On a surprisingly sunny weekend away last month – travelling en famille to Exeter – we stopped off in Topsham and stumbled upon the Route 2 Café. It’s a curious combination of eco-friendly café, bike shop and live music venue all under one roof, but it works and this wonderfully unique approach makes for a fantastic atmosphere.

We stopped in before heading off on an afternoon cycle and couldn’t help but order the hearty ‘Full Route breakfast’, just to make sure we were fuelled up!

What I loved most about this quayside find is that the owners really value local producers, so much so that we could have popped round the corner to compliment the Topsham butcher himself on his delectable bacon and sausages.

They have an extensive café-style menu (with cream teas, out-of-the-ordinary sharing platters and overstuffed baguettes), serve breakfast all day and make their own utterly delicious Route 2 ice cream; all in all it’s a real labour of love.

I sampled the ‘Topsham Mud’ flavour. Don’t be put off by the name – it’s their most popular for good reason (though I’ll leave you to figure out what’s in it).

I must admit that afterwards part of me felt like having a lie down rather than a cycle, but the café is also a bike shop – with an area for repairs, bike servicing and bikes available to buy – so we had few excuses not to hop on and set off along the Exe estuary trail.

Image courtesy of VisitEngland/Diana Jarvis