23rd August 2018
” There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.”
Henry James
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Having just celebrated Afternoon Tea Week, we delve into one of the most delightful of British traditions.
Explore the journey of tea; from the home of Earl Grey in Northumberland, to Woburn, where afternoon tea was popularized in the 1840’s when Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford would drink tea to stop that afternoon ‘sinking feeling’. Since then tea has become synonymous with the British, and the taking of afternoon tea has graduated from a respectable practice for fashionable society to a chance to experience a leisurely and elegant ritual, take a rest from a hectic shopping day or celebrate with friends or family.
Join Dream Escape’s expert guides and take one of London’s tea trails from Garaways Coffee House, where tea was first sold in the 1650’s, to the ‘tea clipper’ the Cutty Sark in Greenwich and the Chelsea Physic Garden with it’s links to the tea trade.
Of course, in modern times there are many ways to enjoy afternoon tea, from traditional to themed and elegant to entertaining.
Perfect for families young and old, the magnificent Mad Hatters tea is on the ‘must do’ list of London’s elite with Alice’s Exotic Fruits “Drink Me” potion and treats such as a Mad March Hare Vanilla Pocket Watch Macaroon and a strawberry flamingo with a white chocolate Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé croquet truffle.
Take a fun twist on this traditional pastime with an Afternoon tea bus tour, which will keep everyone entertained with an endless flow of London’s iconic sights. Head on down to the potion room in a classic Soho bakery for a fully immersive Harry Potter themed afternoon tea. Spend a fun few hours mixing edible potions, drinking teas with names like “Elixir of Life” and “Unicorn Tears,” and Hubble Bubble – your very own cauldron with a lemon inspired potion.
Sample traditional afternoon tea at iconic London venues such as The Ritz and The Goring or perhaps travel to the west of Ireland and experience the splendour of a magnificent 13th Century castle and former Guinness Family home and the Connaught Room, where the ritual of afternoon tea has been preserved since 1868.
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“Tea tempers the spirits and harmonizes the mind, dispels lassitude and relieves fatigue, awakens thought and prevents drowsiness, lightens or refreshes the body, and clears the perceptive faculties.”
Lu Yu, Classic of Tea: Origins and Rituals
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Whether your clients are celebrating a milestone with a family get together or need some time to rest and recon...
There is nothing quite so special and pleasurable on a visit to Edinburgh than an exclusive, private post opening visit to the very beautiful Royal Yacht Britannia.
Stroll up the red carpeted royal gangway (set at an exact 12 degrees) and enjoy champagne and canapés in the State Apartments. A personal guide will then give a unique insight into the history of the Royal Yacht and how the Royal Family and crew lived and worked on board.
Commissioned by King George VI days before his death in 1952 the project was was personally overseen by the new Queen and her husband Prince Philip. The name, Britannia, was a closely guarded secret until her launch on 16th April 1953 when Her Majesty christened the ship with a bottle of Empire wine at John Brown shipyard on the River Clyde.
During the Royal Yacht Britannia’s 43 years at sea, she took Her Majesty, other members of the Royal Family and Commonwealth dignitaries on almost 968 official voyages. She travelled 1,087,623 nautical miles, calling at more than 600 ports in 135 countries until being decommissioned on 11th December 1997. Every clock on The Royal Yacht Britannia is set at 3.01pm, the moment Her Majesty left her beloved Royal floating palace for the last time.
2018 marks 100 years since the end of the First World War. 11th November 2018 is the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice recognising the significance of the end of the First World War, and the sacrifice made by so many men and women during the war.
A special installation at The Tower of London, Beyond the Deepening Shadow: The Tower Remembers as well as Westminster Abbey Field of Remembrance and other memorials are public acts of remembrance for the lives of the fallen, honouring their sacrifice. We at Dream Escape remember.
The history of the area of The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew goes back to 1299 and the reign of Edward I and in later centuries it was associated with the Tudor dynasty and even later still there was a connection with the Suffrage Movement.
In 1840 the gardens were adopted as a national botanical garden and in 2003 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A beautiful autumn day at Kew today and so many fascinating stories from the 18th Century: Scottish Plant Hunter, Archibald Menzies, bringing back the seed of what became known as the Monkey Puzzle tree from Chile to the 21st Century and The Hive, highlighting the importance of pollination in our food chain. A fabulous visit for all ages.
Always a pleasure to visit Ashford Castle, Co. Mayo, Ireland. A warm welcome is always guaranteed and comfort and luxury await. Fresh red roses are always on display in the reception area which gives a feeling of coming home.
A frequent stay for Dream Escape clients visiting Ireland, our Dream Escape Planning Team design tailor-made programmes taking in the very best experiential activities in the area which include: foodie tours, hawk walk, hiking, historical tours, sheep herding, Irish Coffee tasting afloat, treasure hunts or perhaps a helicopter ride to somewhere very special and much, much more.
Dream Escape often incorporates a privately guided visit to a whiskey (Ireland), whisky (Scotland) distillery into a programme for interested visitors to learn about the history of whiskey/whisky and to see the process of distillation.
Teeling Distillery, Dublin was established in 2015 and Dream Escape first visited in 2016. It was the first new distillery in Dublin in 125 years and located in the area called The Liberties: so named because it was outside the original Dublin city walls therefore the residents were at 'liberty' to set their own rules and regulations and they did!
We love the fact that the 3 pot stills in Teeling Whisky Distillery are named after Jack Teeling's 3 daughters Alison, Natalie and Rebecca. Meet Natalie!
Dream Escape can arrange private tours and tastings for our clients in private booths overlooking The Liberties - Teeling's whiskey cocktails are something pretty special! Slainte.
