Captain Tom Afternoon Tea @ The Castle

When Captain Tom Moore took to his garden, walking laps to raise money for the NHS, nobody could have foreseen the incredible impact the then 99-year-old would have on a country in crisis.

Within weeks Captain Tom was a national treasure, and was inspiring people up and down the country to take on their own challenges and really make a difference during the evolving pandemic.

One of those people was my seven-year-old son who, so saddened by the idea of rough sleepers catching covid and having nobody to care for them, decided to run a marathon in ten days to raise money for homelessness charity Crisis.

Henry, now eight, set himself a goal of raising £262 – ten pounds for every mile – but to date has raised more than £11,000. To say we are proud parents is an understatement, but we try not to overindulge the kid, try to keep him grounded. ‘It’s a great achievement, but there’s no special treatment over your sister’.

However, sometimes special treatment does crop up and last month Henry was lucky enough to have a highspeed Great Western train named after him. As he and his sister giggled excitedly about taking the day off school to ride a train with his name on it, an email landed in my inbox inviting Henry to the Castle Hotel in Windsor to celebrate his accolade.

‘We’d like to offer Henry and a guest a special Captain Tom afternoon tea the day before his ceremony,’ it read.

Not wanting the child to travel alone, and purely out of my love for him and in no way my love of cakes and champagne, I took one for the team and went with him.

The menu was created in collaboration with Captain Tom’s family, and Castle Hotel Windsor donates 10% of the cost of the treat to The Captain Tom Foundation for every afternoon tea sold.

With all the traditional elements of a quintessentially English afternoon tea – the menu features some of Captain Tom’s personal favourites including Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese and homemade pickle sandwiches, and scones served with homemade berries of the forest jam and Devonshire clotted cream.

The top tier also boasts a selection of delicious mini pastries, including a creamy Victoria sponge cake, a ‘Great British Army fruit torte’ and a moist and squidgy chocolate opera cake.

Afternoon tea is served in the hotel lounge situated adjacent to new restaurant Leaf and, as its name suggests, the space is an indoor arboretum filled floor to ceiling with succulents and style.

The restaurant radiates luxury with a relaxed and calm atmosphere while the lounge and bar are more laid back and social spaces, with sofas and seats you could easily sink in to for a whole afternoon.

Hmmmms and aaaaahs echoed around the bright lounge as H and I tucked into our indulgent treats and I was served a glass of champagne while scoping out the tea menu. he passed on the champers and enjoyed a decadent hot chocolate topped with even more sweet treats in the form of marshmallows.

Teas include traditional tea blends, fruit and herb infusions, as well as green teas from Darvilles of Windsor, the purveyors of fine teas who have held the Royal Warrant for 70 years, and continue to supply teas to the Royal Household in Windsor Castle. I went for the Jasmine Huang Shan Ya, a delightfully light green tea.

Service at The Castle was second-to-none and my special boy was treated like a prince all afternoon, putting him in the perfect mood ready for his train-naming ceremony at Paddington the following day.

• The Captain Sir Tom Afternoon Tea starts from £30.00 per person and 10% from each afternoon team sold will be donated to The Captain Tom Foundation. For more information visit https://castlehotelwindsor.com. Afternoon Tea was a complimentary gift from the Winsor Castle Hotel to Henry Cleary.