THERE’S nothing quite so indulgent as an afternoon tea, and next month celebrates this quintessentially English tradition with a week of activities, themed menus and offers in hotels and restaurants.

The Hallmark Hotel in Bournemouth has a wide selection of afternoon teas including the more unusual prohibition afternoon tea served with teapot cocktails and detox afternoon teas which are under 500 calories.

Myself and a friend were invited to try one of the selections on offer and as we had no intention of counting any calories, we opted for the Celebration Tea which is £24.95 per person for a minimum of two people.

We chose a table for two decorated with fresh flowers in the conservatory style restaurant over-looking the hotel's swimming pool and sun patio.

After checking if we had any food allergies, we were presented with a chic three tiered cake stand in slate which included a stunning selection of finger sandwiches, egg mayonnaise, smoked salmon, ham and cucumber in a mix of white and brown bread.

On the next level there was a medley of plain and fruit scones which were served warm. I particularly loved the mini Kilner jars of clotted cream and Dorset preserves.

Another tier included mini strawberry pastries, a couple of chocolate truffles which were very rich and slices of what was described on the menu, rather worryingly, as their "infamous" Dorset Apple Cake.

Apparently it is made on site from the head chef’s family recipe - it was lovely and light, not too dry with just enough fruit.

Everything was artistically arranged on the cake stand with decorative strawberry slices and watercress leaves as garnish and served with a choice of unlimited traditional tea or a hot drink from the hotel's specialised tea and coffee menu.

All in all it was a perfect combination of savoury and sweet, and there was plenty for two people.

For more information, contact the hotel on bournemouth.spa@hallmarkhotels.co.uk or telephone 01202 751000.

Afternoon Tea was introduced in Britain in the early 1840s when there were only two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, so it evolved as a mini meal to stem the hunger and anticipation of an evening meal at 8pm.

Afternoon Tea is a meal composed of sandwiches (usually cut delicately into 'fingers'), scones with clotted cream and jam, sweet pastries and cakes. Scones were not a common feature of early Afternoon Tea and were only introduced in the 20th century. Afternoon Tea Weeks runs from August 10.