Woburn Abbey - the ORIGINAL Afternoon Tea spot

Woburn Abbey Afternoon Tea

Woburn Abbey and Gardens,
Woburn,
Bedfordshire,
MK17 9WA

July 14th 2016

Any afternoon tea buff will know the origins of the tradition - If you don’t have a look here : http://www.afternoontea.co.uk/information/history-of-afternoon-tea/

In a nutshell the English social custom of taking Afternoon Tea was popularised in the 1840s by Duchess Anna Maria, wife of the 7th Duke of Bedford, who entertained her friends at Woburn Abbey where the Duchess and her friends would have enjoyed afternoon tea in the comfortable surroundings of the Abbey.

We had thought for a while we need to go and check out where it all started - and were very pleasantly surprised to find upon booking that the very reasonable price of £16.25 also included entry to the gardens. So we made sure we booked it for a summers day and we went a little early to enjoy a stroll.

Well it was the perfect July Thursday afternoon and after a long drive through the beautiful grounds deer spotting, we could see the Abbey ahead which is very impressive.

Although we had some trouble parking in the car park because of a local school sports day taking place in the field , normally there is oodles of parking in shady spots under tress Once inside we were stunned by the gardens - all different themed areas like the children’s garden , the Bog Garden , the folly and so many more . It was the most delightful place to wander and chat - we did regret not coming earlier in the day !

Almost reluctantly we set off to find the Bedford Tea Room which although not in the Abbey (your ticket does not include entrance to the Abbey)  are in a building in one of the courtyards. It’s a fairly small tea room but it seems to be exclusively used for having tea - stone floor, big windows, flowers on the table and was set very nicely with white tablecloths and china.

The waitresses were so charming and obviously really loved what they were doing - could not have been more helpful ; we were instantly given our choice of  coffee or teas including Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Apple Loves Mint and Oolong, which came in pristine white teapots and served in a very clever elongated tea filter.

The plates on the tea stand were so pretty-  pink and purple patterns on white - really set the display off well.

My sandwich selection was very traditional, tuna, ham, salmon and egg, crustless, very fresh and generous fillings.  My companions are both vegetarian and were given egg, salad and cheese options and we all enjoyed our choices .

The scones were freshly baked and still warm - a choice of sultana or plain with lashing of jam and cream.

The patisserie layer - we did like that there was 3 of everything - means you can try everything without having to cut things up! There was a choice of Victoria Sponge , jam tart , millionaires shortbread (mmm) strawberry cream puff and a very cute little heart shaped strawberry shortbread.

Despite our best efforts and almost two hours of chat and more tea, we couldn't finish it all, so the lovely waitress popped our unfinished morsels plus a few little extras into plastic tubs to take home for the long suffering husbands.

We had a last little stroll round the shop as by this time it was all closing, but all in all it was a delightful afternoon and extremely good value for money.

The Duchess of Bedford would be very pleased with this tea we all felt !

You can buy a voucher http://www.woburnabbey.co.uk/abbey/the-duchess-tea-room/afternoontea/ for the tea and gardens visit and it really would be a great gift for someone that enjoys a scone but also a garden stroll.