By the time I reached Herbs Restaurant, I'd already worked up an appetite - and that was even before the walk in Skipton Woods.

The reason was the sheer volume of people who poured into Skipton last Saturday and, like me, were circling every car park desperately looking for a parking place.

After battling my way through the crowds - and past the people queueing outside the pork-pie emporium round the corner - I made it to the restaurant, stomach rumbling and half an hour late.

Herbs - a wholefood and vegetarian restaurant - is upstairs from the Healthy Life shop which is an Aladdin's Cave of goodies for veggies, healthy-living types and anyone who needs exotic ingredients like angelica for cooking.

My friend Sarah was already in situ with daughter Anna - after a similar hunt for a parking spot.

She was making light work of a hearty bowl of red-bean soup (£1.75) - tasty without being too spicy - washed down with apple juice (80p). And Anna was keeping herself amused with a banana buttie (they do child-sized portions) and a freshly-squeezed orange juice (£1.25).

I made up time with mushroom-and-potato pie, a small salad bowl (£4.65) and elderflower cordial (90p). The "pie" was more of a stew consistency, without a crust, but the meal was full of flavours and very filling.

The menu includes sandwiches and a range of salads as well as daily specials like the pie, although there were also Mediterranean pancakes and pepper-and-broccoli flan available when we visited.

Herbs also boasts an impressive array of home-made cakes - which we each had to try, of course.

I tucked into warm Apricot Bakewell with cream (£2) which had a good texture and I would highly recommend.

Sarah went for warm treacle tart and cream (£1.75) which was another winner and Anna's orange-and-raisin cake (£1.60) - which we ate most of - was moist with a fleeting hint of cinnamon.

All in all, Herbs is an ideal, and obviously popular, place to rest your weary feet and refuel before embarking on a gentle stroll to work it all off again.

Catrina Dick

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.