The Jack & Jill Tearoom at Scaling Dam

The Jack & Jill at Scaling Dam had been on my list of places to visit in forever. The food and cakes on their Facebook page always look so tempting. We finally made it there in summer 2021 when we were staying at nearby Saltburn. 

If you are looking for somewhere to stop off on the way to North Yorkshire or beyond (we stopped off en-route to Yorkshire Wildlife Park), the Jack & Jill is a billion times better than a service station. It is directly off the A171 road which takes you across the North Yorkshire Moors.

I would also recommend as one of those places that's worth a drive out for and perhaps as a venue to meet for a spot of lunch or brunch with friends and family. Scaling Dam reservoir is directly opposite if you fancy a walk before/ afterwards.  The Jack & Jill is around 60 miles / 1 hour 15 minutes drive from Newcastle and not too far from Darlington/Middlesbrough/Hartlepool. 

The Jack & Jill does not welcome dogs inside (at the moment) but dogs on leads are welcome at the outdoor tables. You can book or just walk in (bookings only for afternoon tea).

The staff are lovely but due to many factors (including the fact that everything is freshly prepared to order), the Jack & Jill doesn't offer the quickest of service (although you can order takwaway from the Sneaky Fox hatch when open) so it somewhere I would recommend for a leisurely stop off rather than a quick bite to eat. 

Inside there are a few different areas to choose from including sofas in the barn and a nice and bright conservatory with views of the reservoir. 

And outside there are several tables, covered booths, a children's play park, ping pong tables and adventure golf. 

No bookings for the golf/ping ping, just pay on arrival. 

A coffee with reservoir views was a lovely way to start the day for me. 

You can also stay overnight if you fancy making a weekend of it. 

Afternoon tea is for pre-bookings only. The cake counter looked SO good and everything was homemade. It looks like somewhere to keep in mind if you like afternoon tea and are looking to try somewhere new. 

Below were our menus in Summer 2021 (click on the images to make them larger). I found there to be a very good choice and prices were reasonable too. See their Facebook page for up-to-date menus. 

The kids especially loved that there was a waffle menu. I believe they have dedicated menus for GF, V and Ve and offer homemade dairy-free cakes too. 

As mentioned above, there was a wait for food but it was definitely worth it. Everything was so good and reasonably priced too. On our visit, they took your order from your table and you paid at the end but this may have been down to restrictions at the time. Look at those waffles! 

There is a large free car park at the Jack & Jill and you are just across the road from Scaling Dam reservoir. Scaling Dam offers family walks (some with wheelchair access), water sports (including kayaking, paddleboarding and sailing), fishing and lots of wildlife. The full circular route is 4.6km and should take 1.5-2 hours.

There is a downloadable map on the Scaling Dam website if you fancy it. Of course, you could just walk part of the route if visiting with little legs. There are bird hides and you may spot weasel, roe deer, hares, the common shrew and more. Find out more about Scaling Dam here. 

We really enjoyed our visit to the Jack & Jill Tearoom. Gorgeous views and delicious food were the standouts for me and it was a leisurely way to start the day with the family before our drive into Yorkshire. I love that there is an outdoor play park, adventure golf and ping pong too as well as the reservoir for walks/wildlife spotting so there is lots to keep you occupied if you are looking for a few hours out/somewhere to meet up with friends with nice food and plenty to keep the kids entertained. 

Follow the Jack & Jill Tearoom and check their current opening hours over on their Facebook page here: 
https://www.facebook.com/TheJackandJillTeaRoom/