once upon a summertime

nce upon a summertime ...

... back in 1994, I was visiting my first ever penpal, who lived in Cambridge, England. She had come to my home, and I was visiting hers too. I'll spare yo the details of my stay there, but one thing I know, is that I loved Cambridge, all those beautiful colleges, and the green, the grass, the old times student feeling, everything seemed so romantic, at the time. During this summer, I went to a place that for sure left me some sweet memories. My penpal decided to take me to The Orchard Tea Garden, Granchester. I'll quote their website, they say it better than me, and describe so well this special place.

The Orchard - a corner of England where time stands still as the outside world rushes by. Relax and enjoy the gentle setting where more famous people have taken tea than anywhere else in the world. Over morning coffee or a light luncheon, soak up the atmosphere of a bygone age; follow in the footsteps of generations by sharing in the great English tradition of afternoon tea.

The Orchard, first planted in 1868, became a Tea Garden purely by chance. A group of Cambridge students asked Mrs Stevenson of Orchard House if she would serve them tea beneath the blossoming fruit trees rather than, as was usual, on the front lawn of the House. They were unaware that, on that spring morning in 1897, they had started a great Cambridge tradition.

The students enjoyed their rural tea, and word spread around the colleges. The Orchard soon became a popular ‘up-river resort’ which was well known to Varsity men. The Stevensons’ advertising card also proudly announced that the Orchard was not connected to any Public House. With few exceptions, very little has changed in the Orchard since then.

I have no photo from that moment, it was far before digital camera time, and even though I had brought a camera, I didn't think of taking photo then. So, thanks to Flickr & to the person who post photos, I could find interesting photos of it. You can click the photos to go to their respective stream.

yes, you can have tea & scones with cream & strawberry jam, under the apple trees, and this, believe me, was quite magical & exotic for the 15 years old girl that I was at the time ! I clearly remember lying in one of these deckchairs, and having a apple juice & a scone with cream & jam. Oh the sweet memory ... should I say "cozy memory" LOL) It was pure bliss.

now that I am ... er, 17 years older (ouch, it hurts), the memory is still alive, and if I could, I would teletransport myself in the wink of an eye, and I'd also invite my best friends there, and we'd have a fantabulous tea party there. Maybe a bit of champagne with floating raspberries wouldn't hurt. :) We'd bring our current crafty WIP (work in progress), and chat + craft (crochet, embroider, knit, sew ...) away the hours of a summer day ... oh the bliss ! (I think I have already mentioned that I was a daydreamer, haven't I ?)

oxox

Sonia

INFORMATIONS :

the Orchard is open seven days a week all year round, with the exception of some days around Christmas.

December, January, February 9:30am - 4:30pm
March, April, May 9:30am - 5:30pm
June, July, August 9:30am - 7:00pm
September, October, November 9:30am - 5:30pm

The Orchard Tea Garden
45 - 47 Mill way, Grantchester, Cambridge CB3 9ND

Telephone: 01223 551 125
Fax: 01223 551 127
Email: otg@callan.co.uk