…with cream and jam.
I can never remember which way you should do the cream and jam when having a scone. I know that it is different in Devon to the way that it is done in Cornwall. One of them puts the jam down first, then the cream; the other puts the cream down first and then the jam!
I know I could use the Google to find this out, but I am not sure that even if I did I would remember. The real question is does it really matter, especially when you are in Somerset?
Last week I spent a lovely day in the sun exploring Dunster Castle and its grounds.
This is a National Trust property in West Somerset close to Minehead. I have been before, twice, the first time was in the 1990s, but when I arrived, the group I was they baulked at the entry prices and we left pretty sharpish to have fish and chips on the beach in nearby Minehead.
I did go in May last year, I had just received a National Trust membership as a birthday present, but our visit was cut short as one of my children wasn’t feeling well, so we left early. We had promised ourselves that we would visit again. So just under a year later we were back.
I do enjoy exploring these huge old houses, they have a certain charm and remind ourselves of a time when life was more sharply divided that it is today. Always an element of jealously as well as we see these huge bedrooms that have space, in one example at Dunster, a bed, a sofa, dressing table and a breakfast table with four chairs! I remember thinking that the library at Tyntesfield was bigger than our house!
After exploring the house, time to explore the gardens, which are mainly on steep slopes, so the paths go back and forth. However if you can find your way to the old water mill then you can find the National Trust tea room. This is not the most pretty of tea rooms, the one at Barrington Court for example is really lovely, very old-fashioned room with wooden panels and comfortable chairs and wooden tables. The tea room at Dunster was not as welcoming or as warm as others I have been in. For me the whole tea room experience is not just about the food and drink, it’s also about the environment, the feel, the room, the furniture, even the lighting.
Of course, if you find yourself in the tearoom then it’s time for tea and a scone. Oh and then photograph it and post it to the Twitter.
You never know who will respond to your tweets, but this one resulted in a reply from @nt_scones
I don’t remember how I encountered @nt_scones on the Twitter, but what a great idea (and motivation) for visiting the different National Trust places.
They not only talk about their own scone experiences but also comment and re-tweet other people’s too. They also now have a book out.
As I said in my tweet, the scone was a little dry, but was still very nice. The NT jam was nice and though I think it’s a terrible luxury, I do enjoy getting the jam in the small individual jars. There is also the nice clotted cream too. I did enjoy the tea and it did some in a proper china teapot and not one of those awful metal teapots which always dribble down the spout.
Overall a nice cream tea, but not that traditional tea room experience that I have come to enjoy when visiting National Trust properties.
