Date visited: Monday 17th June 2019
Upwey’s wishing well is a spring on the upper reaches of the River Wey which gives its name to both the village of Upwey and the town of Weymouth of which Upwey is now the northernmost suburb. The Wishing well has been a tourist attraction for over a century, and from 1905 to 1957 was served by a halt, ‘Upwey Wishing Well Halt’, on the railway line between Dorchester and Weymouth, albeit almost a mile away from the wishing well itself. The present day Upwey station is even further away in the suburb of Broadwey.
Upwey Wishing Well Tearooms & Water Gardens are open daily, and have separate brunch (served until midday), afternoon tea (served from 3pm) and main (served all day) menus. There’s also a variety of ‘specials’ advertised on blackboards dotted around the tearooms, and a good selection of cakes displayed at the counter. The drinks menu is disappointingly brief though, with a limited range of teas.
There are seats for over eighty people, including tables outside in the water gardens. On the day I visited, the tearooms was almost entirely booked to a wake, though there seemed some reluctance to tell potential customers calling the tearooms that – one would only know once one arrived and saw the announcement on a blackboard outside. Despite that, service was prompt and friendly (though I fear some may not have been so lucky), with a bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich, coffee and walnut cake, and a slightly small pot of tea coming to £12.10.
The water gardens, in whose relative tranquillity I stayed for almost an hour, are accessible only through the tearooms. Those wishing to enjoy the water gardens without taking tea are requested to make a donation of £1.
Thus, having visited 58 tearooms at 50 places in 15 different counties, it is ’50 at 50′ mission accomplished for the year. However, there are plenty more tearooms on my list that I’ve not visited yet.
