The Running Fox, Kirkharle

Courtyard, Kirkharle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE19 2PE
Tel:
01830 540229

10.00am - 5.00pm

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About

The Running Fox sits within Kirkharle Courtyard, among beautifully converted old stone buildings just off the A696. Kirkharle was the birthplace of Lancelot "Capability" Brown in 1716, and the courtyard now sits within the landscape he began learning his trade on.

The menu is proper British fare — soup, home-baked pies, thick sandwiches, cream teas, fabulous cakes and good coffee. The Foxy Pie, with potato wedges, mushy peas and plenty of gravy, is the one to order.

Good to know

Dog friendly throughout, with water bowls offered without asking. Stone walls, big windows and a courtyard that catches the sun. Online booking comes with a civilised two-hour slot and is recommended if the café is likely to be busy, though walk-ins are often accommodated too.

Our Time at The Running Fox, Kirkharle

There are certain places where you already know what you're going to order before you've taken your coat off.

For us, The Running Fox is becoming one of them.

We've visited a couple of the Fox's Northumberland cafés now, with Powburn currently sitting rather proudly at the top of Tom's Best Breakfasts in Northumberland.

This time we headed to Kirkharle for Sunday lunch. And while the building was new to us, thankfully the pie wasn't.

First Impressions

Kirkharle is a lovely setting for a café.

The Running Fox sits within the old stone buildings of Kirkharle Courtyard, surrounded by Northumberland countryside west of Morpeth.

There's history here too. Kirkharle was the birthplace of Lancelot "Capability" Brown, born on the estate in 1716, and the landscape gardener spent his early years here before going on to reshape some of Britain's grandest estates.

The café itself feels entirely at home in the setting. Stone walls and floors, big windows, solid wooden tables and plenty of natural light. Outside, the courtyard catches the sun and would be particularly tempting on a warm afternoon.

Inside feels rustic rather than styled to look rustic. We like that.

Breakfast... Nearly

We arrived at around 11.30am, having managed to miss breakfast. Only just.

The chap front of house couldn't have been more accommodating and told us that if we really wanted breakfast, he'd see what he could do.

Good start.

As it happened, all four of us were ready for lunch. And more specifically... Foxy Pie.

We've eaten it at other Running Fox cafés, so there wasn't much discussion required.

A proper home-baked pie served with potato wedges, mushy peas, plenty of gravy and bread and butter.

It is gloriously unfashionable food. No micro-herbs. No mysterious smear across the plate. Just a very good pie and everything you'd hope somebody would put beside it.

What We Like About The Running Fox

The menu is full of what we'd describe as good British café food.

There are homemade soups, substantial sandwiches, pies, cream teas, cakes and good coffee. The portions are generous and you shouldn't leave wondering whether you ought to have ordered a side of chips.

But perhaps the biggest compliment we can give Kirkharle is that it was exactly as good as the other Running Fox cafés we've visited.

That sounds less exciting than it actually is. Consistency is difficult.

The pie we already loved tasted like the pie we remembered. The portions were the same. The bread was good. The gravy arrived in suitably generous quantities.

When you've driven somewhere specifically because you fancy something you've eaten before, that's precisely what you want.

Dog Friendly? Very.

This is somewhere we'd happily return with a dog.

Ours settled beneath the table without any fuss and one of the first questions from the staff was whether we'd like a water bowl.

There were dogs at the next table. And the next. Nobody appeared remotely bothered by any of them.

Excellent.

We were also eating with two very small members of the party, plus the accompanying pram, bags and enormous quantity of equipment that babies mysteriously require for even the shortest excursion.

Again, no drama. The pram fitted behind the table, the staff were welcoming and we never felt as though we were in anyone's way. That counts for quite a lot.

Anything We'd Change?

One thing. The toilets.

It's a very minor criticism of somewhere we otherwise thoroughly enjoyed, but we think they could do with an upgrade.

We've noticed much the same at Powburn. We appreciate these cafés occupy older buildings and that's a large part of their charm, but better facilities would lift the overall experience — particularly for families arriving with babies and young children.

It certainly wouldn't stop us returning. And we'll almost certainly be back.

Do You Need to Book?

We would.

The Running Fox cafés are popular and can become busy, particularly around lunch and at weekends.

Booking also makes the whole thing rather civilised, with a generous two-hour table allocation rather than the feeling that somebody is mentally calculating how quickly you can finish your coffee.

That said, we've called in without booking before and the staff have often managed to find us somewhere. If you're making a special journey, though, we'd reserve a table.

Tom's Verdict

The Running Fox at Kirkharle does something increasingly difficult to find.

It serves proper food, in generous portions, in a lovely setting, without trying too hard.

It's somewhere you can turn up in walking boots with a dog, meet friends for lunch, bring a baby and a pram, order an enormous slice of cake afterwards and nobody considers any of that unusual.

And crucially, it maintains the standard we've come to expect from The Running Fox elsewhere.

Powburn still holds the breakfast crown. But Kirkharle? We'd happily drive west for another Foxy Pie.

Tom's Notebook

We combined lunch at Kirkharle with an easy afternoon walk around Bolam Lake — read our Sunday Journal.