The Best Afternoon Tea in Northumberland at Walwick Hall

My husband is one of those people who is very loyal to our favourite places. So when I suggested it was about time we booked ourselves an afternoon tea without hesitation he started to list our usual haunts. I said no to them all, I was adamant that I wanted to try somewhere new and, with our endless mission to discover the best afternoon tea in Northumberland in mind, I suggested a place that I've been wanting to try for ages - Walwick Hall.

I can't remember when I first heard about Walwick Hall,  I just know that it's a hotel that I have been wanting to visit for a while now. I have been boring Simon by endlessly hinting how much I want to stay overnight and visit the spa so, as you can imagine, I was over the moon when he agreed that we could head there for afternoon tea.  To say I was excited to finally step inside Walwick Hall would be an understatement.

For those of you that haven't heard about this lovely little place (believe me, part of me doesn't want to tell you about it, because I kind of want to keep it to myself), Walwick Hall is a boutique country hotel nestled in the heart of Hadrian's Wall - with the most incredible views across the Northumberland countryside, a very impressive food menu and the kind of interiors that I could only dream of.  It really is pretty special.

Afternoon Tea at Walwick Hall is served in the Drawing Room, a very grand looking living room with an open fire and plush sofas - the perfect setting to take tea. I had requested a window seat when I booked and on arrival we were shown directly to an idyllic table right by the window overlooking the beautiful garden with some very impressive views across the Tyne Valley.

Our very friendly server asked us whether we'd like tea or coffee with our afternoon tea and very helpfully ran through my nut allergy with me. I love places that instantly put me at ease with my food intolerance and I felt immediately reassured that they understood my requirements perfectly.

Dining mid week is a bit of a rare treat for us and other than a few people flitting in and out we more or less had the entire lounge to ourselves during our afternoon tea, absolutely ideal when you want to play "yes this is my house", something we love to do when we're eating somewhere incredible that we wish we could call our own. Walwick Hall is certainly the kind of place where you do feel right at home, it may look pretty swish inside but the atmosphere is very warm and everyone we met was so happy and friendly.

Our tea arrived first, served in the most beautiful china and, as Simon immediately pointed out, in pots and jugs that didn't pour liquid all over the tables. Such a simple detail but it really was a treat to be able to pour out our tea without spilling half of it. Every great afternoon tea has bottomless drinks on offer and at Walwick Hall we were magically refilled every time we hit empty with the lovely staff getting that great balance between being attentive and leaving us in peace. I honestly have no idea how they did it, but they really did have it spot on.

In no time at all our stand of treats had arrived and we had the biggest smiles on our faces when the copper stand was placed in front of us, fully loaded with goodies. Each tier was explained to us so we knew exactly what we had to enjoy and then we were left to it - where do you even begin with such a beauty?

Savoury first of course and the afternoon tea at Walwick Hall has a great offering if you love a bit of variety on the bottom tier.  We had four sandwiches each including Salmon & Cucumber and Ham and Piccalilli all served in squishy crustless bread with the ideal amount of filling in. This was then joined with a homemade Sausage Roll and, my absolute favourite, a cheese and onion tart which was encased in the most delicious pastry I have ever tasted.

At this point we knew we were truly on to a good thing. Simon and I are such afternoon tea eating pros that a huge grin and a nod is all we need to tell each other that this one was going to be a contender for the best afternoon tea we had ever had.

But let's not be too hasty, we still had two tiers to go!

Scones were up next and we loved that we had something a little different. As well as a fruit scone each we also had a lemon scone and we couldn't resist going for one of those first. Served with homemade strawberry and raspberry jam (LOVING the fact that we got two jams to pick from) and a huge pot of cream we dove in. The raspberry jam on the lemon scone was just incredible and the cream was so thick it was like a mini workout just trying to get it out of the pot. Absolutely delicious.

As I've mentioned many times before, scones make or break an afternoon tea for us and these beauties were heaven. A perfect size, easy to cut with a lovely soft middle, slightly warm from the oven - I could probably sit here all day trying to explain exactly how wonderful they were but I think it's actually best you just go and try them for yourselves!

When we had booked our tea we had wanted to go somewhere where we could really take our time and spend the afternoon. Feeling very comfortable and with no pressure to rush we decided to take a little break before tucking into our cakes. I ambled over to the magazine rack and grabbed myself a copy of Living North to flick through and spent a good while enjoying the peace and quiet - believe me,  this is the way to truly enjoy an afternoon tea.

Finding room for the big finale, the cake tier was quite a sight. Filled with very impressive looking colourful cakes we set to work on clearing the lot. Rose and Lemon Macarons, a little Chocolate Delice, Lemon Meringue Tart and Strawberry Choux Buns - each treat was perfectly prepared and tasted incredible.  Quite often on an afternoon tea you'll get one cake that I like to describe as "the filler" - it's been created to make the stand look busier but doesn't really add any value to the tea. This definitely isn't the case at Walwick Hall - every single cake was fantastic.

As you can imagine we were more than a little full by the end so decided to walk to our car via the back of the Hall to get a bit of fresh air and, of course, have a good nose at the outside of the hotel.

I couldn't believe how incredible the views at the back of the hotel were, next time we have a sunny afternoon there will be no prizes for guessing where I'll be. The outside seating area at Walwick Hall has to have the most impressive views in Northumberland, imagine enjoying an afternoon tea out in the sunshine with that scenery. Heaven!

I honestly can't say enough how much you all need to go and try this afternoon tea. It was absolutely incredible and has easily shot its way up our list to become our favourite. The whole experience was faultless - lovely staff, beautiful setting and delicious food - it really was the very best kind of treat you could ever experience and I will be spending many many months to come telling anyone who will listen to give it a try.  Please go!

What you need to know:

• There are two Afternoon Tas to choose from at Walwick Hall, Traditional or Northumbrian - you can read more about each one here.
• Both Afternoon Teas cost £24.95 per person
• Afternoon Tea bookings must be made in advance by 4:00 pm the day prior with a £5.00 per person deposit required at the time of booking
• If you don't fancy a full Afternoon Tea, the Drawing Room at Walwick Hall is open to residents and non-residents serving teas, coffees and bakes 

Find Walwick Hall at:

Humshaugh
Nr Hexham
Northumberland
NE46 4BJ

https://walwickhall.com/

01434 620 156

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