Afternoon Tea at the Ramblers Bar.

We found the Ramblers Bar attached to the Inn on the Lake in Glenridding.

As you would hope from the name, the bar is walker, dog and child friendly, its warm with a big roaring fire and has a nice selection of ales on tap. We found the flat screen TV tuned to a music channel a bit distracting but they were showing the football when we went in the evening, so worth remembering if you are camping and need to keep up with the sports news.

There is an extensive pub style menu that looked reasonably priced and the meals being delivered to other tables looked to be of a good size and quality.

We opted for the afternoon tea (this was James' way of bribing me to get up and down Little Mell in 30 mins!)

Its fairly pricey at £15.50 per person but comparable with other places such as Betty's and to be expected in a village where there is not much other competition.

Instead of getting a selection of sandwiches we were given option of choosing one from salmon, cheese, ham and tuna. James had cheese and pickle and I had salmon. These came with a nice bit of dressed side salad. I was a bit disappointed that my salmon sandwich lacked any kind of dressing or cream cheese however who really gets afternoon tea for the sandwiches?

The scones were spot on, however they were served with double cream rather than clotted cream which distressed me a little. The miniature Victoria sponge and Grasmere cake were fantastic and loads of fun. We also enjoyed the mini chocolate éclair and trifles.

Another only slight criticism was that three of the items consisted of strawberries and cream, maybe a lemon cake or a chocolate mouse to add some variety?

The presentation was perfect and the large tea pot was topped up with hot water meaning we had plenty to drink.

The atmosphere was nice enough in the bar, but it looks a little sparse and you have to order at the bar. If you were to arrive in nice clothes rather than muddy boots and waterproofs like we did you could sit in the hotel lounge. It looked very smart from what we saw through the windows!

I think I have been a bit harsh here with the nit picking, this was a really good afternoon tea, I just eat a lot of afternoon tea and know what I like with regards the finer details.

I rate my afternoon teas using the 'T factor' which is:

                                                             Score out of 20/Price in £

The scores:
Ambiance: Cosy and comfortable but room shared with a noisy tv! 3/5
Service: Good but basic- orders made at the bar 3/5
Presentation: 5/5
Food quality: 5/5

Price £15.50 each

                                                           16/15.5 = T factor: 1.03


Its a bit of a low score due to the price, nevertheless we had a lovely tea and getting dressed up and dining in the hotel lounge would have been great.

The Ramblers Bar
Inn on the Lake,
Lake Ullswater,
Glenridding,
Cumbria,
CA11 0PE

017684 82444

K.