(Image: TRIPADVISOR)
Tucked away in a tiny Yorkshire Dales village is a café that customers have described as a “hidden gem”, and it boasts an almost flawless set of reviews.
The Country Kitchen Cafe in Cracoe, near Skipton, has earned a perfect 5/5 rating on Tripadvisor, with visitors praising everything from its full English breakfasts and homemade cakes to its friendly welcome and reasonable prices.
But the setting gives this little café an extra claim to fame.
Cracoe, a small village in North Yorkshire, is associated with the real-life women whose fundraising calendar inspired the hugely successful Calendar Girls story.
The Country Kitchen Cafe in Cracoe
(Image: TRIPADVISOR)
The original calendar was created by members of a local Women’s Institute in the Yorkshire Dales, who posed for a nude calendar to raise money for leukaemia research following the death of one member’s husband.
Their story became internationally famous and inspired the 2003 film Calendar Girls, starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters.
Today, Cracoe remains a peaceful Dales village surrounded by some of the area’s most striking countryside, including Barden Fell, Rylstone Cross and Cracoe Pinnacle.
And for visitors exploring the area, The Country Kitchen Cafe appears to have become something of a destination in its own right.
Found beside Jacksons Farm Shop on the edge of the village, the cosy cafe serves breakfast and lunch, with dishes cooked fresh and a particular emphasis on hearty, homemade food.
Recent visitors have been especially enthusiastic.
One customer who visited in July described it as “just fabulous” after ordering a bacon bap, tea and a toasted scone with jam and cream.
Another reviewer called it a “gem of a place” after stopping for a full English breakfast, while a visitor in January praised the “great coffee” and a generous slice of homemade carrot and cinnamon cake.
Other reviews mention light homemade scones, sandwiches, soups and cakes, with the cafe repeatedly described as friendly and welcoming.
It also appears to be a popular stopping point for walkers and cyclists, with bike racks available and plenty of countryside nearby.
The café says it is an ideal spot for “walkers, campers and anyone who would like yummy home-cooked food”.
Cracoe itself sits around six miles out of Grassington and around five-and-a-half miles from Skipton.
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The village is also known for the nearby Cracoe Reef Knolls, unusual limestone formations created from the remains of an ancient coral reef.
It even had a brief moment in the international sporting spotlight in 2014, when the opening stage of the Tour de France passed through the village on its way from Leeds to Harrogate.
For anyone driving through this corner of the Yorkshire Dales, though, it may now be the food rather than the history that provides the best reason to stop.
The Country Kitchen Cafe is open from 8.30am until 4pm from Wednesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
It can be found at The Farm Shop, Cracoe, North Skipton, BD23 6LB.