WHEN the weather outside is frightful there's nothing better than a bit of comfort food to boost your mood.

With its extensive Christmas display tempting customers through the doors Charnley's offers the ideal opportunity to escape from the frosty weather outside.

As well as browsing some of the lovely interior furnishings, and picking up a few last-minute festive decorations, you can have a scrumptious lunch at the cosy Bakehouse cafe.

Having tasted some of the cakes on offer at he till we opted for the Afternoon Tea (£12.95 each with a minimum of two people).

The waitress who brought our food apologised for the over-sized teapot (apparently the smaller ones have a tendency to break) but I wasn't complaining.

One of my 'cafe bugbears' is paying £3 for a cup of tea which is effectively the most over-priced cup of boiling water and a teabag so to get four cups out of my teapot was a welcome surprise.

She also asked if she wanted us to take a picture for us on my phone which I must admit, despite my selfie-obsession, isn't something I've ever come across before.

The sandwiches include egg mayonnaise and cress, home-roasted honey and thyme-glazed ham and mustard, coronation chicken and cheese and spring onion.

The 'tray bakes' were the star of the show including a meringue with cream and strawberry, cherry bakewell (my favourite) and rocky road.

By this point we had already begun to feel pretty stuffed so, feeling like some sort of overt shoplifter, I wrapped them in serviettes to take home for after our tea.

The Bakehouse also does a Deluxe Afternoon Tea (£19.95 per person with prosecco for £2.95 extra) but as we hadn't booked in advance we had to settle for the 'ordinary version'.

The good thing about the Bakehouse is you can make an afternoon of a visit there - have a leisurely lunch and then take a look around the extended store.

The perfect way to spend a rainy, miserable day.

Food 3.5

Service 4

Value 4

Atmosphere 5

Pros

Cosy surroundings

Homemade cakes

Cons

Can get busy so you might have to wait for your food