You know those ideas that you wish you’d had first, like serving afternoon tea on a Routemaster bus whilst touring around London? Well, that is exactly what I did on my birthday last Wednesday, and it is something I wish I’d thought of first! When my mum asked me how I wanted to spend my birthday I had the answer all prepared: BB Bakery’s Afternoon Tea Bus Tour. It does what it says on the tin; BB Bakery’s signature afternoon tea is served on their own Routemaster bus whilst driving through the city, allowing passengers to sample their deliciously tasty treats and take in their surroundings all at the same time. How very British.
If you’re a lover of chinaware, champagne and elaborately decorated rooms then perhaps this won’t be the afternoon tea for you. After all, you are on a bus and you are very much a part of the inner-city traffic. But the multi-tasking is all part of the fun! Be prepared to eat your food, look at the sights and occasionally stop the scones from sliding off the table all at the same time. When it comes to the menu, there is plenty to go around. We were sceptical about how much there would be to share between the three of us, but we had to take almost half of the sweets home in a (delightfully packaged) doggy bag! Because my birthday is late November we were given the Xmas Afternoon Tea menu, which included treats such as christmas tree cupcakes and savoury winter cake (not forgetting a christmas cracker), as well as the more traditional scones with jam, mint and cucumber sandwiches, and macaroons. At the beginning of the tour you’re asked for your chosen drink, with a wide selection of different teas and coffees on offer, which is then served in a practical yet stylish travel mug, and refilled throughout the tour if you so wish. But we were warned that there is no toilet on board, so to only drink what your bladder can handle…
As resident Londoners we were quite happy looking out the window at the places we already knew, but even for those less local the hostess made sure to point out the more iconic sites, and throw in an odd fact or two. You cover every corner of the city, starting just off of Trafalgar Square, meandering west towards South Kensington (past Big Ben, Harrods and the Natural History Museum), taking a turn up north towards Notting Hill, aaaaall the way around Hyde Park – do you know how big Hyde Park is?! – and then back through Piccadilly to where we were picked up. I’d had my fingers crossed for sunny skies because no one wants it to rain on their birthday, but literally as we got on the bus it started to rain. Even so, when you’re surrounded by fairy lights looking out on a bustling London it’s not all that bad. Plus it made us feel pretty smug going past people battling with umbrellas in the wind, or on regular buses.
I had a wonderful 90 minutes on the BB Bakery bus, and for anyone looking for a novel way to enjoy afternoon tea, or a new way to see London, then this will definitely be your cup of tea!
molipop 
