I’d heard that there is a place, right smack bang in the middle of The Rocks (one of the loveliest, most scenic tourist and historical areas in Sydney) where there is a “secret tea room”. One where you can watch the busy world go by whilst partaking of some afternoon tea goodies for surprisingly reasonable cost. And of course one of the biggest lures were the above tea cosies.

The scone clock

The reason some consider it to be a Secret tea house is because it is only open on weekends (when the Rocks markets are on). It’s right in the centre of the action and  there are tables outside right near the market stalls which provides a lovely  buzzing vibe. If you walk through the Irish Design Shop, there are also tables to the right in a leafy walled courtyard as well as an enclosed, cosy looking room with a stove. My friends Lulu and Andrew have ventured into town from the Blue Mountains today to pay us a visit with their baby Audrey so we were excited to see them and find out all about this Secret Tea Room for ourselves.

Menu modeled by Audrey and her dad

The food menu is simple, consisting of 5 light meal choices: scones (plain or scone of the day), soda bread, raisin soda bread or a rhubarb and raspberry pie all paired with a drink of your choice for $9 or you can order a drink by itself for $3- $4 (a steal). We order a selection of everything except for the plain scones and Lulu points out the clock that signals that we have made it in good time, for only minutes ago, did they bake their latest batch of scones, a half hour ritual that lasts all day so that you know when is best to come back for the freshly baked goodies.

Our goodies arrive not long after and of course the Teapot with the ladybirds is the item I covet. My tea is the strawberries and cream flavour (just don’t add milk, it will curdle!) made with loose leaf tea as all of the teas here are. It’s delicious and very strong with strawberry flavour.

Soda bread with preserves and butter and a drink of choice $9

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There’s something grisly sounding yet utterly charming about going to a place called “Lower Slaughter” in the English countryside that is the Cotswolds. I’d only seen pictures of the Cotswolds but never been, so I was very curious to see the various little villages and towns that make up this picturesque area.

Especially something with Slaughter in the name. I recall Borat on the Ali G show meeting someone with the last name Slaughter who framed it as “Laughter with an S”. I suppose he had been asked about it so many times that he had to make a joke out of it. Lower Slaughter was also called the “Most Beautiful village in England” although I’m sure that’s up for furious debate amongst the locals of Gloucestershire.

We drive up to Lower Slaughter Manor, a very English looking manor house, built in 1658 and granted to the Whitmore family who commissioned celebrated stonemason Valentine Strong (whose son later became the chief stonemason for the reconstruction of St Paul’s Cathedral). The Whitmores lived there for 400 years, (lucky things) and now it is a small hotel with 19 rooms or suites.

The gardens are spectacularly beautiful, like something out of a movie set. I expect someone to come out wearing period costume and flounce about at any second. Instead we seat ourselves under one of the outdoor umbrella tables and order Afternoon Tea. Service is friendly and warm but still very polite and courteous, a fine balance given that it could have been stuffy.

It takes a while for everything to arrive but once it does, we gratefully tuck in. The afternoon tea, with a pot of Mokalbarie tea, described as “an extravagant tea, aromatic, full bodied, spicy and malty” has 4 scones, 2 plain with sultanas and 2 cinnamon with sultanas as well as a pot of clotted cream and a pot of raspberry jam. My husband orders a pot of coffee (£3.50).

Afternoon tea: scones and pot of tea £9.50

The scones are warm and the cinnamon ones are particularly good. The tea is delicious and my husband, ever the budget conscious individual looks like he has scored the jackpot “I can get 6 or more cups of coffee from this pot!” he exclaims with delight. Just like his mum said when I had afternoon tea with her last year.

We also visit Boughton-on-the-water, Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Camden, three other lovely places. Boughton-on-the-water is particularly pretty with it’s footbridges and shops and filled with many tourists and senior citizens (I presume the residents).

Boughton-on-the-Water

OK I just think they have funny names for things here

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