An Edible Voyage

October 2021 If there's one thing that the Scilly Isles aren't short of, other than incredible views, endless white sand beaches and an abundance of turquoise sea, it's homemade cakes.  St Mary's is dotted with cafes, commandeering beautiful coastal views and hidden along woodland paths, and one could be forgiven for thinking there's a inter-cafe cake competition going on.   Having spent a very strenuous week sampling many of them, I can conclude that Longstone Cafe wins it for me.  Vegan lime and homegrown courgette sits alongside an ingenious banoffee cake - think banoffee pie but with a banana bread base, and the absolute star of the show, the simple but absolutely perfect Victoria Sponge - an enormous wedge of the lightest, fluffiest sponge, filled with strawberry jam and oozing a generous layer of whipped cream. Redruth roasted Cornish Coffee beans are used in the espresso based beverages, with milk steamed well to make a delicious flat white.  In the drink...

December 2020 Alongside the platform of the former Rosebush station is a red, corrugated zinc shed.  What the industrial exterior lacks in cosiness is more than made of for by the homely interior.  Walls adorned with an eclectic array of pictures and sporting memorabilia, straw floors, and soft lighting from the small windows creates an atmosphere where you’ll want to settle in with your locally brewed pint or your hot chocolate laced with the Welsh cream liqueur Merlyn from the Penderyn distillery.