THE Lakeland Motor Museum, just off the A590 at Backbarrow, is without question a fascinating visitor attraction.

It has a range of exhibits from the earliest cars and motorbikes right up to modern day versions – but another really good thing is that you don’t have to pay an entry fee to enjoy its eatery, the Cafe Ambio.

My son was visiting from his home in Thailand a couple of weekends ago and I thought, him being a petrolhead, that he would enjoy the museum.

He was, as I predicted, impressed by the eclectic assortment of motor memorabilia; but he was no less delighted when a chance came to fill up his personal fuel tank.

Cafe Ambio is in a wonderful setting overlooking the River Leven and you can to eat inside or out.

As Richard is used to warmer climes, we selected a table indoors and set about examining the tempting offerings.

Cafe Ambio functions, in part, in the manner of a self-service restaurant. You can select snacks and cakes and drinks from the counter and take them back to your table. However, the cooked meals are delivered by a waitress in the time-honoured manner.

The delivery in this case was a full roast beef dinner (£7.95) for yours truly and a Cumberland sausage and onion with mash (£6.95) for the lad.

And said son declared his choice a tasty treat indeed, which is saying something for someone who thinks most English food is boring after spending the last 20 years sampling the delights of Thai cuisine.

Although the meat in my roast beef dish was perhaps a little tougher than I would normally have liked, I have no complaints whatever about the rest. The veg was perfectly cooked and the Yorkshire pud would have made my granny proud!