The Running Fox in Felton is a bakery and café next to the River Coquet.
We’d heard lots of good things about their breakfasts, so we decided to give it a try while we were staying nearby. We went with our two Golden Retrievers. Dogs aren’t allowed inside the Felton café, but they can sit with you at the outdoor tables. Luckily, it was a warm, sunny morning and there was plenty of space.
The food was what really stood out. This wasn’t your average café breakfast. The ingredients, presentation, and portion sizes were all better than we expected. We’d gladly come back here any time we’re staying around this part of Northumberland.
If you’re looking for dog-friendly Northumberland stays, you can use our site to find the right place for your next break.
The Running Fox in Felton allows well-behaved dogs in its outdoor seating area, but they cannot accompany you inside the café. The outdoor area is cute, and the tables are uncovered, so the weather will make a big difference. On a wet or particularly cold morning, we would probably choose another branch.
There was more than enough room around our table for two large dogs. Both settled comfortably beside and underneath the table while we ate, and we did not see any other dogs during our breakfast. The current Running Fox dog policy states that dogs remain restricted to the outdoor area at Felton due to the building’s layout.
If you need to sit inside or the weather’s bad, try the Copper Kettle in Bamburgh with your dogs.
Watch Our Visit
We were staying at a local cabin park and wanted somewhere nearby for a proper breakfast.
A family member recommended the cheese-scone breakfast after trying it herself. It sounded so different from what we’d usually order in the morning, so it was always going to be our first choice.
Since we were staying in a dog-friendly log cabin near Felton, we could get to the café in just a few minutes.
Felton was the first Running Fox location to open in 2011. The business has grown to five cafés in Northumberland, but this small stone building by the River Coquet is where it all began.
We arrived without booking and found a parking space across the river. From there, it was only a short walk over the bridge to the café.
The stone frontage is easy to recognise, with The Running Fox sign above the large window. The flowers and planting outside added plenty of colour and made the little seating area feel particularly attractive on a sunny morning.
The café is directly across the River Coquet from the Northumberland Arms. The two experiences are very different, with one suited to breakfast and baked goods and the other offering restaurant-style evening meals.
You can read about our visit to the Northumberland Arms with dogs if you are deciding where else to eat nearby.
Spoiler alert: this was also very good!
Inside, the café had a warm, rustic appearance. The display of cakes, pies and other baked goods immediately caught our attention, and several customers came and went while we were there.
The food is the clearest thing we remember about our morning at The Running Fox.
Everything looked carefully prepared, and nothing about the breakfast felt cheap or thrown together.
The best way to describe it is: the food was high, high quality.
The cheese-scone breakfast turned out to be the Foxless Scone.
It consisted of a cheese scone topped with chestnut mushrooms, tomatoes, fried eggs and melted cheddar. The two fried eggs were cooked perfectly, while the mushrooms and melted cheese made it particularly rich and filling.
It was unlike anything we had eaten for breakfast before. The cheese scone made the entire dish feel more substantial than ordinary eggs on toast, and the presentation matched the taste.
It justified the recommendation.
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The Full English arrived on a large plate with a fried egg, bacon, sausage, black pudding, beans, grilled tomatoes and a tattie scone.
It was a proper, generously sized breakfast rather than a reduced children’s version. Everything looked well cooked, and the different ingredients were arranged neatly instead of being piled onto the plate.
Another meal came inside a big Northumberland stottie.
The stottie was filled with sausages and fried eggs, with a small pot of sauce served on the side. It was a substantial breakfast and probably the closest of our meals to something you could pick up and eat as a sandwich, although it was large enough to need a plate and cutlery.
The final breakfast was a large, fresh chocolate croissant with apple juice. The croissant was far bigger than the packaged versions you might expect from an ordinary café and went down well.
We also ordered tea and coffee. The same attention to freshly prepared café food also stood out during our dog-friendly stop at The Rolling Pin in Alnwick.
Our food arrived after approximately 15 to 20 minutes, which felt totally fine for four freshly prepared breakfasts.
The initial welcome was friendly, and the staff offered to bring our drinks outside.
Customers were coming and going inside, with several appearing to collect sandwiches, cakes and drinks rather than sitting down for a full meal.
We were the only family using the outdoor tables, so the area felt relaxed and uncrowded. The dogs could settle, and we had enough room for the plates, drinks and leads.
The flowers around the frontage made the outside area beautiful and very picturesque. However, it is worth remembering that the tables are not sheltered. Our experience would have been quite different in heavy rain.
We’d happily go back for breakfast, though next time we might try Longframlington or Longhoughton, since dogs are allowed inside there.
Northumberland Dog Stays is built around places we have visited with our own dogs, from cafés and pubs to beaches, walks and days out. Explore our dog-friendly Northumberland blog to find more places we have tried across the county.
