This year I celebrated Mothers Day with my family a little early and headed to one of my favourite not-too-far-away hotels. The Manor House, Castle Combe, afternoon tea is a touch of luxury and the hotel is simply fabulous. We stayed here the first night of our honeymoon at the Manor House, Castle Combe and have been back since for breaks away from the kids, drinks, afternoon teas and a touch of luxury. The Manor House Castle Combe afternoon tea is served in elegant surroundings in this beautiful village. The five star country house hotel is owned by the Exclusive Hotels group. The Bybrook Restaurant, under chef Rob Potter, holds a Michelin star and the hotel also owns the cosy village pub, The Castle Inn.
Castle Combe is famous for being dubbed England’s prettiest village, a title it well deserves. Honey coloured stone, a meandering brook, timbered houses, a market cross, village church, people selling jam on their doorstep, this village has all of these.
It’s also a location where many movies and TV programmes have been filmed, including War Horse. It’s a charming place for a stroll around and lovely at all times of year, be it a frosty winter’s morn or when the daffodils are out in Spring.
The Manor House, as the name suggests, was the home of the Lords of the Manor dating back to the 14th century, alleged to include Falstaff from Shakespeare’s Henry V. Now a hotel with a very popular golf course, it sits in many acres of land with beautiful grounds.
The cottages in the lane leading up to the hotel are also hotel rooms, including Archway Cottage which has one of its rooms forming an arch over a village road. They add yet another dimension to this wonderful property. We’ve always stayed in the Manor House itself but the cottages are really pretty.
The hotel has a river with waterfalls running through the grounds, Italianate gardens and, very popular with my children, a giant chess set.
After a stroll through the village, a game of outdoors chess and some riverside admiration of the beautiful cherry blossoms we went inside for afternoon tea. The tea is served in the hotel’s various lounges, all differently decorated, all sumptuous, some with log fires, some cosy and some grander.
I had the Nyetimber tea, DH had the afternoon tea and the children had the children’s tea (not featured on the menu below) with hot chocolate to drink. The Nyetimber Demi-Sec was absolutely perfect and brought a wonderful sparkle to the tea.
Sandwiches featured coronation chicken, smoked salmon and a totally delicious cheese with what I think was celeriac. Two types of scone were served – plain with jam & clotted cream and a cheese scone with butter. The scones were declared the best ever by the family scone-monster and she should know, she’s eaten a lot of scones.
A green macaroon which I fancied was in recognition of it being St Patrick’s Day weekend, a melt in the mouth passion fruit and apricot dessert, a nut and caramel slice and a rhubarb and custard choux pastry confection finished off the patisserie, downed with pots of tea. Everything was delicious and it was all eaten. Other tables were getting cakes boxed up to go, this never happens at our table!
After tea, the children played chess again, indoors this time whilst we read the papers and relaxed.
Sometimes in life you need a little bit of luxury, to take a moment to admire the view, enjoy the delicious cake that someone else has made, drink the champagne and sink into a deep, fireside armchair. Bliss.
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Where Jo Goes other Wiltshire posts Lacock National Trust Village /Centre Parcs Longleat
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Castle Combe is special to us too – it’s the first place we stayed after our son was born. He was only three months old, so it’s all a bit of a blur! I do remember it being beautiful, though. I’d definitely go back to try out one of these teas!
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I remember going there for my birthday for tea when my twins were 3 months old and it was an achievement that we left the house! Thanks for reading.
We were in Castle Combe last year. Such a pretty spot Jo and the afternoon tea looks delicious and decadent. Just as it should be. Enjoy your Mother’s Day. Hope you are thoroughly spoilt! #FarawayFiles
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Castle Combe is always lovely for a stroll! The tea is a bonus! Thanks for hosting #FarawayFiles
Do you live nearby then? I’m about a 10 min car ride from Castle Combe and I love it, although it’s been a while since I visited now. Definitely have to rectify that! I also love afternoon tea and never thought to try it at the manor, will be checking it out now, thanks! #FarawayFiles
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I’just near Bristol Keri. I love the Wiltshire villages, lovely at all times of year and Castle Combe is one of my favourites. The afternoon tea is well worth checking out!
They all look great #farawayfiles
such a beautiful place for some tea:) #farawayfiles
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Lovely for a stroll around the village before tea. Thanks for reading.
My goodness this place looks beyond stunning! Sounds like a perfect day, I will have to look it up! #thelistlinky
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A beautiful village it’s well worth a visit. Thanks for reading.
What a gorgeous place! Would love to visit, it’s so photogenic, especially in the spring with that lovely blossom! #TheListLinky
This looks lovely! My older son and I really enjoy afternoon tea together, especially the little cakes! #farawayfiles
A posh afternoon tea in a pretty village would certainly be my Mother’s Day dream. Castle Combe is on my list – I did love Lacock and I know the rest of Wiltshire really well as I was brought up there. Sometimes it’s hard to find that perfect spot for afternoon tea so I shall be saving this idea. Thanks for sharing on #FarawayFiles
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My family are from Wiltshire so I do have a soft spot for the many beautiful villages and I never need an excuse for an afternoon tea. Thanks for hosting #FarawayFiles
Oh wow, this looks like a film set! #thelistlinky
Happy Mother’s Day to you Jo – sounds like a perfect outing. Castle Combe is adorable – can’t wait for the cherry blossoms to pop here in Copenhagen – a while longer for us. And WHO takes cakes home? Yum! #FarawayFiles
Castle Combe looks so adorable! I’ve never heard of this place! I want to get back to England so I can have more afternoon teas! #WanderfulWednesday
Author
We sure do love our afternoon teas!
Castle Combe looks charming and the surrounding area looks so lovely. #wanderfulwednesday
Afternoon tea is the best, and in those surroundings you must have felt like Lady of the Manor! What a good idea adding a gin and tonic to the menu 🙂
Author
It’s my favourite meal!
I would love to stay there for a weekend! So quaint and relaxing!
What a lovely spot! There is nothing better than this type of place for Mother’s Day, so charming!
Oh my goodness!! This is pretty much the England of my dreams, exactly as I envision England to be (and what I was naively hoping it would be like when I went to London years ago, which of course it wasn’t, ha!). Beautiful pictures, so charming and lovely!
I would love to do a proper afternoon tea one day! We were thinking about doing one when we visited Ireland but it’s so expensive! The manor house looks like the perfect setting though!!
Author
Yes they can be expensive that’s why they are such a treat!
What a wonderful way to celebrate mother’s day!! I’ve always wanted to try an afternoon tea, and this one looks just lovely! That green macaroon looks delicious! 😀
Author
It was all scrumptious Lauren – you have to try an English afternoon tea!
I love this place! I’ve been to Castle Combe two times and the first time I spent two nights at the hotel before is was refurbished. Even then it was a wonderful experience that I will never forget. I live in the USA and have been to England 7 times, where most of the time I spent with friends.
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How lovely we stayed at the hotel on our honeymoon so it has special memories for us! Thanks for reading x
My first visit was in 1983. It was my first visit to England and I heard about Castle Combe. At that time the hotel was owned by another company. We spent 2 days there and I loved it. In 2000 I went there again and the hotel had changed for the better. The tea and pastries were wonderful. I wish I could visit again, but I live in the United States and I can’t travel that far anymore.