Sunshine, New Blogger Friends & Afternoon Tea at Hotel Du Vin, Henley-on-Thames

On Sunday I took myself on a little trip to Henley-on-Thames for an afternoon tea with some fellow bloggers, courtesy of Hotel du Vin.

I had never been to Henley-on-Thames before Sunday, but having driven through it once or twice, I can appreciate how busy it gets, especially on a sunny day. Sophie from Sophie-Rose.co.uk and I were DM’ing on Sunday morning and from that conversation I made the decision to get the train to Henley instead of driving and stressing about parking. Best. Decision. Ever!

Afternoon tea - Hotel du vin

Afternoon tea - Hotel du vin

Arriving at Hotel du Vin ready for afternoon tea, which was just a short walk from the train station, I was greeted at reception and led outside into the courtyard –I was so pleased that they decided to host us outside on such a gorgeous day! Sitting at the table at the back, was Sophie, Stephanie from Hope Freedom Love, Stephanie from Merry Musing, and shortly after I turned up, Jasmine and Kirsty from Soeurs De Luxe rocked up. We were also joined by Nelly and Debbie from the press team that look after the hotel group.

Our host for the afternoon was the wonderful, Stuart, who was quick to pop open the champagne, which was courtesy of the General Manager, and poured us each a glass.

Afternoon tea - Hotel du vin

Afternoon tea - Hotel du vin

Judging the hotel on its appearance alone, the exposed brickwork and pontoon lights made the courtyard a beautiful location to spend a sunny afternoon.

Afternoon Tea at Hotel Du Vin

“Begin with a selection of mini sandwiches and savouries. Including a Severn and Wye smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel, egg and cress mayonnaise brioche sub, ham with Gruyère croissant, heritage tomato and tapenade galette, goat’s cheese and spinach quiche.

The next course is a selection of warm scones served with a mixture of Bonne Maman jams, clotted cream and Lescure butter. To finish, a few sweet mini treats of a lemon meringue pie, raspberry and dark chocolate teacakes and rhubarb and custard doughnuts.

All topped off with homemade apple candy floss and a choice of teas.”

Afternoon tea - Hotel du vin

It was unfortunate I couldn’t eat the ones with salmon, ham and egg… still stunning to look at nonetheless.

Afternoon tea - Hotel du vin

Afternoon tea - Hotel du vin

Afternoon tea - Hotel du vin

Afternoon tea - Hotel du vin

Remember my 90% plant-based lifestyle… this is why I keep that 10% spare so I can allow myself dairy-based sweet treats! I thought the addition of the candyfloss was a fun element to the afternoon tea; I haven’t had any in years!

I don’t think anyone can dislike afternoon tea. I’ll admit I’m not a routine tea drinker, but I do like the occasional peppermint tea after lunch sometimes, and from the menu we were supplied, myself and Sophie selected the Moroccan Mint with Rose tea to have with the cakes and pastries. This washed down the food so well! If you’re a peppermint tea drinker also, you’ll love this and I heartily recommend it.

Afternoon tea - Hotel du vin

Afternoon tea - Hotel du vin

On Blogger Events

As blogger events go, and I’ve only be to a few, this afternoon tea at the Hotel Du Vin probably ranks in first place. Even though I quite quickly knew that although I have probably been blogging for as long as the other girls (taking into consideration my two previous blogs before this one), my following, experience with PR teams, and just general experience of blogging that goes beyond putting a post together, was significantly less, this didn’t stop me from enjoying myself.

My social anxiety did its usual thing, but if the group had been bigger, I would have found the event too overwhelming. Nevertheless, as it was, the group of eight (including me) was manageable and I got a lot out of it.

I love being able to put faces to the people I follow or am familiar with in the blogging community, and even though I may not see these ladies again, I still feel like I gained some new blogger friendships and I really appreciated how warm and lovely everyone was.

After the tea was finished and we were all sufficiently high on sugar, we wrapped up the event and went our separate ways. I had some time before my train back so I took the opportunity to wonder around the local area of Henley-on-Thames, and in the sun, it really is such a beautiful place.  Have you guys ever been?

Afternoon tea - Hotel du vin

Afternoon tea - Hotel du vin

Henley-on-Thames

I would like to say a big thank you to Hotel Du Vin for having us, and to Lauren at Blonde Vision for organising. If any of you are looking for somewhere new to have afternoon tea, I would highly recommend the Hotel Du Vin (in Henley-on-Thames).

Until next time x

4 Comments

    • Claire
      Author
      17th April 2017 / 2:02 pm

      Thank you! It helps when everything is so pretty in the first place 🙂

  1. Stephanie Merry 13th April 2017 / 2:35 pm

    It was so lovely to meet you too! I still can’t get over how lovely it was there last week. I want to go back already! x

    • Claire
      Author
      13th April 2017 / 4:01 pm

      So lovely to meet you too! And yes, me too! 😀

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