Spring has finally agreed to spring properly, with warm, clear and relatively calm days. It was one of those weekends when you look at the forecast and can’t decide where to go because nowhere is raining, and everywhere is beautiful. I went for a ride through Kent, thinking vaguely of going to a favourite café in Hildenborough, despite its lack of parking.
I’d forgotten, in my sheer enjoyment of not wearing six layers, that I usually slip onto the M25 for a couple of junctions, in order to get from the A20 to the A21.
I was quite far down the A20, when I remembered about the motorway, so I stopped for petrol and checked my phone. It suggested a fairly short route. I looked at the pretty day, told the phone to shut it, and took a far more meandering and scenic route around the A25, to pick up the A21 again a fair way about Morley roundabout. Smart phones, for all their uses, don’t seem to understand enjoying the journey.
I was, at this point, in the mood for coffee, so I stopped at the Teal Café, which I’ve passed a few times, but never tried. The Teal Café has parking, although somewhat gravelly in nature. Still, there were a couple of sports bikes on the less slippery side, so I parked up near them and wandered in.
The other bikes turned out to belong to a father and son who spent quite some time examining mine before they left. The friendly couple at the next table and I had a good laugh about that, and the fact that my baby is more powerful and far heavier than their bikes.
This meant that when I left, I had to reverse, in a tight curve, on gravel, in front of people I knew were watching me. No pressure, then, to do it all smoothly. No pressure at all.
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| Perfect summer - good alfresco food & coffee |
Parking aside, I recommend the Teal Café. The only other downside is that it’s so close to another really good café. Well, I guess I can alternate.
