The Tea Party, Lee-On-The-Solent

In Britain, as soon as someone catches even the slightest glimpse of the sun, the barbecues come out, the sun-cream gets lathered on, ice cream is purchased by the gallon and we all remove as much clothing as legally acceptable (and then complain when we all feel a bit red and sore a few hours later).

On Saturday, having seen an almost too-good-to-believe weather report, one that predicted high temperatures and completely cloudless skies all day (the stuff of legends), my parents and I decided to head to the South coast and pay the little town of Lee-On-The-Solent a visit.

We used to come here a lot when I was younger; oh the memories I have of blustery, rainy half term days, eating a picnic of squished and unnaturally warm homemade sandwiches while huddled in the car with the window cracked open ever so slightly so we could all claim how much we enjoyed the fresh sea air.

Luckily, Saturday's visit was different; a) it was actually sunny... for the most part and b) we enjoyed lunch the cutest little independent tearoom called 'The Tea Party'. I know, you're sold already. I was too.

Even though the sun was shining brightly, the wind was practically hurricane level, so after walking along as much as the beach as we could before our bodies could no longer take the gale-force, we mosied through the high street and took shelter in the tearoom. This place is everything you'd want a vintage tearoom to be; the wallpaper was quirky and girly, as was much of the decor, the menu had a great selection of light bites and freshly made cakes (I mean, just look at that counter). The staff were really friendly and it was a cozy place to sit, drink tea and enjoy some delicious homemade food.

My dad and I shared a pot of loose-leaf Darjeeling tea (in some of the cutest mismatched chinawear I've ever seen), my mum went for, in the words of the waitress, "ordinary tea". I laughed. To eat, I ordered one of the specials; mashed avocado, poached egg & fresh grilled tomato served on bloomer (long name, suuuper tasty), my dad went for a salmon and cream cheese sandwich and my mum also picked a special, choosing the apple, cheddar & chutney quiche, both of which were served with a freshly made side salad. Served on, of course, beautiful floral crockery. I was in heaven.

Apart from almost being swept off the face of the Earth, we had a great day wandering around the seaside, feeling ever so British. And whilst I tried not to lose my iPhone in the wind while taking artistic photos of the sea, my parents enjoyed some ice creams... that mostly ended up all over them. Who's the child here again?

If you're ever on the South coast of England, be sure to check out Lee-On-The-Solent, and definitely have a pit-stop at 'The Tea Party'. I promise it's worth it.

~ Eleanor xo