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Ickworth was conceived by Frederick, the 4th Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry in the last years of the 18th century, and was always going to be something else. Built not so much as a comfortable house but as a place to house treasures from a couple of decades of the ‘Earl-Bishop’s’ never ending Grand Tour, Ickworth is in the glorious tradition of English impractical grandeur, with it’s monumental central Rotunda and striking wings.
A good start was when the reception of this dog-friendly hotel kindly offered to look after our Yorkshire terrier Lucky. Okay we left his new agreeable handler with a couple of sizeable treats, but they supplied the dog bed and the company and we heard later that Lucky ingratiated himself with a stream of staff who patted and petted him – between bouts of snores and sleeping, which Lucky is also good at.
For us (Chloe, Pippa, 14, and myself), it was no ordinary tea that we were served in the grand setting of one of the Restaurants overlooking the Italianate garden. The theme was The Wind in the Willows, and Ratty’s lemonade posset and Badger’s chocolate and berry swiss roll were signature items on the original rounded wood and wire framed ‘tea server’.
Upgrade the Adult’s afternoon tea to include a glass of Hambledon English sparking wine.
£35 per person, or in our case a delicious raspberry virgin mocktail.
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