The call of a cream tea was proving hard to resist last weekend. Of course, it’s easier to justify the eating of fat and sugar if you’ve had a workout beforehand. I’m hoping our gentle stroll up Faringdon Folly was sufficient exercise for our subsequent indulgence.
Sitting atop Folly (Faringdon) Hill the tower has views across five counties. The hill itself had an interesting history way before the folly was built. It has housed several forts and castles, including one for local man King Alfred the Great. Cromwell’s men were stationed on the hill during the Civil War and bombarded Faringdon which was on the front line. Unsurprisingly, skeletons were found on site when the tower was being built; if only hills could talk!
Faringdon Folly
The folly, possibly the last one to be built in England, was commissioned by Lord Berners to tease his neighbours. In addition to being wealthy and eccentric he was an accomplished writer, composer and painter. Back in the 1920s and 1930s he was famous for his flamboyant parties at nearby Faringdon House. With house guests such as Aldous Huxley, Salvador Dali, HG Wells and the Mitford sisters can you even begin to imagine them?
Some of his wild ideas would certainly be frowned upon today. These include colouring his doves the different colours of the rainbow and having a horse as a tea companion!
The folly has limited opening hours so always check before making a special visit. We’d timed it right and were able to climb the 154 wooden steps which take you 100ft up the tower. There’s a small souvenir shop and information boards just before you reach the top; the last part is up a small ladder which might be a bit tricky for small children.
Once up top you can see for miles in all directions. The plaques help you identify places; we could easily spot Didcot Power station which is around 20 miles away.
The surrounding woodland mostly consists of Scots Pine although deciduous trees have been planted recently to increase biodiversity. It’s always open, even when the folly is closed. Keep an eye out for sculptures in amongst the trees, including 20 blackbirds (although I thought they were crows, whoops). This area is great for a picnic and makes it into my top 15 picnic sites in Oxfordshire post.
Early summer is an excellent time to visit the folly as the nearby fields are covered in bright red poppies. We visited on a gloomy day so they did a good job brightening up the photos.
Britchcombe Farm cream tea
*Update: the farm has been sold and the tea room and campsite have sadly closed down*
Once we’d finished at the folly we made our first pilgrimage of the year to the nearby Teapot Cafe at Britchcombe Farm. This also happens to be our local campsite; the one we head to when we fancy a quick night away from home. It’s next to the Ridgeway and White Horse Hill at Uffington so gets plenty of visits from walkers and campers.
We’ve been coming here for years. Even if we’re not camping it feels like we’re on holiday so it’s a good reason to indulge in a cream tea. It’s a simple cafe with a straightforward menu, housed in a small barn in the farm garden. There are a few indoor tables but we always sit outside.
It’s changed a little since we were here last, with new signs, longer opening hours and a slightly larger selection of cakes. However we ate what we always do; warm scones, homemade jam and cream. Yum yum, exactly what weekends were made for!
More info:
- Faringdon Folly is open 11am-5pm on the first and third Sunday between April and October. Adult entrance is £2, children 11-16 are 50p and children under 11 are free.
That looks really beautiful there and the Folly sounds interesting. I do love the look of he cream tea too 😉
Thanks for linking #LetKidsBeKids
Thanks Karen. I love a good cream tea 🙂
I think that you can eat those cream tea! That tower looks high and the steps are enough to burn the cream tea =)
Thanks for sharing photos of this trip. Looks like a fab place =) #LetKidsBeKids
I like to kid myself too that it would equal out, although it was just a short walk…..
I was brought up near Faringdon but never knew this existed. I wonder if you could see my old house from the top?
I’m sure we could have done, great views in all directions (unless of course you lived behind White Horse Hill!).
No!! We were towards Bibury.
Ooh, possibly then. You can certainly see into the Cotswolds.
WOW this sounds like a beautiful family day out and what a stunning place to go. I love the poppies photo of the kiddies too! That is a photographers location dream for sure. And who can resist a cream tea too! Definitely counts as exercise so you are balanced out. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme
Thanks Jenny. Yes, poppies were fantastic. Photos would have been better on a sunny day but at least it wasn’t raining!
It looks a really lovely place to visit with a very nice tea to finish off the day. That top of the tower shot is fantastic!
Thank you 🙂 The views are amazing from the top.
This looks like such a lovely place!!! Can’t beat going somewhere with lots of history too! That cream tea looks so good I can not wait to have one in the summer!! Lovely post x #PoCoLo
Thanks. I only like scones when they’re covered in jam and cream!
Loved your photographs! Anyplace that’s called Folly has my attention 😉 and such an interesting history too! Imagine building something to tease your neighbours…how the other half lived!
I can never resist the call of a cream tea – it’s one of the first few things I fell in love with in England! I really adore the fanfare around it and love that an average one is less than $20!!
Thank you. Yes, how the other half lived! I really enjoyed reading up on the history of the folly and hill and love to imagine how things once were.
What a lovely day out! # letkidsbekids
Thanks Tina x
Now that sounds like the perfect day out as far as I’m concerned!
Yes Iona, an afternoon in the countryside and a cream tea, couldn’t agree more!
I think you definitely earned that yummy cream tea, and what a quaint little tea room. I love exploring places like these that are steeped in history and so picturesque. Thanks for linking up and sharing with Country Kids.
Thanks Fiona. I like to find out about the history too, makes it much more exciting.
We’re so bad at timing our visits to when the Folly is actually open, so nice to see your view from the top! #CountryKids
Thanks Mary, it can be tricky to get the timing right. That’s only the 2nd time we’d ever been in it.
Something rather satisfying about ending a good walk with a cream tea. Perfect partners. Looks like a lovely outing and lucky you having it so near. #CountryKids
Thanks Cheryl. I think all walks need a tea shop/cafe at the end for a treat!
What a fascinating history this place has. And who doesn’t love a cream tea?! It isn’t easy living in Somerset where they seem to be on hand far too easily! A beautiful place. Thank you for sharing with PoCoLo 🙂 x
Thanks Vicky. They’re definitely a treat round here, no clotted cream either!
Those poppies are gorgeous and the cream teas look amazing!
#letkidsbekids
Thank you, they are very impressive, the poppies look great against the folly backdrop.
This looks like such a gorgeous place to visit and I loved those poppy photos! Thanks so much for linking up with #MMWBH xx
Thanks very much for your kind comments.
Are poppy flowers still in bloom?
Visiting Oxford hence wondering if it’s worth a little detour on our way back
Thx