Watercress in Alresford

Yesterday was our second wonderful day out with Martin's brother Pete. We left Southampton driving through many villages on the southwestern edge of The Downs. We passed through an area known for its watercress fields and made a stop at a small farm to study just how this peppery green was cultivated.

Watercress thrives in clear, slow moving water, and the small watercrest field in my photo sits beside a clear running stream that feeds into the Itchen River. The grower controls and directs the flow of water through the field divisions, a bit like rice paddies.

Next, we headed for Alresford and The Watercress Line Railway. We wanted a look at the old steam train engines, but they were all at another station for the two months that they would be 'on vacation'.

So we walked along the trendy High Street ane came upon The Tiffin Tearoom. We entered in. Pete glanced at the menu and said he knew what he wanted, and when I saw it, I ordered the same. And so it was, I had my first ever egg and watercress sandwich on grainery bread. As you can see, a scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam came with this 'tea for one'. I chose an award winning Honey Himalayan tea to go with it. Yummy, yummy, yummy.