The most child friendly afternoon tea in Yorkshire?

As an Expater, there are things I miss from ‘home’… Sunday newspapers, breakfast cereal and most of all, afternoon tea.

Alas, dainty porcelain tea cups and hushed formality don’t blend well with my boisterous kids. But hoorah, sandwiched between the Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors, High Parks tea room is a wonderfully child friendly cafe.

There’s a play village with a shop, cinema, cafe and stables…

… and a adventure playground with a fort, seesaw, mini tractors and football ground. I love it so much, we’ve been many times over the years, from toddler to big boy.

There’s an enchanted forest too. Fairies, goblins, witches and all things hocus pocus lie along the trail.

Coming from Chile, we felt the bitter northern frost more keenly. So this trip was all about woolly hats and snuggles.

If you’re coming with a dog (dogs are welcome at High Parks), do keep them on the lead. My mum’s West Highland Terrier was eyeing up the chickens for his afternoon tea.

High Parks is also home to these cuties, Dicky and Lily. ‘No Sebastian darling, we cannot have a pet pony’.

In the chaos that accompanies dining with three young children (‘Muuuuuuum, I need a wee… again’), I didn’t have time to take any photos of the afternoon tea itself. To give you an idea, the menu is more hearty farmer than delicate old lady style.

Chunky sandwiches, steaming jacket potatoes, creamy Dales ice cream, doorstop wedges of cake and good old Yorkshire Tea. Surprisingly, nearly all the cakes were dairy free and vegan.

It’s not fine dining, it’s not dainty. It’s delicious and it’s great for kids and parents alike.

High Parks tea room also offers a wood cabin set within the forest. For more see www.highparks.co.uk