Inspired by the North East’s incredible ingredients and passionate producers, we bring you simple food, cooked well.
Our menu offers hearty, homemade sandwiches, toasties, and fresh treats, made to order—a perfect stop on your walk through the scenic Derwent Valley. Take away a hot drink, like our specialty teas, coffees, or hot chocolates, or enjoy them in our nature-surrounded Heritage Centre with glass walls that bring the outdoors in.
We proudly source locally: fresh produce from Oaklands Garden Centre nearby, bread from Barry’s Bakery in Gateshead, meat from Warren Butterworth in Throckley, milk from Browns Dairies in Whickham, and coffee from Tynemouth Coffee Company. By partnering with these suppliers, we’re showcasing the best of what the Land of Oak & Iron and the North East has to offer, while supporting and promoting smaller, local businesses.
Please note, both our café and shop are card payment only.
Operated by the charity Groundwork NE & Cumbria, every purchase supports projects improving the community’s natural, cultural, and industrial heritage. With every sandwich, coffee, or event you attend, you’re helping to enhance the environment and the community around you.
We believe in working together to build a brighter future for everyone. Our initiatives focus on sustainable development, enhancing community well-being, and empowering individuals with the skills they need to succeed. Through our work we aim to improve people’s prospects, create better places and encourage greener choices.
Every coffee, cake, and sandwich you enjoy from our cafe, or every event you attend, directly supports a healthier environment and a stronger community!
Our Menu
Check out our daily specials on the board! Vegan Cheese and GF bread/wraps are available
Daily favourites
Soup of the Day – £6.95 – VE, GFA
Served with a brown roll.
Fish Finger Sandwich – £11.95
Served with leaf, tartare sauce and homemade chips.
Vegetable Chilli – £8.95 – V, VEA
Served with coriander & garlic naan with grated cheddar.
Tandoori Chicken Wrap – £11.95
With raita, leaf, red onion and french fries.
Pie of the Day – £10.95
With homemade chips, jug of gravy & peas.
Roasted Sweet Potato & Vegan Feta Salad – £8.95 – VE
With sundried tomatoes, dressed mixed leaves
& toasted seeds.
Tuna Mayo & Egg Salad – £9.95 – VE, contains nuts
With dressed mixed leaf, red onion, cucumber and olives.
Baked Potato – £7.95
Served with slaw and mixed leaf, and with a choice of: tuna mayo, beans, cheese, beans & cheese or vegetable chilli.
Toasties
All toasties are served with a side of root vegetable crisps. Add a small bowl of homemade chips for £2.
Bacon, Brie & Caramelised Onion Chutney – £9.95
Tuna Mayo & Grated Mozzarella – £8.25
Local Ham & Grated Cheddar – £8.50
Just Cheese (cheddar and mozzarella) – £6.95
Brie & Caramelised Onion Chutney – £7.95
Chicken, Pesto & Mozzarella – £9.95
Sandwiches
All toasties are served with a side of root vegetable crisps. Add a small bowl of homemade chips for £2.
Cheese Ploughman – £7.95 – V
Grated cheddar, caramelised onion chutney, sliced tomato and leaf. White or brown roll.
Tuna Mayonnaise – £8.25
Tuna mayo, leaf and cucumber. White or brown roll.
Houmous & Falafel Wrap – £7.95 – VE
Houmous, falafel, seeds and leaf.
Light Bites & Extras
Homemade Chips – £4.25
Skinny Fries – £3.50
Jug of Gravy – £1.50
Mixed Leaf Salad with House Dressing – £3.95
Chip Butty – £4.95
Cheesy Chips – £5.95
Breakfast
Served from 9am – 11:45am.
Full English Breakfast – £12.95
Two butcher sausages, two crispy bacon, fried egg, hashbrown, flat mushroom, black pudding
beans & toast.
Full Vegetarian Breakfast – £11.95
Two vegan sausages, two hash browns, fried egg, flat mushroom, wilted spinach, beans & toast.
Toasted Muffin – £7.95
Two poached eggs, crispy bacon & homemade ketchup OR two poached eggs, wilted spinach, crumbled feta & chilli flakes (V).
Granola – £6.95
Homemade granola with walnuts & dried banana, served with Greek yoghurt & honey.
Toast – £3.95
2 sliced of white or brown thick bloomer with butter & jam.
Toasted Teacake – £3.95
Large teacake with butter.
Breakfast Baps
Served on either a white or wholemeal bap.
Sausage – £5.95
Bacon – £5.95
Egg – £4.95
Rosemary Flat Mushrooms – £4.95 – VE
Vegan Sausage – £5.50
Extras – £ 1.50
Bacon, sausage, fried egg, flat mushroom, 2 hash browns.
Kids Menu
Available all day
Beans on Thick White Toast – £2.95
Sausage or Bacon Bap – £3.95
Sandwiches – £4.95
Includes a packet of Pom Bears, a box of raisins & either a tuna mayo, cheese or ham sandwich
Available before 11:45
Children’s Small Breakfast – £5.95
Sausage, beans, hash brown, toast & fried egg.
Available after 12pm
Sausage, Beans & Chips – £5.95
Fish Fingers, Beans & Chips – £5.95
At the Land of Oak & Iron café, we are dedicated to providing top-notch cuisine crafted with locally sourced ingredients. Should you have any inquiries or if our dishes don’t meet our usual standards, please don’t hesitate to notify a staff member; we’re here to assist you!
Your feedback is invaluable to us, so after your visit, we’d greatly appreciate it if you could share your thoughts online on platforms like Google or TripAdvisor. Thank you for considering leaving a review—we’re eager to hear about your experience at the Land of Oak & Iron!
Allergy statement: we do not operate an allergen free kitchen. Although we do our very best to seperate allergens, menu items may contain or come into contact with wheat, eggs, nuts, fish, peanuts, soy, celery, mustard, sesame, sulphites, lupin and milk.
For more information, please speak with a member of our team.
Lots To See & Do!
Heritage Centre Shop
We are inspired by the fantastic artists and makers from around the North East. It’s our pleasure to give them space to show off their talents and the opportunity to sell their works.
Our little shop features a range of hand-crafted products from local makers and creative businesses, along with ethical items, and games and toys for families. We also have a great book area too, with publications from local authors, and books about local heritage and walks.
(Please note our Heritage Centre shop and café are card payments only)
Land of Oak & Iron Heritage Centre Shop. Winlaton Mill
Meet the maker
As part of the charity Groundwork, we are keen to support local artists and makers through our programme of art exhibitions and Meet the Maker events. We host individual Meet the Maker events and markets, along with 6 exhibitions a year in our Inside Out Gallery, showcasing local, creative talent.
See our event-directory listings to find out more
Publications
We stock a range of books about the heritage, folklore and birdlife of the Land of Oak & Iron, published by the Land of Oak & Iron Trust.
Tales of Derwentdale
Local tales and the remarkable story of the man who originally had them published.
Men of Iron
One family’s influence on the industrial development of the Lower Derwent Valley.
Thread of Iron
An authoritative account of the history of iron and steel making in the Land of Oak & Iron.
A History of Birds in the Derwent Valley
An eclectic compilation of texts and gleanings from local ornithologist Michael Turner.
Lavishly illustrated with the work of local photographers and artists.
Crowley’s
An Industrial and social history of the Crowley ironworks 1691 –1966
Releasing the Genie of Coal
Describes the national significance of the Derwent Valley in the development of the mining industry, and questions whether the level of innovation involved could be applied to the global challenges we face.
Inside Out Gallery
We also host exhibitions of local artist’s work in the windows of our Inside Out Gallery, most of which is available to purchase
