Living in Cambridge gives me every excuse to travel by bicycle. In a city where there are more bikes than cars and the cycle lanes fill up the streets, you could look out of place without a bike.
We haven’t had a car for 6 years now, (get us – eco friendly!) so my custom Dutch bike gets me around and ensures I can access all the best places to take tea in the city. This weekend, the boyfriend, the bike and I, took trip along the river to the Orchard Tea Garden in Grantchester, Cambridge.
Many people punt along the river to the historic team rooms, which are surrounded by meadows and beautiful countryside. We took a little walk once we arrived in Grantchester and passed some stunning cottages topped with thatched roofs with pretty gardens infront. Quintessentially English.
Wandering past the idylic meadows, we found gardens and passageways with pretty flowers and trees. How lovely is this classic lamppost and spiralling tree branches?
As we approached the orchard, the clouds gathered over head and we wondered if we would be able to take our tea outside with the rest of the visitors. It was 2pm and the gardens were starting to get busy with tourists.
The orchard was first planted in 1868 and first became a tea garden by chance. A group of Cambridge students began the traditional of taking tea in the orchard in 1897 and The Orchard Tea Garden was born.
We opted for tea and a scone to share. They were GIANT! Clotted cream and jam were a must. We debated whether cream or jam was spread first.
I was slightly disappointed to learn that the tea wasn’t loose leaf, but the queues were rather long, so I forgave them. The scone was utterly delicious and I couldn’t help peeking at other tables with lunch plates and fresh cakes. There were plenty of birds enjoying the orchard with us.
We spent a good two hours in the orchard enjoying our tea and remarking how lucky we are to live in Cambridge. Moments like these make me realise how the traditions, history and beautiful settings confirm we chose the right place to live.
We’ve decided to make a list of all the things we want to enjoy in Cambridge; some touristy, some simple and some magical. I love lists. One of these list items includes a sub list of 5 other places to take tea. I am sure I’ll be sharing these with you in blog posts to come.
Finally, we took a wet cycle home along the river (typical English summer!) and arrived back to this little fluff ball who had wedged herself into the bean bag.
A blog debut for our persian cat Tammy 
Where are your favourite places to take tea?
claireabelle x
I love your bike! I live in London so am too chicken to take to the streets on wheels. I love tea anywhere where it’s served in teapots.
I never cycled when we lived in London – way too scary!
ahhh come on! t’was a thrill cycling in London. Will I die? Won’t I die? Such fun!
And will I get squashed by a bendy bus?!
Lovely pics, those houses are amazing! You are def lucky to live in Cambridge, I will have to get Jen to show me these little houses and tea rooms next time I am down.
We need to explore more places like this! So pretty and it was really relaxing
Why, hello Tammy! These scones look plain delicious. I have never visited Cambridge and I know really regret it!
You must come one day! It really is a lovely place. And cute fluffy persian cats live here
Lovely post – I so love living in Cambridge, although I do use our car more often since becoming a mum (need to get a child’s bike seat!) It’s been ages since we took tea in the Orchard. Next time we go to Grantchester we’ll probably head for the far-less-pretty Red Lion where they have a kids’ play area, haha! I’m looking forward to seeing your list of places to take tea – I love lists!
(and tea, of course!)
I like the Red Lion too. I think having a car is kind of necessary if you have kids. We wouldn’t have anywhere to park if we got a car though!
A tea tour of Cambridge? What could be better! I had a cream tea in Whitby yesterday and was scolded by an elderly lady for trying to plop the cream on before the jam. Oops. Lesson learned. Lovely photos – that Narnia lamp looks suspiciously magical to me.
Thanks Anna. Tea lesson learned! I bet tea in Whitby was lovely.
Love your cat and all the pictures of Cambridge.
A lot of the time it’s quicker and easier to get around Cambridge by bike than it is by car or public transport. The only downside is when it’s raining.
Yes, it has become quite tiresome cycling in all this summer rain!