Tea Love in Winchester

We’ve had a couple days relaxing in Winchester, catching up with friends and family. It’s been a luscious midweek break, filled with the things that I rarely get time for: morning run, cafe brunch, book browsing, and local shopping. We stopped in at Char today, a tiny shop dedicated to fabulous teas of every variety.

You might pop in planning only to restock your builder’s tea tin, but you’ll leave with visions of first blossoms on Himalayan mountains, treasured hand-picked leaves, and stories of tea varieties passed down generations. If you think wine-tasting has a rich vocabulary, you’re in for a treat. You can nose around, sniffing all of the sample pots, but you’re better off bending the owner’s ear. His passion for his subject is infectious, as he gives you a picture of tea complexities you could never have imagined. You’ll never think of your afternoon cup in quite the same way, and you’ll leave with plenty of new additions to fill your pot.

Rainy day discoveries

On a wet day in Winchester I discovered a leak in my boots, and the pleasing shelter of a big brolly. On our wanders we found paths turned to streams and dens made of willow; a new coffee stop where I realised the genius of biscotti, and a Dickensian book shop where I picked up the first delight of the festive season.

Whistle Stop Winchester

A week’s gone by, and I haven’t even taken a moment to mention Tom’s birthday last weekend. We had a great time celebrating in our much-loved old home, Winchester last weekend; enjoyed some comedy at the enviable Discovery Centre, celebrated with the Jays on their engagement (congratulations guys!) and wandered around the Farmer’s Market, buying things that were far to heavy to carry back to the Island.(but we did anyway, and we had a delicious meal at home with plenty of Hampshire fare.)

Happy (belated) Birthday Tom. xx

Rainy Winchester Weekend

Winchester is always a treat for a weekend visit, even if it pours with rain. Our foul weather saviour this time was Intech. It was a mass of slightly soggy families all messing around with various interactive science experiments.

Tom learned that we look hot when we kiss.

And Bryony learned that its always possible to find a way to shift the conversation to bicycles.

A restorative lunch at the Bridge Patisserie. A perfect little nutshell of a cafe. Sencha Sakura tea turned out to be a delicious discovery. Pear and blackcurrant frangipane is a perfect lady’s lunch for a rainy day. The goats cheese quiche is tasty enough to deserve a better salad. Either way, this place gives us business-envy.

A wander back through Winchester Cathedral Close and a stop off at the bookshop under the arches, opposite a Barbara Hepworth sculpture. This place is so excessively picturesque it’s quite ridiculous. With this little place on top of Oxfam bookshop and P&G’s, Winchester is a great place to spend an hour book browsing.

After the rain.

Peeking over the wall at allotments has become all the more fun since finding out we are getting our own.

Bryony and Tom