Fabulous Food: Autumn Tearoom Treats

With so much to explore at English Heritage properties you're bound to need something tasty to keep you going. This autumn, take your seat in one of our tearooms and enjoy the delicious flavours of the season in beautifully historic surroundings.

A Traditional Ploughmans with Shepherd's Purse Old York Cheese and Yorkshire Blue at Brodsworth Hall and Gardens in South Yorkshire

South of England

Tintagel Castle, Cornwall

The birthplace of the legend of King Arthur, Tintagel is a place of mystery and magic with a spectacular location on Cornwall's dramatic and windswept northern coastline. This season the beach café at Tintagel are serving many seasonal treats, using ingredients sourced from local suppliers.

Our favourites include:

• Cornish steak pasties made by Crantock Bakery who have won the seal of approval from the British Pie Awards, winning Best Cornish Pasty in 2011. You can even have a go at creating your own at home afterwards, using Crantock's Traditional Cornish Pasty Recipe.
• Crab sandwich, made with crab meat from the beautiful Port Isaac - home of Doc Martin!

Pendennis Castle, Cornwall

Cornwall's greatest fortress guards the entrance to the Fal estuary, giving spectacular views over the sea from its mighty keep. There's over 450 years of wartime history to discover, from Henry VIII's powerful defences to life in the castle during the Second World War. After all that exploring you'll need something to keep you going! Visit the castle tearoom this autumn and try:

• Traditional Cornish cream tea, with jam from the local Boddington's Berries, the Cornish strawberry specialists
• A selection of hearty soups, including our favourite - chunky tomato, vegetable and bean soup

Dover Castle, Kent

Spectacularly situated above the White Cliffs of Dover, this magnificent castle has guarded our shores from invasion for 20 centuries. A visit to the castle today is a journey through history - from the medieval Great Tower to the Secret Wartime Tunnels, with its vivid recreation of the evacuation of Dunkirk. The Naafi Restaurant at Dover not only offers delicious food, but delicious views over the harbour as well! This autumn you can look forward to:

• Slow roasted crispy belly of pork with caramelised apples
• Slow roasted mutton with Kentish white wine, rosemary and sage, served with seasonal celeriac mash
• Hearty pumpkin stew with sour cream and paprika
• To finish, creamy rice pudding with warm seasonal plum compote

Walmer Castle and Gardens, Kent

Built by Henry VIII as part of a chain of defences, over time Walmer Castle has evolved into an elegant residence, the official home of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. See how previous holders of the post have left their mark on the castle, from the Duke of Wellington's armchair to the Queen Mother's garden. The tearoom at Walmer uses fresh produce straight from the on-site Kitchen Garden. Our favourites this autumn include:

• Vegetarian tarts made with ingredients from the Kitchen Garden, such as tomato, courguette and goat's cheese. This year the tomatoes come in all sorts of colours, from purple to yellow!
• Roast dinner using a medley of vegetables from the garden and pork from a local butcher in nearby Dover
• Apple and walnut cake made with historic Grenadier apples grown on-site, or raspberry and chocolate brownies
• A glass of homemade spiced apple punch or local Biddenden wine made at the Kent vineyard 

Fruit and vegetables grown on-site are served at Walmer Castle in Kent and Audley End in Essex

East of England

Audley End House and Gardens, Essex

Audley End is one of the best places in the country to experience life in a grand country house over a hundred years ago. Wander through the opulent reception rooms, discover what life was like as a servant in the 1880s in the Service Wing, and meet the horses in the Victorian stables before wandering around the beautiful gardens and parkland. The tearooms at Audley End are set within the servants' dining hall and housekeeper's rooms.

This autumn, you can look forward to:

• Delicious warming soups made with produce from the on-site Organic Kitchen Garden. Our favourites include parsnip with leek & apple and tomato with garlic & basil.
• A selection of delicious pies, made locally at Priors Hall Farm in Lindsell. Choose from homity pie (vegetable pie using ingredients common in the Second World War) or spiced chickpea and spinach, served with salad, coleslaw and potatoes - all grown in the Kitchen Garden
• Mrs Crocombe's Chicken Soup, made to the original recipe of the cook at Audley End in the 1880s
• On Apple Weekend (29th and 30th September), sample Dutch apple cake or deep-filled apple pie

Several dishes served at Audley End use ingredients sourced from the site's Organic Kitchen Garden

Midlands

Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden, Warwickshire

A medieval fortress that became an Elizabethan palace, the spectacular ruins of Kenilworth Castle are best known for being the scene of a royal love story between Elizabeth I and her favourite, Robert Dudley. Dudley created a beautiful garden here to impress his queen, which was lost to the world for hundreds of years until English Heritage recreated it in 2009.

The tearoom is housed in the atmospheric Tudor Stables, and is currently serving:

• A selection of delicious sandwiches, including the unusual sounding truckle sausage baguette, made with sausages that have been specially made for the castle by a local butcher in Kenilworth They include truckle cheese, hence the name truckle sausage!
• Freshly baked cakes, including cherry and vanilla and lemon cake
• Delicious soups using locally sourced ingredients, including sweet potato and chilli and leek and potato

Goodrich Castle, Herefordshire

The majestic Goodrich Castle overlooks the beautiful Symonds Yat valley, within miles of Herefordshire countryside - perfect for an autumn walk. After exploring its grisly Civil War history and climbing to the top of the tower to enjoy fantastic views you'll need a tasty treat to keep you going, so visit the peaceful woodland café to sample:

• Herefordshire onion soup served with a cheese scone, washed down with the castle's special 'Roaring Meg' cider - named after the deadly mortar that ruined the castle during the Civil War
• A selection of locally made cakes and biscuits, including lemon drizzle cake and Victoria sponge

Herefordshire Onion Soup served with a Cheese Scone at Goodrich Castle

North of England

Brodsworth Hall and Gardens, South Yorkshire

The beautiful Brodsworth is an intriguing place to visit, as everything has been left as it was when the last resident left - in 1988. Possessions that took more than 130 years to gather together are still in their original places. In contrast to the house, the gardens have been restored to their full Victorian splendour. Sample the best of local South Yorkshire produce in the tearoom, including:

• The traditional ploughman's lunch, made with Shepherd's Purse Old York Cheese and Yorkshire Blue
• Warming sausages and mash, using locally made sausages
• A selection of cakes and tempting sweet treats, like the delicious coffee and walnut cake

Please note that all dishes are subject to availability and the latest seasonal produce.