Escaping for the night #2

Matt’s favourite thing about staying in a hotel is the breakfast. I can’t fault him for it really, it’s one of my favourite things too, as long as it’s a good one. So, we woke up at Ox Pasture Hall, took a shower under the huge rainfall head and made our way to the dining room to see what was in store for us. Coffee was poured, eggs were chosen and we were both served a full english. There were plenty of other options to choose from, but why wouldn’t you pick the fry up when someone else is washing up?

Over breakfast we tried to make a plan for the day but with zero mobile signal and the waning Wi-Fi, it was going to involve some guess work. All we knew was that we were heading out of the hotel to explore on this gorgeous day and we had to be back in time for afternoon tea.

The drive in to Scarborough was quicker than I’d imagined. We found ourselves in the centre of the high street, trying to locate the beach. Every so often we’d catch a glimpse in the gaps between buildings as steep stairs made their way down to the sea front.

Impressive as they were, the steep stairways weren’t for us but there are two ‘easy on the legs’ options; a slow meander down from the shops or the cliff lift.

Once down at the sea front, Scarborough is exactly what we expected. A crowd of old buildings, some beautiful, some a bit run down. Seafood restaurants beckoning us in for freshly caught lobster with garlic butter and chips. Arcades and slot machine halls filled with kids. Donkey rides on the beach. Busy fisherman mending nets. The massive expanse of Scarborough Castle watching over the chaos below.

We picked up a bag of freshly made doughnuts, coated in sugar and took in the sights.

With an hour to kill we decided to drive 5 minutes North and headed to the Scarborough Sea Life Centre, which is focussed around its Seal Hospital and their rescue and rehabilitation services. My personal highlight was the absolutely mesmerising jellyfish. I could have stayed and watched them for much much longer.

We caught the end of the turtle feeding, I hand fed the crab in the rockpool and just before we left we came face to face with a very playful little seal. All in all, it was a good way to spend an hour. We couldn’t stay though; it was time for the drive back to Oxpasture Hall.

We were the only people eating on a Saturday lunchtime so we had the room to ourselves and the best seats in the house, overlooking their beautiful gardens.

As we awaited afternoon tea, the staff were busy tending to the Wedding party. A veil was whipped through the room, a panicked guest asked ‘have I missed it?’. We could hear the excitement of the bridesmaids who were posing for photos just outside of where we sat. Then came the bride, and just after her, our afternoon tea.

Two warm scones, plenty of jam, clotted cream, a few finger sandwiches, brownies, lemon meringue tarts, lemon cheesecake, summer pudding, profiteroles. We sipped coffee and methodically ate our way through the treats. We just couldn’t finish it.

Believe it or not, this was my first afternoon tea experience and whilst it was all lovely, I’m not sure it’s for me. Matt has a sweet tooth so faired a lot better, but as a girl that prefers more savoury things, I was one bite away from a sugar coma. Is afternoon tea just the wrong thing for me? Or have you been somewhere you think I’d love? Is there such a thing as a savoury afternoon tea? If no where offers one, I think they should. I’d certainly go.