Sometimes when you’ve had a long, frustrating week, which is more often than not when you’re still living with your parents, the best thing to do is to hop on a train to see your bestie. So this weekend I took the 2 hour train from London to Leeds. Goodbye Hertfordshire, hello Yorkshire and hello Maria!
I’m pleased to say that she was the hostess with the mostess, and having never been to Yorkshire before it didn’t disappoint. Everyone is so friendly up North! (To be fair, I think of anything further up than London as ‘the North’, so perhaps this is a generalisation). The streets are adorable, straight out of coronation street. Best of all, the sun was shining for our weekend of giggles and snuggles. Aside from a sweaty fitness boot camp and some fishbowl-induced karaoke, which I’ll spare you the details of, most of our time was spent in pursuit of the perfect cup of tea. Luckily Maria shares my appreciation of cute cafes, and she made sure we made a beeline for the following on my tourist trail:
Betty’s, Harrogate
Betty’s, I’m told, is something of a Yorkshire institution. The queue for afternoon tea was snaking out of the door so it’s not exactly the best kept secret! Luckily we stuck it out and had tea, a choux pastry ring filled with cream and fruit, and scones. This prompted the debate about whether it’s jam before cream or cream before jam on a scone. Personally, I’m firmly a cream first kinda gal. Controversial, I know.
Mrs Atha’s, Leeds
Maria took me to Mrs Atha’s for a hungover breakfast and we didn’t move for about 2 hours. Drank a few gallons of Earl Grey and ate divine maple syrup pancakes with blueberries and pomegranate seeds. If you’re looking for a good English cuppa you can’t get much better, the waiters even come over with a timer to let you know when your tea’s brewed to perfection. The best part is the decor: any independent caff with vintage teacups and antique furniture is a winner in my book.
Suitably tea-d out and relaxed, it was unfortunately time to go home and back to reality. I could easily have hung out in Yorkshire cafés for the rest of the week. Thanks Maria! x
