Afternoon tea at the Petersham Hotel

Afternoon tea is a wonderful English tradition comprising of sandwiches (ideally with the crusts cut off), scones with jam and, of course, a pot of tea.

The final, and vital ingredient, is the tea room itself and these can be found in some of the grandest hotels and rooms, such as the Savoy, Berkley and Connaught.

Locally the place to go is the Petersham Hotel which offers a traditional afternoon tea in a magnificent building with views of water meadows and the Thames.

The tea itself is all you would expect, and there is lots of it! The cake stand has three tiers with sandwiches on the bottom (including the obligatory cucumber), a selection of cakes in the middle and topped with scones. Clotted cream and jam are provided to complete the guilty enjoyment.

The only downside is the room which is somewhat at odds with the rest of the building.

The main part of the hotel dates from 1865. It was built as a grand hotel to rival those in Central London and it looks like it.

The plot got a little lost in 1957 when the restaurant was added to the side to provide a large room with views over the river. The views part works well but the exterior suggests that no consideration was given to its appearance and internally it looks like a cheap hotel last updated in the 70s.

So it's full marks for the tea and the views but only half marks for the room which, overall, makes the Petersham Hotel well worth a visit.