A RECENTLY opened cafe with a unique twist has enjoyed a superb first week in business.

Bassenthwaite Lake Station is a cafe halfway between Cockermouth and Keswick on the A66, in the original Bassenthwaite Lake station building and includes a full-size replica steam train used in the 2017 film ‘Murder on the Orient Express’.

The cafe offers wildlife viewing, and an accessible woodland walk with a focus on showcasing everything in Cumbria, especially local suppliers and producers of the finest food.

Co-owner, Simon Parums, spoke of the cafe and its first week: "We knew we had something special but the recent interest has reached heights we had never dreamed of.

"My wife, Diana, and I have always done smaller-scale building projects and refurbishments but this was a far bigger project than we’d ever thought about taking on, the idea was to provide some facilities to visitors of the nearby Dubwath Silver Meadows nature reserve, but once we decided to create a café it very quickly became apparent that the station buildings would not be large enough, rather than extend it, we stumbled upon the replica train to use as our extension, two years later, it has become a reality and we are incredibly proud of everything that we, and our fabulous team of contractors and volunteers, have done.

Diana said: "Food provenance, sustainability and as plastic-free as possible are all central to how we run the business, from beers from Tractor Shed in Workington and Ramblers Brew tea to accompany our morning breakfast."