Cartmel Village Shop, Cartmel

Parkgate House, The Square, Cartmel, Cumbria, LA11 6QB
01539 558 300

Cartmel Village Shop's sticky toffee pudding is the kind of thing that gives Gillian McKeith sleepless nights. This deluxe dessert - rich, light date-laced sponge slathered in a proper thick, buttery toffee sauce - has won a loyal cult following across the UK, via mail order (, and distribution through more discerning delicatessens.

Given this claim to fame, you might expect CVS to be a pudding-themed novelty shop. Not a bit of it. Instead, this is one of those exemplary delis that is a useful community resource and a lure to passing foodie tourists; a culinary Aladdin's cave where you can buy everything from fruit, veg and Sam Smith's lager to chocolates, rice and chic kitchenware.