Alice's Adventures in Guildford

Alice's Adventures in Guildford | Surrey

The most famous literary tea party is the Mad Hatter's tea party in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland so where better to have tea than Guildford, the town where Lewis Carroll wrote Through the Looking Glass?

Guildford has many links with Lewis Carroll who bought a cottage there for his six sisters. Throughout his life he was a frequent visitor to the town and is even buried in the local cemetery. There is a lovely statue of Alice through the looking glass which is just a stone's throw from where Carroll's sisters lived. On the riverbank, there is another fun statue of Alice chasing the white rabbit.

Delving into the world of Alice couldn't be complete without my own mini tea party! I went to Caracoli, a bright café with huge windows overlooking the High Street. As the weather was rather autumnal, I tried the buttermilk spice cake which was a rich sponge with a tangy icing. I was intrigued by the Monk pear tea, purely because of its name. This black loose leaf tea with jasmine and sweet pear complemented the cake well. I hope that Mad Hatter would have approved of my afternoon tea!

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