Food | Afternoon Tea at The Fourteas & A Wander Around Stratford Upon Avon

For my birthday way back in June I really wanted to visit The Fourteas WWII themed tearoom in Stratford Upon Avon, and as we were staying in the West Midlands Harry and I decided to take a drive down for the day for a spot of afternoon tea and a wander around. We were very lucky as the weather was very warm but not too hot, a typical British Summer's day, and it seemed that a lot of other people had had similar ideas as we drove into the town and saw lots of people already relaxing in the park. We parked up and walked down the high street to find the quaint little tearoom. As we entered it seemed really busy (not surprising as it was around half past 1) but fortunately it seemed that most people were leaving and queuing up to pay and after a short wait to be seen we were offered a table right away. We chose a table indoors, as you never know how the weather might change, and it was already set with teacups, milk and a sugar bowl.

The menu was so cute as it was themed in the style of a 1940's ration book with the shops address emblazoned on the front. Inside there was huge choice of sandwiches, breakfasts and scones and an even bigger choice of teas and coffees. I opted for the Ivor Novello Afternoon Tea with my choice of Brie and Bacon sandwiches and a pot of the house blend tea while Harry chose the The Churchill Club sandwich and a pot of Mocha Rocha Rooibos Tea. The tea really made this afternoon tea experience better than any I have had before. We were brought our teapots and shown how to brew them according the sand timer and then remove the infuser once they were done. My house blend had been chosen especially to compliment the flavour of the cakes, and it was delicious, while Harry's was sweet and caramelly - I'd highly recommend both. 

Once our meals came we left with our mouths hanging open at the amount of food were presented with. Harry's club sandwich was huge! Each sandwich is made in the club style using three slices of bread with chicken in the top layer and bacon and salad in the bottom layer. There were six of the triangle sandwiches rather than the usual four you might expect and they were so tasty to eat. I also really enjoyed my sandwiches but as with any afternoon tea the sweet treats stole the show! My scone with cream and jam was yummy as you might expect, of course I shared it with Harry as there's no way I could eat an entire afternoon tea to myself. For the last layer there was a pretty presentation of a mini fruit tart, a big pink meringue with cream inside, a gingerbread biscuit in the shape of teapot (which I particularly adored) and a cupcake topped with pink buttercream. Everything we tasted was delicious! We also loved the theming of The Fourteas, the inside is reminiscent of a village hall but the WWII posters and props make it really interesting, even the waitresses are dressed as 1940's dinner ladies complete with aprons and headscarves!

Next we took a wander back up the main part of the high street where we walked past Shakespeare's birthplace, narrowly avoided hundreds of tourists and school trips and dipped into The Christmas Shop (which was packed by the way!). We then decided it was time to leave, particularly as the multi-storey where we parked had extortionate prices (I'm not sure if that is the same for all of Stratford?) so we bid our farewell to the Jester. As we drove home reminiscing about just how good our afternoon tea I was tinged with a little regret that I didn't buy The Fourteas House Blend or take a tour of the RSC - well I guess we'll just have to go back, right?