Bryson's of Keswick keeps baking Lakeland Plum Bread in the heart of town

On a wet afternoon in Keswick, few things are more welcome than a pot of tea and something freshly baked. For generations of locals and visitors, Bryson's has been the place to find both.

The bakery's story began when John Bryson returned from the Second World War and opened a small bakery in the heart of Keswick. Booths, which stocks Bryson's products, dates this to 1946, while trade press gives 1947. Either way, the business has been baking on the same site in the town centre ever since.

Over the decades Bryson's has grown well beyond its first shop. The bakery expanded into the two neighbouring properties, making room for a traditional tearoom that seats around 70 people, together with a coffee bar for about 20 more.

Visit Lake District recommends the cream tea in the tearoom above the bakery, describing a warm welcome to go with it. It is the kind of place where walkers in boots sit alongside families and regulars who have been coming for years.

Bryson's best-known creation is Lakeland Plum Bread, a lightly spiced fruit loaf that former owner John Buckley once said had put the business firmly on the map. Visit Lake District suggests it is at its best toasted and well buttered, and the bakery describes its specialities as made to old and secret recipes.

The business has also spread its reach across Cumbria. Alongside the Keswick bakery there are shops in Cockermouth, Bowness-on-Windermere, Appleby and Kirkby Stephen, and a wholesale trade that takes Bryson's baking further afield, including onto the shelves of Booths.

Like many long-established family bakeries, Bryson's has passed through different hands. Trade publication British Baker reported that John Buckley sold the business to Debra Travis, a former accountant and financial director, after nearly 12 years in charge.

Bryson's Keswick bakery and tearoom sits in the centre of town, on the same site it has occupied since the 1940s. Its plum bread and other bakes can also be found in its other Cumbrian shops and in selected Booths stores.