The Canalside Heritage Centre was our port of call today for lunch after a walk along the canal from Nottingham towards Beeston Marina.

It is located just at the point where the canal meets the River Trent by the lock gates and lock keepers house. They have a tea room, really nice garden, visitor centre and most importantly a gift shop, you have to have a gift shop.

When we walk up this way we usually stop off for a bite to eat at the Boathouse Cafe, however on a recent bimble we noted that the Heritage Centre also has a cafe and did food so this time we were checking them out.

It seemed a bit posher but the people like us getting there lunch were not at all posh lol

LUNCHTIME SNACK MENU

It was sadly too late for breakfast so we were looking instead at the lunch menu which was essentially jacket spuds, toasties, and sandwiches.

There was a separate board that was offering hot dogs (vegan and meat) but I skipped straight past that to the main board.

I was kind of hungry so a toasted sandwich with or without salad just wasn’t going to cut it for me today, and a single hot dog would have left a gaping hole in my belly.

JACKET POTATO WITH CHILLI AND CHEESE

I always seem to have the same things so today, as we had earnt the calories, I decided on a Jacket Potato with chilli con carne, cheese wasn’t an official option but they were happy to add a portion on top.

I was only really expecting a little sprinkle of Cheese but it looked more like I had got the whole bag, so much that I could hardly see the Chilli Con Carne, and then it was even harder to spot the Jacket Potato under both 🙂

You really could not complain about the sizes of the portion served here at the Canal Heritage Centre Cafe!

JACKET POTATO WITH TUNA MAYO

My bimbling companion was also having a jacket potato only this one was to be with tuna mayo another baked spud classic topping!

First thoughts were “How Much Tuna Mayo!” Just like with my Chilli topped one it was hard to see the potato beneath that mound of Tuna topping

Both potatoes came with an equally large portion of salad. Nothing too fancy just lettuce, tomato, cucumber and red onion. I gamely attempted to eat most of mine and I reckon I did a fair bit of damage to the pile. To the untrained eye it probably would appear that I had left most of it 🙂

Outside as mentioned they do have a lovely garden which has really progressed since my last visit here, The raised beds are in and they have plenty of seating all ready for the warmer weather.

Having said that there were plenty of hardy souls today out there with their dogs, muddy paws, and muddy boots.

Attached to the cottages they have a raised seating area where you can grab whatever sun you can find and also get a great view over the weir to the river.

I might save that for the summer time though as today the wind was blowing the spray from the engorged river over the fence.

The Canal Side Heritage Centre is located at Weir Cottages, Canal Side, Beeston, Nottingham, NG9 1LZ. It is a good walk along the river and canal from Town, and about a 10-15 minute walk from Beeston Town Centre.

You can also park up on the road by the canal that leads up to the canal side. The number 18 bus also stops on the road just by the Marina entrance

Check them out also on their Facebook Page and on their Instagram Profile