The Hazelmere
Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria
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Genteel Grange-over-Sands would be an unlikely place to find cutting-edge cuisine, so it’s no surprise that this tea room is traditional to a tee. Things kick off with full English breakfasts, vegan pancakes and pastries (everything is baked on-site) ahead of an all-day menu promising toasted sandwiches with hand-cut chips, beer-battered haddock and breaded scampi, Cumbrian lamb hotpot and Cartmel Valley Cumberland sausage. Afternoon tea, however, is what the place is most famous for, with Art Deco-style cake stands groaning with blessedly simple finger sandwiches of soft white bread, sweet and sticky Bakewell tarts and crumbly scones to slather with clotted cream and Lyth Valley damson jam – plus a smaller version if your appetite doesn’t stretch that far (though friendly staff will happily box up any leftovers to take home). There’s nothing ground-breaking on offer here, just the reassuring pleasure of consistently well-executed, homely British cooking that is likely to go down well with young children, grandparents and everyone in-between (including the family pooch – The Hazelmere is dog-friendly). What is a surprise, however, is to find a first-floor tea emporium, run by The Hazelmere’s passionate owner Dorothy Stubley, offering the sort of highly knowledgeable service and carefully curated selection of leaf-teas one might expect to find in a cosmopolitan city centre; there’s also a top-notch deli next door. Best of all, you can walk it all off with a stroll along Grange’s mile-long prom, with its far-reaching views across Morecambe Bay. Note that The Hazelmere is no-bookings, but the queue is never long, and you can admire the town's ornamental gardens while you wait.
