The small town of Orford seems almost on the edge of the world, with nothing but the wilds of Orford Ness and the North Sea beyond it. However if you think being on the edge of nowhere means there’s nothing here you’d be wrong. This quaint little town has plenty on offer; not least Pump Street Bakery. And it’s well worth making a special trip purely for that. Through a local cycling club I once knew a group of ladies whose weekday ride every Wednesday was centred around a visit to Pump Street. It provided enough tempting variety to keep them going back every week and was far enough out to keep them from feeling too guilty about the indulgence.
So far this year I have made two weekend visits along with husband and dog as a special reward for sticking so rigidly to the New Year diet (Monday-Friday dieting is better than none, right?)
In the perfect location for a rugged dog walk; it’s a favourite Sunday destination. With several paths and routes to choose from we generally opt for a brisk stomp along the river wall before meandering back up through the town and heading straight to the welcome of a coffee and (several) cakes.
When visiting Pump Street it pays to be greedy; I urge you to try one of everything if you have it in you. Personally this is difficult given that for me the Portuguese tarts are such tempting perfection it would be easy to just stick with one of those as an ultimate failsafe. They have become such a firm favourite they’re impossible to pass up whenever and wherever they’re on offer.
But in the pursuit of discovery we have, on both occasions, purchased multiple goodies to take home and sample at our leisure throughout the rest of the day.
There is simultaneously much and little to write about the goodies we’ve sampled from Pump Street. What I mean is that I could spout forth at length about the light, buttery quality of the croissants; the enormous and yet gone-too-soon bear claws; the crunchy perfection of the breads on offer……but somehow it seems trite. Cake (and especially from Pump Street) is definitely not something to be experienced vicariously, it simply needs tasting for yourself.
In reality I could easily and unashamedly make a Sunday trip to Orford just for Pump Street. It is, however, doubly…..if not triply fortunate that the scenery is so beautiful and I am in possession of an overly-energetic dog. At least it means I have assuaged some New Year diet guilt by also giving the dog a good run about too!