The railway station cafe near Bristol serving food that’s worth a special journey

The sign above the door may still say ‘waiting room’ but the timewarp building on platform one of Yatton railway station has been a community cafe for the past 13 years.

The Strawberry Line Cafe is a not-for-profit business that provides training and employment for young people with learning difficulties and additional needs.

Since 2016, the cafe has also run a cycle hire from a converted shipping container in the car park behind. With a range of E-bikes, tandems, adaptive bikes and trikes, it has become a hugely popular service for families heading for the nearby Strawberry Line.

The Strawberry Line path takes cyclists and walkers along the converted branch line from Yatton to Cheddar, a route that until the 1960s transported Cheddar’s world-famous strawberries to the London fruit markets.

The cafe proudly displays the railway history with framed photos of trains from yesteryear, displays of old GWR Yatton luggage labels and vintage clocks.

A black and white aerial photo from 1954 shows The Bristol & Exeter Railway at Yatton, which was at the time a junction for the short branch lines taking passengers to Clevedon and Cheddar. Those were the days.

Open from early morning through to the afternoon, this is the sort of busy independent platform cafe we need more of.

It’s far more interesting than overpriced, bland railway franchises like Pumpkin Cafe or yet another mini Starbucks.

And the people working at Strawberry Line Cafe are clearly proud of their business and the fact it helps people who might otherwise struggle to find meaningful paid employment.

You only have to look at the baskets of homemade cakes and biscuits with handwritten labels for ‘Lucy’s cookies’ or ‘Callum’s Australian crunch’ to see these are items beaming with pride.

The moist and chewy date and honey flapjack (£2.75) and crisp, buttery ‘Lucy’s cookie’ (£1.75) were far better than similar products sold in coffee chains. They were both faultless.

In the morning, the cafe serves all-day cooked breakfasts, breakfast baps, scrambled eggs on toast and toasted teacakes.

At lunchtime, there are freshly prepared rolls for £3.75, homemade soup for £5.50, hot paninis (£7.25) and jacket potatoes (£7.25). Most dishes are available to takeaway - idea for commuters rushing for their train.

Well made food, sensible prices and a big-hearted business that supports young people with learning difficulties, this railway station cafe is well worth a detour in its own right, whether you’re catching a train or not.

Strawberry Line Cafe, Platform 1, Yatton Station, Yatton, BS49 4AJ.