What would Jane Austen do in Bath?

As you may know I love Jane Austen novels. So upon visiting Bath last weekend I undertook a list of things that an Austen heroine would do on a regular day.

•  Visit the Thermae Spa – would Jane spa?

The Thermae Spa in Bath is a natural mineral-enriched thermal spa. It's also mixed sex and, rather surprisingly, has a unisex change room! This would be utterly unacceptable in Austen’s time! 

In the modern world though, going to the spa is the ultimate retreat for pure, blissful relaxation. A two hour session at the spa costs £24 – which gives you access to all the pools and the steam rooms.

Although the temperature of the pools is comfortably warm I expected it to be hotter. It is less ‘onsen’ and more, well, ‘Bath’. The best pool is on the rooftop. Even though you shiver in your bathers once exiting the lift, you can plunge right into the steaming pool which looks over the rooftops of the city.

Once you’re done with the pools simply head to the different scented steam rooms – our favourite was peppermint. You can also dunk your toes into a cool footbath or step under the glowing jet showers.

• Have a traditional English Sunday lunch

Roaring fire, check. Roast lamb with potatoes and gravy, check. Mulled wine, check. At the Nineteenth House we indulged in traditional Sunday lunch fare enjoying pan fried bubble and squeak and grilled haddock and bubble as well. It was a bubbly, heartwarming meal in a very cozy pub that had a gorgeous Christmas tree.

•       Visit no.40 Gay Street

This the address of the Jane Austen centre. It’s terribly corny in some parts but also pays a respectful homage to Jane. The giftshop sells I Love Mr Darcy bags…I confess that I bought one…

•      Indulge in an afternoon tea

Afternoon tea is a ritual not to be missed, even if you have had a big lunch. At Sally Lunn’s I had the Jane Austen cream tea – which is a Sally Lunn bun with raspberry jam and clotted cream accompanied by a refreshing house tea. As ladies we sipped our tea, delicately ate our buns and we did not, I repeat did not, finish all our clotted cream.

A Sunday Afternoon Tea in London - Bea's of Bloomsbury

There are some quintessentially British traditions that you have to do in London. Indulging in afternoon tea is one of them. Also known as high tea, afternoon tea is usually served from 2 pm till 5 pm. I like to imagine that the Queen has afternoon tea every day and drinks Twinings.

In my case, afternoon tea is reserved for the weekend when you skip lunch and try not to feel too guilty about eating a lot of sweets.

Bea's of Bloomsbury recently opened a tearoom at One New Change opposite St Paul's Cathedral. The two-level eatery is bright with a warm atmosphere, the antique style chairs and unique interiors create an Alice in Wonderland feeling particularly with the hanging teapot lights and other small touches.

We ordered one afternoon tea set - which comes with savoury baguettes, a proper scone (plain), clotted cream and raspberry jam, a signature cupcakes, petit fours, a mini Valrhona brownie, a mini Belgian Blondie, and a mini meringue and a pot of Jing tea - White jasmine herbal for Chiara. Unfortunately they had run out of petit fours so we compensated with more brownies. 


Rather than being greedy and ordering another afternoon tea, though we did briefly consider this, we opted for the Jam Tea - two plain scones with clotted cream and jam and a pot of Darjeeling Jing tea.

This high tea lady has fallen victim to clotted cream

Rustic looking scones

We look awfully excited and hungry at the same time!

Tea

The Darjeeling was light and refreshing however the teapots were small and we ran out of tea before we finished our last brownie. We ordered a pot of Earl Grey which was just what we needed to cleanse our palette of sugar. The tiny little Jug of milk runs out pretty quickly.

Sweets

The scones were buttery and melted in your mouth with the heavenly clotted cream and runny raspberry jam. I liked the consistency of the jam as it spread easily. The little brownie needed a tad more chocolate in it. However the Belgian Blondie - a moist yellow cake - was divine. The jam-smeared meringue was just the right size and not overtly sweet.

We were a bit disappointed by the velvet cupcake as it had cream, not icing, on the top and in the middle was a giant hole when we sliced it open which was meant to be a layer of chocolate icing. I like solid cupcakes and it didn't taste like a normal red velvet. We ordered the double chocolate cupcake to test another - yet this was incredibly rich. A very wicked cupcake indeed.

Savouries

I've never had baguettes with high  tea as you're usually served finger sandwiches. This was a nice surprise although they weren't cut very evenly - or spread out on the bottom plate. As there were only 3 baguettes, it looked like something was missing on the empty side of the plate! The filling was made up of ham, pesto, salad and cream cheese. The bread was a bit tough but complimented the sweets well.

The verdict - 3.5 out of 5

Service was a bit slow to begin with and we had to flag the waitstaff a few times. For 15 pounds this afternoon tea price is on par with similar sets served at some of London's galleries though cheaper than most hotels. It is a decent serving size though I would've liked to have sampled some of the petit fours. On a second visit I would probably just stick to the tea and scones for 6 pounds. 

We have an agenda of trying out as many afternoon teas as possible in London...so stay tuned.

High Tea at Peninsula Tea Gardens, Tranby House

High tea is a fine art. A perfect balance of sweet, savoury and of course tea. In Perth high tea has become a popular weekend activity offered in select hotels and restaurants. 


The Peninsula Tea Gardens offers a relaxed, natural and rather historical setting for high tea. The tea rooms are set on the tranquil grounds of the historic Tranby House and Farm which was built in 1839. Tucked away in Maylands, the tea rooms are situated opposite Tranby House and overlook the Swan River.

We visited on a crisp winter's afternoon and opted for an outdoor table to soak in the sunshine. We ordered the Sweet Tea set, with Stockholm tea and the Peninsula Tea set, with Lovers Leap tea. Each came on a three-tiered stand with fresh, fluffy scones with jam and cream. The Sweet Tea had fruit as well as cakes and the Peninsula set had finger sandwiches instead of fruit. 

It's difficult to find cakes in Perth that aren't of the "cake box" variety. The cakes on the Sweet Tea set were dusted with icing sugar and very light with the right amount of sweetness. The cupcake was delightfully light made of a buttercake base and the little petit four when sliced had spongecake inside.


The total only came up to $33. Considering some places charge over $50 for one high tea set, this was incredible value for money. This was the best high tea experience in Perth I've ever had. 


One day, hopefully sometime soon, I'm aiming to do high tea at the Langham Hotel in London...

Tea dresses for tea

What is a tea dress?

A light-weight, feminine, spring/summer dress which usually has short capped sleeves and a floral pattern.

Historically tea dresses, or tea gowns, were popular attire for receiving guests at home or going to see an intimate friend. Traditional tea dresses of the late 19th to early 20th centuries featured long flowing sleeves and made of delicate materials.

These dresses were particularly popular for socialites in the UK for "high tea". This was back in the day when there was a huge gap in between breakfast and dinner (which was served at 8 pm), and lunch was only a light meal. Growling stomachs led to the creation of "high tea" by Lady Anna Maria Stanhope, the Duchess of Bedford, in 1841. She liked tea, so did everyone else and hence the perfect meal of high tea in the late afternoon began.

Meanwhile, I'm eyeing off tea dresses at the moment. Especially this Piper Lane dress.



Put on a cream cardigan and get the kettle on...