The Orchard Tea Room in Grantchester is an institution where people have taken tea amongst the apple trees since 1897.

Tea and cake and lovely lunches in the Orchard are now a Cambridge tradition followed by all students, tourists and locals alike. Whether you walk from Cambridge (a lovely walk of about 40 mins across the meadows and by the river) cycle, drive (there is plenty of parking) or punt your way to the tea rooms – it’s a lovely day out and totally worth it for the quintessentially English setting alone.

The Orchard has been frequented by many a famous name;  Rupert Brooke is recorded to have stayed here, and Virginia Woolf, Maynard Keynes, Bertrand Russell, Stephen Hawking and HRH Prince Charles are just a few of the high profile patrons.  There is a museum on-site where you can read more about the writers and academics who have taken the tea room and Grantchester to their hearts and many of them are also pictured on the walls of the tea rooms.

There is nothing fancy or hip about this place nor would you want there to be, but simple food like baked potatoes or quiche are well done and the scones are worth saving space for, along with the many amazing cakes of course. You really want to be there on a sunny day when you can enjoy the deckchairs and the shade of the trees.