The Orchard

Website: www.orchard-grantchester.com
Mill Way, Grantchester
Fare: afternoon tea, desserts, lunch menu
Price: £-££
Service Tips: they have a cafeteria set-up where you go through a self-serve line, but you can order sandwiches, salads, and hot drinks at the end where you pay; sugar is not set out on the tables; there are signs outside about table busing if you sit in the orchard

This charming tea spot is a 45-minute walk from Pembroke if you take the paved walking path out through the Grantchester Meadows along the River Cam. The Orchard is sort of a historical landmark and is especially famous for hosting the likes of Rupert Brooke, Sylvia Plath, A.A. Milne, and a variety of other creative and intellectual figures who've haunted its lawn chairs and taken tea amid the rambly old trees from which it takes its name. If you happen to go on a wet or chilly day, never fear: they have plenty of indoor seating, and it's spacious enough that even when it's busy, it probably doesn't feel too cramped.

While Harriet's or Auntie's are much closer, the Orchard is the place to go for huge, fresh scones, scrumptious clotted cream, and some seriously good honey. Harriet's has better tea, because they use loose leaf and have their own blends, but the scones, which are baked fresh in house, more than make up for any lack on the Orchard's part. Plus, it's a bit less expensive than the places in town, and it's positively bursting with character. If you fancy a look around before heading back, there's also the Brooke Museum, and probably some other interesting bits besides.