Followers of my blog may remember my friend Vicky who came on several vintage/plus size jaunts with me in previous years.
Sadly, Vicky left the job she was in and through no deliberate fault, time passed and before we both knew it a LOT of time had passed and we had lost touch.
So, a few months ago we both seemed to realise this and for whatever reason both got in touch again at pretty much the same time!
It must have been fate.
Well, we decided that too much time had passed and we didn’t want anymore to fly by and arranged to meet up for afternoon tea.
I say we arranged… We tried to arrange, but the place we wanted to go to was fully booked up for 5 or 6 weeks.
Never daunted, we booked for 6 weeks time and waited for the day to come.
Vintage Style meets Funky attitude
Finally it arrived. Saturday 27th April. Vicky had booked a table for two at a local historical site near to us; Delapre Abbey a recently refurbished site with woodlands and the beautiful Orangery where would be taking tea.
The Orangery is in two sections; the general area where you can turn up and try an array of delicious sandwiches, cakes and more. Then there is the billiard room which is only accessible for those who have pre-booked afternoon tea.
The Billiard Room
We were shown into the Billiard Room by a lovely waitress and taken to our table. Huge square armchairs with comfy coloured cushioned awaited. Perfect.
The afternoon tea is a pre-set menu, unless you have an intolerance or ask for something different. There were over a dozen different teas that you could choose from which were also unlimited.
Extra Menu
I decided to go for Citrus Earl. I love my Earl Grey and this sounded perfect; citrus undertones and grapefruit too. Vicky went for Earl Grey and we were served two large teapots. Brilliant!
Tea for two
The stand containing our food was soon delivered. The bottom tier contained finger sandwiches. Four Salmon, four Egg and Cress and four ham and mustard.
They were fresh and delicious. Being someone who doesn’t like smoked salmon, Vicky was happy to eat more of those and I had an extra ham and egg one instead.
The full Monty
The second tier contained sweet treats; a snowball, Viennese whirl, meringue, fresh strawberries and a little tiny cup which contained a lemon flavour creamy dessert. This was topped with a coulis and a blueberry.
Citrus grey
The top tier held home made scones, clotted cream and jam. Just as an afternoon tea should be.
We took our time over the whole procedure, eventually asking for a second pot of tea each. This time I had my normal Earl Grey and Vicky went for the Citrus Grey on my recommendation.
Tea Time
We slowly made our way through the sandwiches. Chatting and catching up with each other and what had been going on over the previous months.
Yum!
The sandwiches went down well, and then we hit the desserts. Every little morsel was delightful. As someone who really doesn’t like Snowballs, I was pleasantly surprised by their one. It really was divine.
All home made
Finally we got onto the scones and I have to say, they were outstanding. Full of fruit, light and tasty, once topped with the clotted cream and jam, it was out of this world.
Fresh Scones
It was finally time to finish our lovely tea and pay the bill. For the two of us with unlimited tea it came to a fabulous £29.90. An absolute bargain.
Divine Desserts
It was lovely to see Vicky again and we had a relaxed couple of hours catching up and eating lovely food.
Ladies that Tea
I highly recommend The Orangery at Delapre Abbey and I know it won’t be long before I return for a second helping.
Ready to goUntil next time,
SPSG xxx