I scream, you scream; we all scream for ice cream!
It’s early summer time, and after a somewhat sluggish start to the season, we’ve finally been promised that it’s going to get warmer. We all know what that means – it’s time for ice cream! I mean, you can eat ice cream at any time of the year, of course, but the (hopefully) warm days are coming where you can sit outside with a cone or a tub of sweet goodness, getting your sticky fill of tasty flavours. The North boasts any number of independent dairies and ice cream makers, and below I’ve rounded up three that might tickle your tastebuds as we reach the warmer months…
All the below dairies offer both sorbets and vegan ice creams, to suit different dietary needs. Luxury Lakes Ice Cream also creates it’s own brand of doggy ice cream, so our pups get a treat as well!
Wallings Ice Cream – Lancashire
Wallings Ice Cream is just down the road from me, and now that I know all the yummy flavours and different options they have on offer, it’s going to be a battle not to wend my way down there too often! Found just outside the village of Cockerham, Wallings is celebrating it’s fortieth birthday this year (Happy Birthday!). It’s shop and barn café are welcoming (not only serving ice cream), and you can also go on a dairy tour/ice cream making tour on site as well.
On arriving I was drawn, of course, to the “build your own sundae.” They have these A5 recipe cards where you can fill in exactly what you want, from number of scoops, to flavours, to sauce, to toppings, before handing it in and having your ice cream creation delivered some moments later, just the way you asked for it! So, if you want a toffee-apple-and-dark-chocolate-with-strawberry-sauce-and-marshmallow-pieces sundae, you can! I tend to go a bit more traditional, and I think I had salted caramel and blackberry, with a flake. Fruity flavours have always been my favourite.
Wallings also creates its own line of Gelato flavours, but only a small batch is created each week so the flavours change regularly. You can follow them on social media to find out what flavours will be available that week.
Luxury Lakes Ice Cream – Cumbria
On the other side of the scale, you’ll only be able to find Luxury Lakes Ice Cream at outlets/restaurants, or in supermarkets that stock it – they don’t have their own café like Wallings do. That being said, it’s everywhere in the Lake District, so it’s still fairly easy to get your hands on it. And a good thing too, because Luxury Lakes Ice Cream is delicious! They also work with local Cumbrian food brands to create unique Lake District flavours of ice cream, such as Kendal Mint Cream and Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding.
Made just outside of Kendal for the past twenty-seven years, Luxury Lakes Ice Cream have won any number of Good Food awards and Cumbria Life awards for their ice creams and celebration of the landscape, expressed through their food and flavours.
brymor ice cream – North Yorkshire
Over the other side of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and near where I hail from, you can find Brymor Ice Cream Parlour, a much sought after destination for birthday parties and on hot days throughout North Yorkshire. Found near High Jervaulx/Masham amidst the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales, it’s a perfect place for ice cream if you should find yourself in that neck of the woods. There’s also a play area for kids, a play area for dogs(!), and the opportunity to take a dairy tour as well.
Similar to Luxury Lakes, they also tap into the excellent food and drink culture of their local area, such as the Black Sheep Beer Ice Cream, made with the flavours of the world-famous Black Sheep Brewery in Masham.
What’s your favourite flavour of ice cream? Are you more of a death-by-chocolate sort, or do you prefer the fruitier flavours that is *definitely* one of your five-a-day? Are there other northern ice cream producers that I should know about? Let me know by leaving a comment or by sending an email to bryony@thenorthishlass.co.uk!