/revamp is in the pipeline for our cafe.

 

[Lankyman]

I remember the Fountains breakfast and the ladies who served it fondly. I know exactly what you mean about the bacon. A friend of mine used to ask for raw bacon, which came out almost edible.

I never tried that trick! My approach was to submerge the bacon in the bean juice to soften it a little before tackling it. Or just put it in the bread and have a crunchy bacon butty. Yes, the ladies were lovely. It was very sad when it closed. Before I grew tired of poisoning myself alcoholically their breakfasts treated many an overhang and saved a Sunday caving trip.
Another long-gone café was the Country Kitchen, ruled over by a rather stern lady who actually had a heart of gold. I recall one February when I'd taken a non-caving friend into Yordas followed up by a daft idea of abbing over Thornton Force and swimming across the pool. Nowhere in Ingleton was open and the Kitchen was closing but she took pity on us and served us a proper meal when she could have had an easy night. You never forget kindness like that.

 

[TLH]

I'm sad Bernie's is closing because it had more character and was cosier / nicer to sit in on a rainy afternoon than the other cafes in Ingleton.

I always thought that a plus of Inglesport - Breakfast whilst looking over the guide books, then head off out to play because your bum's going numb.. via shiny stuff of course!

Efficient-ish. We still tend to find ourselves faffing at Midday, despite meeting relatively early

middle Studfold tearoom

Their cakes are something else!

 

[Badlad]

The lovely Fountain Cafe ladies were Jean and Vera. You'll remember them frying away in that corridor out back on the way to the toilet. They sold it as a going concern. It carried on for only a short while before it became a house.

 

[Lankyman]

The lovely Fountain Cafe ladies were Jean and Vera. You'll remember them frying away in that corridor out back on the way to the toilet. They sold it as a going concern. It carried on for only a short while before it became a house.

I remember the sometimes dense fumes of incinerating bacon while heading out that way. Sadly, I never asked the ladies' names but I can see their faces clearly. I think when you're younger you take it all for granted that things will carry on the same. Occasionally, I'd bump into one of them in Lancaster and always say hello. Whilst wallowing through a café nostalgia-fest I'd also like to mention the one that used to be in Stainforth, opposite the Craven Heifer and run by a nice bloke with a beard I recall. The go to place when we were out on Fountains or Penyghent.

 

[paul]

Yes, I also remember staying in Mrs Morphet's caravans, queueing up at The Fountains for Double Breakfast & Beans and then searching for a space in of the Kingsdale parking spots and then back to the Marton Arms or Craven Heifer afterwards. The other thing was the carpet in The Fountain Cafe made up of loads of random pieces of carpets joined together...

 

[davel]

Then of course there was the Shambles chip shop in Settle on a Saturday evening for steak and kidney pudding, mushy peas and chips before a quick dash to the Hill Inn.

 

[RobinGriffiths]

You had the mini earthquakes in the Fountains as all the tables and cuttlery jangled as you made your way to your table.

 

[Lankyman]

Yes, I also remember staying in Mrs Morphet's caravans, queueing up at The Fountains for Double Breakfast & Beans

This seemed to be the pattern of my life for so many years except I avoided the 'pleasures' of van life by kipping in my car (or under the viaduct arch just above the nearby road).

 

[RobinGriffiths]

In my experience it was wise to avoid the teapots in Mrs Morphet's caravans if student cavers had recently been to stay.

 

[thehungrytroglobite]

you say for cavers your age, Inglesport was the main caving cafe, but you say now Bernie's has closed you'll stick to Settle etc - why not back to Inglesport?

I now live in Settle, so the other cafes are closer... and I'm no longer a student, so I don't faff around in a cafe until midday anymore! These days I have breakfast at home / at a caving hut and try to get underground by 10am I'm sure I'll frequent Inglesport cafe every now and then when friends are visiting.

Inglesport is the main caving cafe, but if I'm going out for breakfast / lunch as a local I'd probably go for one of the cafes/tearooms I mentioned, because I prefer the food and vibes there, and they are places I'm more likely to comfortably curl up with a book. It's a matter of personal preference. Back when I was a student, I hadn't even tried any of the other options, and we borrowed our helmets from Inglesport too so it was always convenient to stick to Ingleton. Especially because all the other places I mentioned are a much longer drive from the farm.