Although I only live less than an hour from London, I don’t get to travel there as often as I would like. Probably, like most, I tend to visit places and countries further afield and miss out on what’s on offer on my own doorstep. So after reading a recent post “48 hours in London” I got the idea of a birthday gift of afternoon tea in London for my mother-in-law at the beginning of March (thank you Gaiamente). I did a little research, starting off by trying to book The Ritz but they get booked up weeks in advance. They have 5 sittings so all that was available to us on our chosen day was afternoon tea at 11.30am or 7.30pm – not really what we wanted. I then stumbled upon The Lanesborough who were very quick in responding to my email and confirmed that we could book afternoon tea at teatime – 4pm. Perfect!
We thought we’d make a day of it and would have a look around Westminster Abbey beforehand. A few years ago we had done a similar day visiting St Paul’s Cathedral followed by lunch at Fortnum and Mason (both of which I would recommend).
We arrived into Waterloo Station on a sunny but chilly March morning. From Waterloo we decided to walk to Westminster Abbey. It’s a lovely walk along The Thames, past the London Eye and over Westminster Bridge. The Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey are just over the bridge. The entrance fee to the Abbey was £10 each and we also decided to take the audio tour too at £3 each. Although we had both visited the Abbey before, neither of us had taken the audio tour, which I would highly recommend. You find out so much more about the building and the history making it all the more interesting. It took a good 2-3 hours for us to tour the Abbey. To give you a very brief history, Westminster Abbey has been the setting for every Coronation since 1066 and a burial place for many kings and queens. In recent years the funerals of Princess Diana and the Queen Mother have taken place there. The stain glass windows are beautiful especially with the sun shining through and the ceiling in the Lady Chapel is spectacular.
From Westminster Abbey, we walked across the road towards Birdcage Walk and then into St James’ Park. This is an oasis in the middle of the City, with much wildlife including ducks, swans, geese and pelicans. Although the park was beautiful, I can imagine it would be better in the spring and summer when the trees are in leaf and flowers in bloom. A gentle stroll brought us to Buckingham Palace – how those guards at the Palace stand so still especially in the very cold weather I will never know. We then walked along the edge of Green Park and down towards Hyde Park which The Lanesborough overlooks.
The Lanesborough serves afternoon tea Mon-Sat from 3.30-6pm and on Sunday from 4-6pm. They have two different menus: the Lanesborough Tea at £28 each or the Belgravia Tea at £37 each which is the same as the Lanesborough Tea but includes strawberries and a glass of champagne.
We were a little early, arriving at 3.30pm, but they seated us straight away in The Conservatory Restaurant. Decorated with palms and orchids, white linen tablecloths and a pianist playing in the background created the perfect atmosphere. The service here was exceptional, not over-the-top but very attentive and friendly. One word of warning – do not eat lunch prior to an afternoon tea. We decided on the Belgravia Tea – a little pricey but as it was a treat we decided to go for it. The strawberries and champagne were served first followed by finger sandwiches (not a crust to be seen), toasted tea cakes, scones with preserves and clotted cream (delicious), tea breads and pastries (I’ve put on 5lb just typing it!). Now you can see why I recommend you don’t eat beforehand. There was also a good selection of teas including herbal, fruit and iced teas. As the first glass of champagne had slipped down rather well, we went for a second glass – be aware that it’s not included in the price. When the bill arrived the additional glass of champagne was £13 each!! Service and tax was included in all of the prices though. How we walked out of there I will never know – we had eaten much too much. Luckily the underground was just outside the hotel so we didn’t have too far to walk to return to Waterloo.
It was a lovely day, one that both mother-in-law and I will remember. Not too strenuous and walking through the parks was far more enjoyable than taking the underground and you get to see so much more.
