Afternoon tea in Hampshire

Well I could have spent the afternoon being creative or doing housework, or Dean and I could go out for a drive, so off we went to Newbury. Whenever I drive through it I see the pretty canal area with all the barges and loads of swans and it looks so lovely. We had a wander around part of the the town (much bigger than I expected with a variety of shops, but nothing to make me want to go back) and down by the canal which was lovely, all fishermen actually catching fish and locks, but we didn't stay too long.
So on the way home we decided to stop for afternoon tea at somewhere I'd often wanted to visit, The Audleys Wood Hotel just outside Basingstoke http://www.handpickedhotels.co.uk/hotels/audleys-wood-hotel-basingstoke/
After driving up a long tree lined drive we found a beautiful, large, historic country house hotel.

Inside was very welcoming and despite us not being 'properly dressed' the staff were lovely and we were allowed to stay.

We sat in the bar area which is a gorgeous room, but a word of warning - not the comfiest sofa opposite the fireplace. Out came the crisp white tablecloth and perfectly folded napkins along with a leather case containing small jars of tea to open and smell so we could select our perfect brew for the afternoon. All to often I resort to English breakfast which I was determined not to do today. After much smelling and re-smelling Dean and I opted for a pot of the Russian Caravan and a second pot of High Mountain Oolong. Both were gorgeous and served in lovely glass teapots similar to cafetieres in that they brewed the tea for the required time and then you could stop them brewing at the flick of the lid handle. But how long do you brew the perfect cup of tea for? No problem, they provide timers for the different types of tea so everything is perfect as long as you can remember which tea pot is which, so you don't put milk in the wrong tea.

The sandwiches were nice, but nothing truly exciting, so much so that we forgot to take a picture.

Of course, well for me anyway, the highlight of afternoon tea is the plate stand with cakes and scones. These were lovely, although in all honesty, the cakes weren't as good as the scones and especially the tarts (that chef sure knows how to make pastry), I'm afraid by the time we took the picture we'd eaten the 2 chocolate tarts which were superb.

I'll definitely be going back, the staff were really friendly and helpful and the food and tea were gorgeous. I would add in a photo of the beautiful dining room but Alex needs a lift into town so got to go.