The Orchard, Grantchester

The Orchard in 1910
I don’t know when I last went to Starbucks. Ages ago. A couple of years, perhaps. Our most commonly-used coffee haunt is Coffee Link on the dockside in Ipswich. It’s independent and friendly, and it does good cakes.
As we found ourselves not entirely coincidentally in Cambridge this weekend, Coffee Link was obviously out of the question, so instead we headed for The Orchard in the neighbouring village of Grantchester.
It’s really quite idyllic. You sit in deck chairs under the centuries-old trees doing stereotypically English things like drinking tea and eating scones. You can get there by car, as we did, but the more traditional option is to punt there down the Cam or walk across the fields, blowing raspberries as you pass Jeffrey Archer’s house next door.
(Raspberries optional.)
It’s a place of great history, having served tea to students and dignitaries since 1897, and over that time it’s clocked up an impressive guest list: EM Forster, Stephen Hawking, Alan Turing, AA Milne, King George VI, Prince Charles, David Attenborough… you can pick up a little book in the tea queue that lists them all. The list has been copied on The Orchard’s Wikipedia page.
It’s not extortionate, it’s a great place to take tea, and the scones really are good. A definite to add to the ‘do again’ list; particularly if the dark clouds aren’t gathering overhead next time.
If you liked that post, then try these...
Over time on November 14th, 2005
Trimming the list on February 10th, 2002
Kite flying on August 12th, 2007
Escape from the Magic Kingdom on July 1st, 2006
Saint Etienne at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on September 14th, 2008