Dates visited: Thursday 27th September 2018 & Monday 25th September 2023
The Coach House Tea Rooms at Lydiard Park are, like the park and Lydiard House, run by Swindon Borough Council. The tea rooms are open from 10 am to 4.30 pm during the summer, weather permitting. Tea can be taken either at one of nine benches to the front of the stables, or at one of six tables to the rear between the stables and the park’s Georgian walled garden. There are also five tables inside for taking tea when the weather is not so good.
A selection of hot and cold drinks, cream teas, light lunches, jacket potatoes, homemade soups, cakes and snacks are available. The cakes are pre-cut slices wrapped in clingfilm, as are some of the other options. Although the beverages menu only offers a single item of ‘tea’, a selection of Twinings teas are displayed behind the counter and available on request.
In 2018, a tuna mayo panini, coffee and walnut cake, and a pot of tea came to £10.90. It was not the best value for money as neither item of food was very filling and the tea pot not very big.
On my second visit in 2023, a coronation chicken toastie, a slice of coffee and walnut cake – the last slice on display – and a pot of Twinings English Breakfast tea came to £11.15. With the ravages of inflation in the years since my first visit, this was now more reasonable value. The cake was nicely balanced between dry firmness and moist softness.
