Natterjacks
34 Queen Street Ulverston Cumbria LA12 7AF
Ulverston's café with a twist, Natterjacks is an unusual addition to the scene – only open in the evenings and with a very definite American-style coffeehouse vibe, thanks to owner Valerie's Boston upbringing. There's decent coffee and homemade, organic cakes and real cookies, but if you fancy a local beer, a glass of wine or a nightcap then they're good for that too. With art on the walls, a piano in the corner and regular music nights, it's the kind of laidback, non-pubby joint every town should have. Lucky old Ulverston, we say. There are inexpensive guest rooms upstairs too, with the coffeehouse forming the ground floor of Valerie and Rob's Sefton House B&B. And the name? It rather suits the conversational hubbub when the coffee house is buzzing, but it's also a nod to the local coast's endangered species, the Natterjack toad.
