This Summer (cream teas in IOW)
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This summer we went on holiday to the Isle of Wight for four days.
(Sun kissed sea!! – We were lucky with the weather – And that’s a statement considering we are in UK! Lol.)
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I know I-know. It isn’t a fancy destination like, I dunno, somewhere like Majorca, but I reckoned that a plane journey with a rather tricky three-year-old in tow would be just too stressful. Whereas Isle of Wight can be reached by just two hours by car & then an hour on the ferry – so there we were. Also it was a place where I went to on a school trip aged 12, & I wanted to go there in that ‘a trip down memory lane’ kind of way…
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I really wanted to show the children the sea. It was our boy’s third time & our girl’s first time.
(Throwing pebbles in to the sea. Well, trying to… Mind your heads! ^^)
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While on the island, I, quite naturally, was on the look out for Cream Tea signs. My philosophy is that it’s like a ‘must-do’ on a holiday in the countryside in England. It’s also the only time that I eat clotted cream & I was not going to miss the opportunity to scoff ’til I groan…!
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At the Chessell Pottery Barns, we sat in the courtyard under the big willow tree. The sun’s rays were shining through the branches. Light was gently dancing on our table. We had a blissful time.
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Mine was a summer berry scone. The tang of the berries with the scone sponge was an amazing combination. Together with a thick spread of creamy clotted cream & sweet strwaberry jam, gulps of strong tea to wash it down ready for the next bite… … – you momentarily think that nothing else matters in the world. - I had a hard time not to wolf it down too quickly to savour the bliss.
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Very close to The Needle (the first two pictures were taken there), we dropped by Warren Farm for their farmhouse cream tea. There, ladies in pinnies served us from a small hatch window. The aga-baked scones were fresh & soft. I chose to eat it with their hedgerow jam.
(The tablecloth, the crockery, the doilie… – to me, it exactly exemplifies ’countyside cream tea’. Perfect.)
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Another place that is definitely worthy of mention is the Bluebell Café near the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. It’s a part of Briddlesford Lodge Farm. We had lunch there & it was so delicious! We also tried a glass of unpasteurised gold-top milk (gold-top milk is 5% fat content, whereas whole standardised milk you find in supermarkets are 3.5%) from their Guernsey herd.
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We discovered this place just two hours before we had to leave the island. We regretted not finding it sooner because otherwise we could’ve eaten there more. Oh well.
