WHEN it comes to grabbing a cuppa and a bite in Carlisle, there's no better spot for it than a cafe that's steeped and engrained into the city's history.
The Old Engine House, at West Walls, was once a part of the traditional 19th century fire station in Carlisle but now offers exquisite coffee and light bites for regulars and visitors alike.
The cozy spot was taken over by Neapolitan Marco Aveta and his wife Carol Ferguson in 2016, after both were living abroad working in the hotelier industry, unfortunately however, Carol passed away in 2019.
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"We always wanted to come back to Europe to own something that would be a bed and breakfast and we fell in love with the Old Engine House as soon as we saw it, it was something small but at the same time it had a charm - and when we worked together it was very nice - it still is of course, but just different.
"The building is the last standing building of what used to be the fire station of Carlisle in the late 1800 - 1900's, quite a few years back now, when fire engines used to be pulled by horses.
"The Old Engine House however, was more the smithy house, where the blacksmith used to take care of the horses shoes and coaches wheels and the likes.
"It's very unique in its history and now it's a lovely cafe often described by many TripAdvisor reviews as a 'hidden gem' because of it's location off the beaten track," he said.
Marco uses his experience as a chef to curate the sought after lunch and breakfast bites but as a small business, they try to use as much local produce as possible in Cumbria, priding themselves on variety.
"Obviously you can take the Italian out of Italy but not Italy out of the Italian, in certain ways there is always a bit of influence in the food but I don't try to be another Italian place in Carlisle," he said.
"I'd like the business to keep gaining new customers, and keep it as a community place and even when I eventually move on and someone else takes it over, I hope someone keeps it as a business, supporting the local community and keeps that village feeling that many city centres are losing," he said.
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