The tiny village of Craster is renowned for its kippers. But that's not the only 'world famous' food you can pick up in this tourist hotspot on the Northumberland Coast.
For those who arrive by car, which is a large percentage of visitors, it's impossible to miss Piper's Pitch in the Quarry car park. The van is owned by Andy Grant, who travels nine miles from North Charlton every day.
He serves a range of sandwiches using locally-sourced ingredients for less than a fiver. For some time, Piper's Pitch was the top-rated budget eat in Northumberland on Tripadvisor.
Read more : The quiet Northumberland fishing village which has one pub and is so beautiful you'll want to move there
Recently, it has been usurped by The Riverside Cafe in Tweedmouth, but it's still up there at no. 2 on the travel website.
Andy, who is originally from Glasgow, moved down to Northumberland after falling in love with the area when travelling down to the Rothbury Music Festival each year with his pipe band. Fifteen years ago he opened Piper's Pitch in the Quarry car park in Craster and it's now a permanent and much-loved fixture in the sleepy village.
Andy said: "I play the bagpipes and I was a football coach, I coached a junior team round here. I used to be well known for playing my pipes behind the bar in Christon Bank and we combined that with the football and that's how we got the name Piper's Pitch!"
Mid-march is a quiet time in the village. But during the summer months Andy and his girlfriend Lorna are here seven days a week and don't get many breaks.
Andy said: "When the tourists are here and the schools are on holiday it can be extremely busy. Over the pandemic, we've been really busy because of the staycations.
"But before that, we've had people coming from all over the world. We've been on a TV show in New Zealand and on the radio in Canada where the presenters tried our food."
There's an extensive sandwich menu. But Andy points to the Craster Kipper 'N' Bun and the World Famous Auchtermuchty as his two most popular.
There's also a more expensive and outlandish dish on the menu. The Craster Tower has just about every conceivable ingredient served at Piper's Pitch in it.
He continued: "They're a summer sandwich, all the young ones like them. We have a big family who come over from Amsterdam every year. Sixteen of them, and they all have the Craster Tower or the Auchtermuchty."
As we chatted, Andy was rustling up my own sandwich to try. Having already visited the smokehouse and conscious how strongly I already smelt of fish, I decided against the Craster Kipper 'N' Bun, and plumped for the Auchtermuchty instead.
Named after a village in Fife, lots of visitors struggle to pronounce the name, with some affectionately referring to it as an Arctic Monkey. The bun is packed with slices of haggis with rashers of bacon in between, and lashings of 'Rothbury Rager,' a medium hot chilli relish made by the Mad Jam Woman, another local food business based in nearby Amble.
And after arriving in Craster famished, the Auchtermuchty really hit the spot. Most of the flavour came from the haggis but the Rothbury Rager gave a bit of a kick too. If you're worried a mere sandwich isn't enough to keep you going for a walk up to Dunstanburgh Castle or down to Howick, don't be. This sandwich is packed!
There are a couple of tables outside Piper's Pitch and a wooden counter. If it's busy I'd recommend heading down to the harbour and enjoying the views.
Since we visited on a quiet day in March close to Andy packing up, I can't promise that he'll play the bagpipes for you. However, you will get a cracking sandwich and still have change from a fiver!
To see the Piper's Pitch menu, visit its website.
