Afternoon Tea at Shippon Tea Room in Lask Edge Road, Staffordshire

Update: Shippon Tea Rooms is temporarily closed until further notice

Living in England has its benefits, especially in Summer, where everyone takes the time to sit down and bask in some sunshine an enjoy a beautiful cup of tea and some lovely cakes.  Afternoon Tea was initially introduced by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford around 1840. The Duchess would become hungry around four in the afternoon and since she could not wait till her evening meal which was served at eight at night, she started the tradition of serving tea and cakes to keep her hunger pangs at bay.   This soon caught on and we have her to thank for the lovely array of Afternoon Teas being served here in Britain and all over the world.  Here’s a gem of a place which I discovered recently thanks to some friends when we headed out for a lovely Afternoon Tea at Shippon Tea Rooms in Lask Edge Road in Staffordshire.

Although the place is just 15 minutes from where I live and I have passed it many a time, surprisingly I did not know of its existence.  From the main road, there is just a tiny teapot sign to indicate where to turn into. After driving along the quiet driveway, I soon arrived at a lovely building which looked like a house. We had to knock on the door (which was closed when we arrived) just to be sure we were at the right place.  As soon as we stepped inside, we were transported to another place somewhere so quintessentially British, quirky and wonderful. The vintage-themed wall decorations were beautiful and the multitudes of teapots and cups around us were just bewildering to look at. It was also wonderful to find a photo album of the tearoom with pictures of how the building originally looked like and photos of its transformation. So much love and effort has gone into its creation and this can clearly be seen.

We were soon greeted by one of the owners, who brought us our yummy Afternoon Tea, her mum takes care of the Tea Room and she does most of the baking in the morning. She informed us that the scones were freshly made that day. She chatted to us about the Tea Room and how they painstakingly converted the old and unused barn into the stunning place it now it.  Our Afternoon Tea spread consisted of a tea of our choice (I had Green Tea as always), a selection of sandwiches (ham, cheese and salmon), a lush triple chocolate cake, cute profiteroles, a good slice of Mascarpone Cheesecake, freshly baked scones with homemade strawberry preserve, butter and clotted cream. This cost us £12.50 per person and definitely well worth it.  A note of advice: If you are heading there, you would need to make prior reservations. Do note that you can also ask for vegetarian options and kids under 13 only pay half price.

I had a quick nosey around the place and the outdoor area looked magnificent! The garden looked immaculate with the little pond and it was such a stunning calming place to enjoy an Afternoon Tea and relax. Totally picturesque!

I loved the Afternoon Tea selection which was served. I found the portion size ample and the selection not too sweet.  I would suggest having a very light breakfast if you are heading for the Afternoon Tea.  It was a unique experience with great cakes and fantastic ambience. A great afternoon get away with some friends before we picked our kids up from school. We can’t wait to head back there again and maybe next time for their Witches Tea experience where there will also be a tea leaf reading, this will, of course, be taking place close to Halloween.

Where is Shippon Tea Rooms?
Lask Edge Rd
Leek
ST13 8QS
Tel : 07741 475925

What are their Opening Hours?

Closed on Monday, Tuesday and Sunday
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday – Open from 12noon until 4pm

About Shippon Tea Rooms

Their family have painstakingly transformed an unloved old shippon (fancy sounding local word for a cow shed) into a regency inspired vintage tea room.  They are a super friendly mother and daughter team who “waft” around in vintage style clothing serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea (not forgetting witches tea…)  to their lovely customers.  Pauline keeps the log burner roaring in winter and the cottage garden ship-shape in summer, so you can enjoy sitting inside and out and make yourselves at home throughout the year.

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Quintessentially English Afternoon Tea