Kedleston Hall – National Trust

Last week my sister and I had a few days visiting a number of National Trust properties in the Nottingham/Derby area. Whilst in the area I wanted to find somewhere nice to stop for cake and a drink. So I decided to put the power of Twitter to the test, and after some RT’ing I received a recommendation from @SweetBabySprout

Having visited Kedleston Hall and eaten lunch there, by mid afternoon and on route to the hotel, we were in need of some caffeine and cake. The Bottle Kiln was easy to spot; you cannot miss the distinctive bottle shape kiln that towers above the building.

Before we made it into the cafe we had a walk around the wonderful Japanese style garden area where there was sitting if you wanted to enjoy some alfresco dining. Although the sun was out it was a very cold day, so it would need to have been a few degrees warmer to tempt me to sit outside. There were also two lovely gift shops to browse around, everything was displayed perfectly, ready to entice you. I think they must of known I was coming as they had a wonderful Jubilee themed display.


I’m afraid I cannot divulge what I purchased from the shop, as that would ruin my brothers birthday present. I thought the aprons on display were lovely, I could not be tempted though as I already have two at home. I also spotted a small box of saucer crackers, like Christmas crackers only tiny, perfect for your cup and saucer for an afternoon tea. I so wish I had bought some of these whilst I was there.

A big cup of Mocha, cream scone and banoffee pie!

The Bottle Kiln specialise in gourmet artisan coffee, the aroma of which filled the air as you walk through the door. I decided to have something a little different from tea and chose a Mocha, which for those of you that don’t know is A shot of espresso with fair trade hot chocolate and creamy milk’. Delicious! Now what to eat? There was some lovely cake to chose from, scones, banoffee pie, coffee and walnut cake. The scones towered high filled with cream and jam, and topped with a fresh raspberry. My sister picked the banoffee pie and a hot chocolate, although we both ended up sharing both cakes.

Leaning Tower of Scone

The down side about this blog post is that I don’t live nearer to the Bottle Kiln, and I’m most jealous of those of you that have it on your doorstep. But a big thank you to @SweetBabySprout for tweeting me.