Tea in Cornwall - The Southwest Coast of England

Arrive in London in the early morning. Take a taxi from the airport to our lovely four-star boutique hotel. 

Check into the Mandeville Hotel in Marylebone, London. This is a chic residential area with a village feel centered around the indie boutiques and smart restaurants of the Marylebone High Street. Rest and relax, enjoying lunch on your own.

We'll meet in the early evening for a welcome drink at the hotel bar. After getting to know one another, we’re having an English dinner at the Reform Social and Grill at the hotel -  a Marylebone favorite.

After a full English breakfast, we'll board the train from Paddington Station, London, to Exeter in Devon County. Our driver will meet us in a mini coach upon arrival and stay with us for the entire journey. We’ll drive 20 minutes from the station, then hop onto the Puffin Water Taxi to our lunch spot for the day. 

The River Exe Café is Devon’s only floating Gastro Shed on the River Exe, upstream of its flow into the English Channel. Mussels are the mainstay here, but perhaps you’d prefer to try the local crab, clams, or scallops washed down with a little English cider.

Save some room because, after our scenic lunch, we’ll travel from The River Exe to Quicke's Farm for an English cheese tasting. 

We’ll check in and relax at the luxury boutique Southern Hay House. Located in a beautiful grade II listed Georgian townhouse, it was originally home to Major General William Kirkpatrick from the East India Company. Tonight, we'll dine at the hotel.

Today, we’ll drive to Galmpton. Here, we’ll visit the National Trust property, Greenway, also known as Greenway House, an estate on the River Dart in Devon, England, once the home of the author Agatha Christie. It remains as it was in Agatha's day. You'd swear she just stepped out. In our opinion, Greenway House and Garden is one of the loveliest places in England.

Later, we'll enjoy a quay-side lunch at The Crab Shed in Salcombe. This restaurant's motto is "From boat to quay to table."

After lunch, we'll board our private cruise boat to learn more about the Salcombe Estuary and its wildlife. While onboard, we'll toast our wonderful time together with a glass of bubbly. 

With our driver at the helm, we’ll travel to the Boringdon Hall Hotel, our home for the next two nights. After unpacking, (if time allows,) we’ll sit down to a proper English Devon cream tea at this elegant manor house. It once belonged to members of the British Royal family. Read about its history here. Boringdon Hall is now an award-winning 5-star hotel and spa. Take time this afternoon to walk the manicured grounds and relax at the spa and indoor pool. Tonight, we'll have dinner at Boringdon’s Brasserie.

This morning, we’ll discover the ancient Pannier Market in Tavistock in the heart of the historic town. The market was granted its Royal Charter in 1105 and has survived without a break for over 900 years. It’s a shoppers' paradise and one of the hidden gems of Tavistock.

While at the market, we'll gather scrumptious bites for a relaxing picnic at The Meadows Gardens. 

This afternoon, we’ll visit another National Historic Trust property, the Tudor mansion, Cotehele, dating back to 1353. It's just down the road, yet over the border in Cornwall. This property is known for its extensive gardens and world-class tapestry collection.

Tonight, we’ll venture back to our hotel for an elegant meal you'll surely remember. Àclèaf’s chef, Scott Paton, will whip up a four-course tasting menu using the finest local ingredients with wines to match.

After a hearty breakfast, we will check out of our hotel and drive for an hour and a half to St Ives on the north coast of Cornwall. There is much to explore in this idyllic seaside town, the jewel of the Cornish coast and a haven for artists dating back to the era of portrait and landscape painter J M W Turner.

We will start our adventure at gin school. The English and gin have had a close relationship for hundreds of years, dating back to 1689 when Dutchman William III was made King of England and introduced the Dutch-made alcohol Genever to the English. Tarquin's Gin is a distillery that creates uniquely crafted gin using botanicals from around the world. At gin school, we will get a chance to create our own gin recipes, choosing from an extensive range of citrus, herbal, floral, and spice botanicals.

After class, we will dine at the seaside Portminster Kitchen. Relish the Cornish cuisine.  

Then, we'll start an art-filled afternoon with a visit to the Tate Gallery of St. Ives, a hub for the important post-war modern artists of Cornwall. We’ll follow this with a visit to the sculptor Barbara Hepworth’s home and garden. Ms. Hepworth was an artist of extraordinary stature, working for over 50 years on the cutting edge of abstract sculpture and one of the first well-known female sculptures.

Check-in and settle for the next two nights at the utterly charming Boskerris Hotel St Ives.

Tonight’s meal is at the cozy gastro pub, the Halsetown Inn. Today is a couple of days past the summer solstice, so it should be light until 9:30 p.m.

The tides will determine where we head first today. We'll rise early to pack in all the beauty around us. On order is the medieval castle of St Michael’s Mount, a national trust property. It is set on an island linked to the mainland by a causeway path only accessible at low tide. St. Michael’s oozes history from the Norman Conquest to the War of the Roses in the 15th century. It is said that four miracles happened here between 1262 and 1263. Judge for yourself once you've heard the tales. The St Aubyn family has made this rock their family home back to the 17th century. Here, we will enjoy a simple refreshing lunch at St. Michael's Mount Island Cafe. 

Later, we'll explore exceptional English Gardens near Falmouth. Trebah Gardens are subtropical Cornish gardens. They lie directly on the southern coast. They're steeped in heritage and creativity. No wonder these gardens are listed as one of the great gardens of Cornwall. 

On our way back to St. Ives, we’ll stop to drool over the turquoise waters of Kynance Cove. Once used in the filming of Poldark, this is considered the most beautiful bay in England.

Tonight’s meal will be at the Seafood Café back in St. Ives. Here, you can choose your fish at the fish counter before the chef creates a delicious meal of it for you.

After breakfast, we’ll check out and head to Newquay to catch the 11:18 a.m. train back to London’s Paddington station, enjoying a simple lunch aboard. We’ll arrive back in London by approximately 4:30 p.m. to say our sad goodbyes. Hop onto a night flight back home or stay a while longer in London town.