Going, going, scone!

Going, going, scone!

Jam or cream first? Fruit or plain? Scon or scoan?

Whatever your preference, you’ll want to tuck into a luscious scone covered with lashings of jam and cream this Afternoon Tea Week (August 8-14) – and we know all the best spots for you to enjoy this best of British afternoon delight!

The Mansion at Coldeast, Park Gate

Whether you choose to take your afternoon tea inside the beautiful building or book a stylish pod in the grounds for a group of friends, your afternoon tea is freshly baked and prepared on the day you visit.

Dainty finger sandwiches and fresh buttermilk scones will be served alongside beautiful Mansion-made cakes that include passion fruit choux, Italian meringue spiced carrot cake, strawberry layer cake lime, dark chocolate and coffee tart, and mint macaroons. Your afternoon tea can also be accompanied with a glass of bubbles, coffee, or limitless tea.

A children’s afternoon tea is also available to those under 16, and includes finger sandwiches, scones with jam and cream, white chocolate and caramel cookie, a chocolate brownie, and a strawberry or chocolate milkshake.

Afternoon tea: £25 per person Mon-Sat (12pm-4:30pm)

Marjorie’s Tearooms and Bistro, Portchester

Pour yourself a cup of tea in beautiful vintage china and settle down to tea at Marjorie’s in Portchester.

Afternoon tea (for a minimum of two people) costs £19.20 per person and includes a selection of sandwiches, warm scones with jam and cream, petit fours and macaroons, fruit and marshmallow kebabs and your choice of tea or coffee. A cappuccino or latte is £1 extra.

Take a look at the afternoon tea menu here

Cackleberrys, Fareham

Meet up with friends, or why not just treat yourself? Cackleberrys offers a sweet or savoury cream tea for one for just £5.95.

If you’re feeling hungry, push the boat out with a high tea (£19.95, with a vegetarian option also available), which includes four bridge brioche rolls filled with your choice of four yummy fillings, one cheese and cayenne pepper scone, two mini savouries, four mini sweets, one scone and a tea bag filled with Cackleberry’s own breakfast tea.

Check out Cackleberry’s afternoon tea menu here

Vintage Tea Room, Fareham

The charming Vintage Tea Room in Fareham’s West Street is the perfect place to relax and catch up with friends over a delicious afternoon tea.

Served all day, choose from a cream tea of fruit or plain scone with jam and clotted cream, a savoury tea of a warm cheese scone with butter and chutney, a light tea of a sandwich and either a scone or cake, or the speciality high tea of sandwich, scone and cake – add a glass of bubbles for just £5.

Book to eat in, or have it delivered to your door – the choice is yours.

See the options for afternoon tea menu here

For home bakers

Of course, you don’t have to go out to enjoy a delicious afternoon tea. You can buy a whole range of scrummy cakes from Soothills in Locks Heath, or scones from The Bakers Stubbington.

Or rustle up a batch of your own at home – just break them open, still warm from the oven, and slather them in strawberry jam and gorgeously pale-yellow clotted cream.

You can find the recipe for scones here, and for a special raspberry and prosecco jam here.

Serve with strawberries from the Fruit Basket in Stubbington, where you can also pick up a pot of essential cream – it wouldn’t be a cream tea without it!