A dream come true in Grantchester and the Orchard Tea Gardens

The Orchard Tea Gardens in Grantchester

     Ever since I saw an article in Victoria magazine about the Orchard Tea Gardens near Cambridge I've dreamed of going there. They conjured up visions of Cambridge University students before the Great War, all dressed in white, sitting among the blossoms, drinking tea and eating scones with honey while they chatted amiably about their exams or their latest poem, and I wanted to be on the spot to pretend to be one of them. Well, I finally managed it!

England 2015 Trip Journal
Tuesday, April 7

     I feel I should be writing poetry since I'm sitting in the Orchard Tea Gardens in Grantchester. It is no mystery to see why Cambridge students liked to come here and sit, contemplating the world around them as they laid back in the lawn chairs smelling the sweet fragrance of apple blossoms, feeling the soft breeze and gentle warmth of spring sunshine as it goes in and out of the clouds. Which is exactly what today is like!

Under the peaceful trees of the Tea Gardens in Grantchester

The iconic green lawn chairs in the Orchard Tea Garden

Baskets heaped with the perfect scones.

     Ah! You lean your head back and close your eyes, and you can hardly open them again they become so instantly comfortable. As soon as we walked into the pavilion with the kitchen we were greeted with the smell of fresh, hot scones – I could even see a huge pile of them on the baking trays covered with cloths behind the counter. Proper scones, they are: big, golden, and halfway between airy and dense. They are the quintessential scones. And once you slather them with dollops of butter, clotted cream, honey and strawberry jam, the result is glorious.

I present to you the perfectly delicious scone of the Orchard Tea Garden!

My lunch: ham, cheese, bread, an apple and 3 chutneys.

Mom's delicious quiche from the tea pavilion.

     There could hardly be a more peaceful piece of English countryside than the village of Grantchester. And the Tea Gardens is the most peaceful spot in the village. We wandered through the shady gate that's tucked away on one side of the Garden, that seems to beckon people to step through it and explore what's on the other side. After strolling over a lush green field we entered a small wood with a little winding path that leads to a branch of the river rolling lazily by.

The enchanting woods we wandered through in Grantchester.

The river in Grantchester.

     It was then time to get on to Cambridge if wanted to get there before the shops shut, so we made our way back through the Tea Gardens and along the quiet road to find our car. Just around the corner from the Tea Gardens is a lovely house with a statue of Rupert Brooke, the poet who in his college days used to frequent the orchard and the lawn chairs where he composed some lines about his memories there in his poem, "The Old Vicarage, Grantchester."

Stands the Church clock at ten to three
And is there honey still for tea? 

There is something fittingly and nostalgically poetic about Rupert Brooke, who had been a promising young student at Cambridge and spent time in this beautiful place, and then wrote this poem about his visits there while he was in Germany during World War I not long before he died in 1915. So I'm glad they are remembering him.

The statue of Rupert Brooke in Grantchester.

     After passing the pond and a few more fields we reached our car. We would have parked in the Orchard Tea Gardens parking lot, but there was some roadwork that prevented us going farther than the old church, so we parked along the street instead.

Grantchester's picturesque pond, complete with swans.

     Well, we spent so much time thoroughly enjoying ourselves in Grantchester that we only had time for a short jaunt back into Cambridge. Around 6:00 we drove straight into the city, using our hand-held map – a good investment – to find the central parking garage instead of the GPS. It was only £2 for 2 hours.

     We were in search of a pin for me to add to my backpack, but, of course, nearly every shop was shut except for one across the street from King's, and their pin was £4.50. I bought it anyway, since, as Mom pointed out, we came all that way to find one. :)

One of my favorite memories with Mom:
coffee and conversation in front of King's College.

     We then grabbed a large coffee from the Caffe Nero across from the college, and decided to sit on the low wall enclosing the front lawn to relax and enjoy our surroundings. We also enjoyed one of our many talks about English history and literature. This time we were contemplating the motivation for a people to follow their leader into war, from the Iraq war motivated by fear of terrorism, to Henry V's conversations with his troops in Shakespeare, who were compelled by force and fear to follow a monarch. (Yes, we do enjoy that sort of conversation...) :) It's hard not to have those in England, when history and literature are connected with nearly everything one sees.

     Then it was after sunset and time to return to Luton!










© Anna Morton 2016