Author: katchambers

I am a wife and mummy to two gorgeous children, I live in Milton Keynes and I work full time as a Gender Equality expert, and I am a blogger.
Days Out · Family holiday · Travel

Swanning Around Dorset (Abbotsbury Swannery)

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It was a gorgeous day when we headed over to Abbotsbury, I typed the post-code in and was re-assured to see ‘Abbotsbury Swannery’ on the map, so off we went, but here is the bit to take note of: even though it says so on the iphone map, it is not there! And I know this has happened a lot because there was a building with a sign on that said Abbotsbury Swannery that way, which, incidentally was the first sign down some very windy and extremely narrow (single-track) country roads. When we finally arrived, we drove right past it because the signage was facing the other way. Abbotsbury – you could really do with a sign on the other side of the road. We had to drive all the way into the village to turn around because the roads were so narrow.

A slightly bumpy start but it was so worth the journey. The swannery is a natural habitat for the mute swans, where they are made comfortable but are not enclosed. Chesil Beach is the backdrop to this gorgeous scene:

It was the most beautiful and peaceful walk through the woods I have ever encountered, as you walk down the path you have either a stream, a rook or a pond on either side. We also came upon the occasional old building, which dated back to the 11th Century, without little man I may have explored the history a little more.

As we arrived quite late it was almost their feeding time which is the big event and takes place twice a day – 12 noon and 4pm so we headed over for a little treat. My son went in and fed the swans, even though he was too nervous at first, once he saw all the other children feeding then he felt more courageous, and I was a proud mama. I love to see him grow in confidence. I thought the feeding was just for children as they ask you to have all the children line up but then they said, all children aged from 0-80 can feed the swans! I felt sorry for the 81 year old lady almost jumping out of her seat ready to feed them!

One tiny note is that there are no toilets in the swannery, only at the entrance, so bear that in mind if you have a little one with a tiny bladder. There are also two lots of baby change facilities.

The swans and their beautiful cygnets really were the star of the show, they made me feel so peaceful. I am not amazingly into birds, but I do like walking and this sanctuary was a delight. I was also very surprised by the lack of aggression and hissing that I usually see in swans. In fact when we feed ducks back home we always avoid swans because they are so aggressive, but these swans are so docile.  In addition to the swans the swannery has two mazes, one for children and on for adults, pedal bikes, a park, gift shop and a cafe. The pedal bike track could do with a refurbishment, my husband enjoyed it but it was too difficult for my 3 year old to even pedal, and I didn’t see a single other person go near the track the whole time we were there.

The cafe was a slight disappointment having gotten my order wrong and had to wait an extra 20 minutes, and when my hot-dog arrived it was in a bland/hard roll which was flavourless, it could have done with some onions at a minimum. The cake was pretty nice and they had a children’s park next to it, so you could eat your lunch whilst watching your little one play.

In the late afternoon we decided to venture over to the children’s farm, were given directions from the gift shop and headed off. 15 minutes of walking in very hot weather later, and it did not appear to be close enough so we headed off. I think they should put up signs saying how long a walk it is, because we were not prepared. The little legs were not going to make that trip so we decided to leave the children’s farm for another day and instead jumped in the car, and drove 5 minutes to the beach, not just any beach –  Chesil Beach. A note about Chesil Beach – it is very painful if you are wearing sandals, or worse, bare-foot. It is literally a mountain of stones, like nothing I have ever seen, there is not a speck of sand.

So the next time you take your child to the beach to throw stones in the water (aka skimming stones), have a thought for the poor souls on Chesil Beach, because I believe that every single stone that has ever been thrown into water anywhere in the world ends up at Chesil Beach!

Useful Information:

  • Postcode: DT3 4JG (the correct one)
  • It would be very difficult to travel here by any other means than by car as it is in the middle of the countryside.
  • The swannery itself is very big, requires a fair amount of walking and once you are in you are far from the toilets. If you decide to combine the children’s farm and sub-tropical gardens in on the same day (not recommended) you would have to limit your time at the swannery and you will need to drive to the gardens and walk for at least 20 minutes over to the farm. If you do buy a combined ticket, you can use the tickets on another day as they do not have an expiration date, so my advice is to spread out the trips to 2 days at least.
  • Opening times: March to November, 10-5pm.

All in all there were high highs and some minor lows but I have nothing but happy memories, and my husband loved the swannery above all the activities we did in Weymouth, so high praise indeed. Our son loved it too as he loves animals and was very excited pointing out all the swans and cygnets and exploring so it was perfect for him.

Days Out · summer · Travel

New Forest – Lymington and Lyndhurst

katchambers3 Comments

Last year, hubby and I had a lovely break in Brockenhurst. It was so amazing that we decided to return to the new forest, but a different part. This time we stayed in a B&B just outside of Lymington and used that as base for exploring other parts of the forest. I was initially hoping that Lymington would be the perfect mix of both the ‘new forest’ and the seaside, which is why I chose it, as Brockenhurst was a bit far from the sea, however Lymington doesn’t really have the new forest feel, there are no wandering ponies (which in my mind what is most special about the new forest) and the seafront is not the most picturesque of places, plus the beach is shingle.

However, we didn’t let that deter us and instead spent time in Lyndhurst and Burley. However, before I discuss those I do need to say how absolutely amazing the food was at a pub in Lymington called “Thomas Tripp”. The outside has pretty hanging baskets and is very welcoming, unfortunately when I stepped inside I was put-off as the ambience was not quite right, and didn’t look like a place that would have amazing food, but I am so glad I was wrong. Thomas Tripp had, undeniably, the best ribs and BBQ sauce I have ever eaten in my life! And as a foodie, I have to say I have tried a fair many. They were so unbelievable I had to talk to the owner about them, he explained that they are slowly cooked for like 12 hours, and he came up with the BBQ sauce recipe himself. It was so mind-blowing we actually travelled all the way from Lyndhurst the next day, just to eat there again. The ribs were not the only special things, the garlic and tomato bread must have been made by an Italian because I have only had better in Italy, and the chocolate brownie for dessert was absolutely scrumptious. So if you are ever in the New Forest, find this pub because you will not regret it.

ribs homemade chips corn on the cobgarlic and tomato bread

Lyndhurst

We spent a day in Lyndhurst, half of it shopping and half of it on the new forest open bus tour, which I highly recommend. We went on the red route, which was the longest at 2.5 hours. No matter how hot it is outside, if you are upstairs, in the open it gets very cold and windy, so bare that in mind. It was very beautiful and a great way to see the sights of the forest that we had yet to see. The only downside was that the bus did not have a toilet, which is tricky on such a long tour. There were lots of great touristy shops in Lyndhurst, and if you walk just 5 minutes toward the outskirts, cross over a grate, and there are the ponies, and to my great surprise, wild donkeys.

lyndhurst wild animals

We only had time to stop off at Burley on our way home (as the New Forest Show was on), it was an intriguing little witchy hamlet. Again we were lucky enough to see 2 horses, waiting to use the payphone 😉 Burley was the smallest and probably the prettiest of the places we saw on the tour. If you like a bit of fantasy, this is definitely the place, as it has witches, smugglers and “dragons” in it’s history, and due to this many of the shops sell witch/fantasy themed goods.

new forest ponies

Family holiday

Butlins ‘Just for Tots’ Review

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This year we decided the family holiday would be centred around our toddler, so when we saw Butlins advertising their ‘Just for Tots’ week, we were intrigued and decided to give it a go. Butlins was completely new to us, and I have to say that my original thought/stereotype was not a positive one, probably because of stories I had heard over the years about rowdy hen parties and such. I didn’t need to worry because it was more modern than I had imagined, especially the Wave hotel, where we stayed. Plus because it was a week especially for babies and toddlers, there were no hen parties or loud groups of party-goers, it was all families with young children.

The Wave Hotel

2014-06-06 08.22.21-1

We stayed for 4 nights in June in the Wave hotel (Bognor Regis). I deliberately chose this hotel because I wanted a separate room with a door for my toddler (who sometimes gets out of bed), and because I didn’t want the TV noise to wake him. The Shoreline hotel; while it had a separate room it did not have a door, so even though the Shoreline is targeted at younger children, they really hadn’t thought that aspect through, so I had to book the hotel meant for teenagers just because there was a door! Even though we missed out on ‘putting teddy to bed’ in the shoreline hotel, I was not disappointed with the Wave for these big positives:

  1. It was the newest and most modern of the hotels
  2. You could rent DVDs, Nintendo DS and their games, and Kindles (but note the Kindle requires a HUGE deposit!)
  3. The child’s room had a bunk-bed, with TVs and DVD players on each bunk – that was a lovely treat for Nate
  4. It was very near to the best restaurant for breakfast – the Deck
  5. It had air-conditioning (which was really needed in the hot weather we were lucky to have)

The hotel also has a big games room, but it wasn’t a positive for us because our toddler was too young to be able to play any of the games. In a few years that would definitely become a selling point.

Entertainment

butlins just for tots show

Butlins is well-known for it’s big-centre stage performances, with the red-coats and the special shows, but alas I was not able to see this for myself because, although it was ‘Just for Tots’ week, their nightly big performances still started at 9pm. One evening when I wandered out to get some snacks, I saw a very long queue and I thought, how are people able to do this? If you have a baby or a toddler how are you able to go out late at night? Do they take their babies/toddlers and let them fall asleep to the very loud music? Do they go alone and leave partner at home with the little one? That is what my husband and I do when we are at home, though it is not as fun on your own. Do they have family or friends with them who could babysit? Very good plan, we should try this next time. If anyone has the answer, please let me know as I am intrigued. Even on holiday our little boy was in bed by 7:30pm, mostly because he wouldn’t be able to stay awake any later anyway, and partly to keep him in his routine. Perhaps when he gets a bit older I won’t worry so much about bed times on holiday.

The day-time entertainment, however, was very good and we tried a wide-variety of the activities on offer, most of them free of charge:

  • Theatre shows showing Thomas the Tank Engine, Fireman Sam and more. Nate enjoyed these, although not as much as I thought he would.
  • Puppet Show – there was a puppet theatre showing a variety of shows, including “Monster’s Got Talent”, they also have a session where you can play with the puppets. Nate enjoyed the puppet show but wasn’t interested in playing with them.
  • In-door play area – Nate enjoyed this on the first day, but the next day he was told he was too short to go in, even if I went with him, this made him cry his little heart out. My toddler is quite tall for his age so bare in mind the average 3 year old wouldn’t be tall enough for what looked like a pretty standard soft play (100cm or taller to be allowed in). The side for babies and young toddlers was tiny, Nate barely played there for 5 minutes. This was disappointing.
  • Little Tikes land – this was superb, it is a race track filled with every little tykes vehicle you can think of, with slides, play-houses, wet-play and even a little castle around the track.
  • Fairground rides – a major perk that these are free, downside is the outdoor ones are only open for 4 hours a day, which we found very limiting and therefore didn’t really get to try any of the rides due to it being closed, closed because of weather or long queues. The indoor rides however were open all day, and therefore Nate got to ride them several times, and because of the lack of queues he got to stay on the one ride 4 times in a row, which he enjoyed.
  • Swimming pool – this was fantastic, it had some great slides and water features, all of us really enjoyed that, and despite reviews I read elsewhere, the changing rooms were perfectly adequate and not too cold.
  • Tots soccer – deep in his clingy phase so Nate did not play for long, which is a shame because he loves playing football usually.
  • Messy play – it was indeed messy, with lots of stations set-up for different types of play

Food

This was probably the biggest let down for us, because my husband and I are big foodies. On the otherhand, we were not expecting to eat amazing food at Butlins, so in all fairness the food was as expected. Probably the best food experience we had was breakfast at ‘the deck’ restaurant. It was opposite the wave hotel, so pretty convenient, and of all of the restaurants there that sold breakfast, it was the biggest, offered the most variety and tasted delicious. In the evenings we ate at Papa Johns (didn’t taste the same as the takeaway, so not as good), an american restaurant (too noisy, slow and didn’t care about my son) and on our last night ‘Beachcombers Inn’. We actually really enjoyed the beachcomber, not because of the bog-standard (although quickly served) food, but because it is right next to the park, and since it was a beautiful and warm evening we took the seats right next to the entrance and enjoyed our meal while Nate played. It was the perfect ending to our holiday.

My final thoughts on Butlins are that if your child is of the right age and personality to enjoy all the activities on offer this place will definitely keep them busy. The Wave Hotel was wonderful and in general it was much more modern than I thought it would be. *We paid for this holiday ourselves.

Days Out

Peppa Pig World – with a toddler!

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On our last day of our Butlins (Bognor Regis) holiday, we decided that we would stop off at Peppa Pig World for the day, on our way home.

This was our first trip to a proper theme park with our 2.5 year old toddler, so we were uncertain as to what to expect.

Firstly, Peppa Pig World is a clean and pretty little part of a larger theme park called Paultons Family Theme Park. There are only about 8/9 Peppa Pig themed rides, however, I feel that is sufficient for a day of activity. Unfortunately we did not get to try all of the rides, because either the queues were too long, or Nate decided he didn’t want to go on them.

Parking was easy enough, but it was quite a trek from parking to the entrance (where you pay), fairly long queue’s to get in and then you have to walk through the whole of Paultons Park to get to Peppa Pig World, so if you have a young child, you may want to take a buggy or baby carrier. There is ample space for pushchairs to be left at every ride, so I am glad we decided to take it in. Please note that there are not baby changing facilities in Peppa Pig World, but there is one outside to the left, and it was pretty good and spacious.

peppa pig land paultons park

I felt the price was too high if you only intend to go to the Peppa pig section of the park (like we did), I think they should have a separate and lower price for Peppa Pig users only (although I understand how they are very unlikely to do this, financially). I am glad that Nate was under 100cm (just) and therefore didn’t have to pay the £27 full price ticket that each of myself and my husband had to pay. They do sometimes have special offers and is worth checking the website before you go, it is also cheaper if you book online.

Being completely honest, I think Nate was too young to really enjoy the park, or perhaps it is just his personality, but the idea of queuing for a 2 year old, is just not something he can comprehend. I am sure if we went with friends and their kids, he would have been more entertained, but he really did not like queuing and was not shy about letting us know it – several tantrums ensued. What further irritated him was that he was not allowed to stay on the ride for more than one go (which is obvious to us adults, but try explaining that to a 2 year old).

He went on Grandpa Pigs train ride, Daddy Pigs car ride, Grandpa pigs boat trip (shortest queue) and George’s Rocket – indoor play zone (no queuing required). He enjoyed all of them, and really wanted to try the helicopter ride, but the queues for that were 35 minutes long all day and I knew he would not stand through that. There was also a peppa pig playground that he enjoyed and a muddy puddles wet play at the back of that, but he was too tired by that point to try it.

toddler driving car

All in all, we enjoyed our day and may try taking him back again next year when he is more queue-friendly.

 

Days Out

A Day out with Thomas (the tank engine)

katchambers3 Comments

Over the Easter weekend Buckinghamshire Railway Centre ran their ‘Day out with Thomas‘, which they do about 3 weekends a year. The last time they did this was in September so we have waited a long time for this. The cost was £41 for 2 adults and 1 child over the age of 2, so it wasn’t a cheap day out, but I have to say it was worth it to see the look on my son’s face when he saw Thomas for the first time! He loved it! The journey from Milton Keynes was not too bad, it took 50 minutes (it is near to Aylesbury).

We went on Bank Holiday Monday and arrived at 10:30am, exactly when it opened, which was a good time because there was no queuing for tickets and we didn’t have to queue to ride on the Thomas train (there was a long queue for the rest of the day). So the first thing we did, of course, was to ‘meet’ Thomas and ride on the Thomas train, which Nate loved! I was surprised by how very comfortable old steam trains are, I would love to try it on a longer journey. Be aware that the train ride is very short. The ride goes in one direction for 2 1/2 minutes, goes back and then repeats so the entire journey lasts for 10 minutes in total. It’s a shame that you don’t get to see much of the countryside, as the train turns back as soon as you start to see fields, but we all enjoyed it anyway, the steam and the chugging was all very authentic, plus how often do you get to ride on a real steam train?

toddler pointint to toby

After riding on the Thomas train, and spotting Toby on the way, we headed towards the miniature railway, and after about 10 minutes of queuing we had a ride, which we all enjoyed, perhaps even more than Thomas. This was because it was open air, it was a longer journey, it was pretty and was full of little characters all along the journey such as Winnie the Pooh, Noddy, Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder and more we also got to go through a tunnel. We stopped here for a picnic and and Nate watched the trains go round on the model railway.

buckinghamshire railway centre

There were various other activities going on through the day, there was an open top train ride, face painting, a balloon show, colouring activities, a mini cinema on board a train showing Thomas, meet the Fat Controller, some toy train sets to play with and more. There was a restaurant inside selling food, which we didn’t try because it was too busy, there was also a chip van and several picnic areas. We stayed until about 2pm, so there were enough activities for a half-day visit, probably not enough to keep you out all day. Nate was so tuckered out he fell asleep straight away and slept the whole journey home.

The next ‘Day out with Thomas’ is in early July and then again in early September. There is also a ‘Postman Pat’ day in May and a ‘Peppa Pig’ day in June.

Parenting

Review: Kingston MK Gymnastics Centre

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I have been taking Nate to the MK Gymnastics Centre, at Kingston since before he could even crawl. Back then it was just to get out of the house and converse with other mums. For a long time I haven’t even been able to go because, annoyingly, the “Play Gym” is not open at weekends, which means (as a full-time working mum) we haven’t been able to take him. However, they were open over the Christmas break, so we decided to take advantage of being off work and take him there.

Play Gym

The gymnastics centre runs play gym sessions every day in the week, Monday to Friday, check out the timings and prices on their website. This session is where the majority of the centre has play equipment, suitable for babies to perhaps 5 years old. They have toys for young babies to play with and for older children: a bouncy castle, a mini climbing wall, a lovely playhouse, a ball pit, a giant metal airplane that moves (seen that in costco!), several different sizes of slides, see-saws and climbing equipment and then they have a lot of the gymnastics equipment to play on, including low trampolines, bars, balance beams, and several big pits full of foam for the kids to jump or somersault into (lots of fun). They have a changing room where you can leave your shoes and bags, and they provide biscuits and juice, with an area of tables and chairs to eat/drink them.

play gym aeroplane

There are two other play gyms in Milton Keynes that I know of: Arabian Gym in Bletchley and MK Springers in Kiln Farm. I have to say, having been to them all several times, I do prefer Kingston, it is much bigger with more choice, BUT, they are not open on the weekend for the play gym, therefore we are very restricted. The Arabian Gym is my next favourite, they run sessions on a Sunday morning which we have been to many times, they also do a song time at the end of the session with sticks, which Nate loves. Finally there is Kiln Farm, yes it is cheaper and closer to where we live, but they are pretty firm about their timings, you can’t just show up and it appears to be just a one hour session. There is a lot less non-gym equipment here too so Nate got bored quite quickly with Kiln Farm.

bletchley leisure centre

Days Out

Waddesdon Manor

katchambers10 Comments

We have been meaning to try Waddesdon Manor for a while now, and since last weekend was “Free Heritage Open Days” we thought it was the perfect time to visit.

It should have taken us 50 minutes to get there from Milton Keynes, it is close to Aylesbury but my iPhone sat nav, which normally works really well, directed us via the worst possible route ever, and not only that, it directed us into private property and we got locked in!

I couldn’t believe how vast the property was, and how beautiful.

national trust properties

I believe we took Nate on the perfect weekend, because not only was it free entry (normally £8 per adult), but it was also Emergency Services Day. There were: fire engines/trucks, police cars, ambulances, police dogs, police horses. Nate got to sit in the vehicles, meet real firemen/policemen, press the sirens, dress up, stroke the animals and have his finger prints taken (gulp!). He loved it! Oh and Peppa Pig randomly showed up too, which Nate is just starting to get in to.

toddler in police hat dressing up

We booked to take a tour around the actual house, and I was surprised at how long it held Nate’s attention. You wouldn’t expect a fancy house with ornate furnishings to be of interest to a toddler, but luckily there were a multitude of large paintings and embroidered furnishings that included some kind of transport or animal on and Nate loved pointing them out “look mummy boat…doggy…horse”.

The adventure playground is a great facility, it is at various points on a steep hill, with apparatus for older children at the top of the hill (clearly marked), and those toddlers at the bottom. This area of the estate is very steep, so bare in mind if you are not an able walker. Although pushchairs/wheelchairs do have access, but again very steep.

Personally, if there was not an external family event going on (Emergency Services Day) I don’t think a toddler would get a lot from Waddesdon Manor. Although, sometimes it is nice to do something for the grown-ups sometimes! They do, however, have a regular schedule of events that would certainly be very enticing in the future. They have many Halloween activities coming up at the end of October, during half-term, for example: Halloween orienteering activity, free Halloween colouring activities, free storytelling session, face-painting in the bat cave, pumpkin carving, free Halloween arts and crafts.

In terms of facilities for families they have several restaurants and cafes located around the property, they have baby change facilities, toilets in various locations and a toy and sweet shop.

Despite getting lost it was a lovely afternoon out, it didn’t matter that the weather was not pleasant, and I am sure we will return.

 

Uncategorized

New Forest – Brockenhurst

katchambers8 Comments

It was my very first visit, and I am sure not my last, to Brockenhurst in the middle of the New Forest National Park.

Nate is on holiday with my parents, so hubby and I thought it would be nice to get away for some couple time. I have always heard such wonderful things about the New Forest, but I was completely unprepared for the horses/ponies. They really do run the show! They were everywhere, it was amazing! They literally just walk down the street, in the roads, on the pavements, wherever they want! I love horses so this was a real treat!

horses in the street in brockenhurst

Since we booked at the last minute, I used Tripadvisor to decide on B&Bs and restaurants, I find it is much safer that way – you almost always know what you are going to get. I basically emailed all of the B&Bs in the top 10 of Tripadvisor, asking for prices and availability for this week, then waited for them to email me back. 8 emailed me back that night, 2 the next day, half had availability, so I checked out their websites and reviews and chose the one I thought best.

Meerut B&B Review

We booked with Meerut in Brockenhurst. They are currently ranked as the 4th best B&B in Brockenhurst, so we were very lucky to get in there last minute. Pauline and Mike were so warm and friendly, I felt like I was staying with family, they knew everything about the local area, recommended restaurants and wrote down a route for us to the follow the next day for our day trip to the beach. They provided packs of menu’s of the local restaurants, maps and information on walks.

They only had one room left, which was the smaller one with the toilet just outside, however the room was perfectly big enough for the two of us, and had everything we needed. They have a little patio area for each room to sit outside, plus a lovely summer house for guests to enjoy and a utility room exclusively for guest usage – this was invaluable! It included a washing machine, ironing board and iron, fridge and freezer, toaster, glasses, cutlery etc. The fridge was stocked with bottled water, which I really appreciated because I drink a lot of water. The breakfast in the morning was cooked to your liking (they ask what you would like the night before), both cooked and continental breakfast is included, so while we waited for our cooked breakfast we helped ourselves to cereal and juice. The cooked breakfast was all sourced from the local area too, which I felt was a nice touch.

The Fallen Tree

This restaurant is ranked number 1 out of 39 restaurants in Brockenhurst, so I had high expectations. When I walked through the door and saw a beautiful, quaint, romantic little gem of a restaurant with soft classical music playing in the background my expectations were even higher. Unfortunately,  I have to be honest and say that as nice as the food was, and as good as the price was considering, it just didn’t fit. The food and the price point is not in keeping with the beauty of the location, when you walk in you expect somewhere near Michelin star level of food, which unfortunately you just don’t get, not in all the food anyway. My steak and chips came dry, so I asked if they had a jus? The waitress had no idea what I meant, so I said gravy. I received a gravy! I’m not a food snob, though I do love food to an obsessive level, I have no problem with gravy at say harvester or a carvery, not in the number one restaurant in Brockenhurst. The chips and the vegetables were flavourless, and needed more character, although the steak was beautiful. I also really enjoyed the cheesecake, it was the highlight of the meal and looked amazing, and more in keeping with the decor.

fallen tree restaurant brockenhurst

Rosie Lea’s Teahouse

This tea house and bakery is ranked 2nd in Brockenhurst, a little risky based on last night’s slight disappointment, do I still trust Tripadvisor, after having afternoon tea here I would say YES! It does not look much from the outside, and it a bit too warm inside, in fact it was so warm we almost didn’t go in, until I saw the homemade cakes in the display -wow! If they taste as good as they look, I might just be in heaven. They did! I tried the chocolate brownie (it was huge and only £2 per slice), and because of the price I also bought a slice of the carrot cake to have later, oh my the cakes were absolutely delicious! So delicious that my husband also bought a second slice of his amaretto cake.

We also ordered the afternoon tea, which came in beautiful old fashioned chine tea cups and saucers – so quaint. There were about 20 different teas on the menu, I had English Breakfast because I am not a real adventurist. I was slightly disappointed that they were tea-bags as apposed to real tea-leaves, that would have elevated it further, but the huge homemade scone and the generous portions of home-made jam and more importantly, clotted cream more than made up for it.

tea house bakery brockenhurst

Next time I come to the New Forest this tea house is the first place I am coming back to! Wow.