FOR some time I have been meaning to visit this refurbished venue. Thankfully there has been no medical need to visit the hospital so completing a shift there for a local charity presented just the opportunity I was seeking.

The coffee shop is located on the right through the main entrance. It is well away from the ward area and shows little evidence of being attached to a hospital.

The caf is light, airy and roomy. There are both round and square tables with excellent access for wheelchairs and walking frames. It is self-service, combining help from behind the servery with do-it-yourself for hot drinks.

There were two of us. One cherry scone and a fruit one, each with butter, coffee and a tea cost £2.70. We both agreed that the scones were light and fresh. The drinks were fair. These we organised ourselves from a dispenser into polystyrene mugs. It was UHT milk in sachets!

Healthy food seemed to abound. That is excluding the large sausage rolls being kept hot! There was plenty of fresh fruit, a good selection of sandwiches and baguettes, and jacket potatoes.

Even the cakes appeared low in calories.

A notice indicated that at lunchtime and in the evening you could indulge in steak and kidney pudding, chicken and leek pudding or spring rolls with chips or jacket potatoes.

More tantalising, there was lamb's liver and onion or Italian-style meat balls (both £3.85). For something completely different at £3.95 there was the lamb tagine - tender pieces of meat cooked in olive oil and spices with red onion, apricot and almonds.

The cafe was surprisingly busy for 10am. How it copes at lunch time or at the height of visiting hours I cannot say.

Updated: 08:34 Saturday, March 12, 2005