High tea at the Spinnaker Tower

As residents of Ryde, the Spinnaker Tower is a familiar landmark on the other side of the Solent. If we can see it from the Isle of Wight, imagine the view of the Island from the tower’s top! We popped over to Pompey, courtesy of Wightlink, and took a look for ourselves, fuelled with high tea – in fact, probably the highest tea! If you haven’t been to the Spinnaker Tower, then we’re happy to recommend spending an hour or so at this thrilling local landmark.

The day we were invited to tea was glorious, and with great visibility; one of those late summer days when it’s still hot enough to wear sandals and shrug off your cardi. Our table was perfectly positioned for us to gaze southwards to our home town, across the twinkling Solent.

Look at that view!

And the view! Did we mention the view? From our ringside seats we had the most glorious panoramic view of the Solent and the busy harbour below.

View from Spinnaker Tower

In the high tea tradition, we were served a tiered meal of filled sandwiches, dainty cakes and scones plus, of course, tea! In fact, our hot drinks were ‘unlimited’ so we had a couple of teapot and coffee replenishments.

High tea at Spinnaker Tower

In the shade, sensibly shielded from the sun, were crustless sandwiches. Two each of salmon, cheese, ‘butcher’s’ ham and egg mayonnaise – which meant there was no fighting! Other options are available for the meat-shy; make your preferences known when booking.

Butties

Having usurped cupcakes from their top spot as the nation’s favourite sweet treat*, the popularity of the macaron is showing no sign of waning. We were also treated to Battenburg and Victoria sponge – both having an Island connections, cake trivia fans.
*Made up stat.

Cakes

Top of the tree was a brace of scones, garnished with fresh strawberries.

Scones

Along with comments from a militant chicken welfare advocate (always welcome, Simon), the way we butter our scones regularly elicits responses. Jam first? Cream first? Let’s do one of each and let you lot fight it out while we sit back and scoff.

Scones. Jam first?

There are several high tea options at the Spinnaker Tower. All have this nicely-presented array of sweet and savoury treats, plus various drink options. We had the standard high tea – £55 for two – and which includes entry to the tower (which itself alone costs from £9.90 per adult). If you’re feeling celebratory, you can add a bottle of prosecco or champagne.

High tea at Spinnaker Tower

Thanks very much to the Spinnaker Tower for our highest tea experience and also to Wightlink for getting us there. We managed to get you both into one shot from our bird’s eye view! 📷👌

Wightlink terminal