To celebrate National Cream Tea Day on June 30th 2023, here are 10 of the best Devon cream teas within an easy drive of our Devon holiday cottages. Alphabetically listed – there are no favourites here…

Our criteria? Freshly baked scones (pronounced ‘scoanes’ here), slatherings of clotted cream, home-made jam and a steaming pot of tea. Oh, and a lovely setting of course. Let cream tea season commence – just be sure to put the cream on before the jam or you’ll be on the first trawler back to Padstow!

National Cream Tea Day takes place on the last Friday in June each year. It's a day where you can indulge in this tradition without any guilt, especially when given the licence to indulge yourself since you’re on holiday!

1 Bumble and Bee, Exmouth

Above:© Bumble and Bee; below: Lower Curcombe Barn

Nestling in the beautiful Manor Gardens, and just off the beach, Bumble and Bee is an award-winning ‘hive’ of activity. Its quirky interior with arty sketches on the walls makes it a welcoming and homely bolthole to relax. Indulge in a sensational cream tea with exactly the right amount of crumble, flavour and Devonshire clotted cream. Their honey and lavender scones, using lavender from the gardens and honey from beehives along the coast, received a ‘Great Taste’ award. Breathe in the sea air, let the kids break free in the gardens and get stuck in!
Find out more: Manor Gardens, Exmouth EX8 1BB; bumbleandbee.co.uk
Where to stay nearby: Our East Devon cottages are within a 30 minute drive.

2 Corn Dolly Tea Shop, North Devon

Above and left: © Corn Dolly Tea Shop; below right: Woodland Cottage

Forget the shape you get everywhere else, these scones are unique! The Corn Dolly’s warm homemade scones are cut into huge wedges and served with jam and lashings of locally sourced clotted cream. Or try their flavoured scone of the week, such as delicious apple and cinnamon. Situated in the pleasant market town of South Molton, the Corn Dolly is a small family run business that’s been serving some of the best cream teas in North Devon for nearly 30 years.
Find out more: 79 South Street,South Molton EX36 4AG; corndollyteashop.co.uk
Where to stay nearby: Less than 10 minutes from Woodland Cottage. 

3 The Cream Tea Café, Barnstaple

Above: © The Cream Tea Café; below: Woodland Cottage

Located just a ‘scone’s throw’ from the traditional pannier market in the heart of Barnstaple, The Cream Tea Café has been serving up freshly made, delicious food for 12 years. Their speciality dish? Perfect scones, beautiful homemade strawberry jam, loose leaf tea from Miles, and the best clotted cream in the country - Church Farm - BEAUTIFUL! Trip Advisor Travellers’ Choice Award 2021.
Find out more: Church Lane, Barnstaple EX31 1DE
Where to stay nearby: Barnstaple is a 30 minute drive from Woodland Cottage. 

4 Eat on the Green, Exeter

Above and left: © Eat on the Green; below: Harvest Moon

The Eat on the Green, as the name suggests, is located on the green overlooking Exeter’s Norman-Gothic cathedral and the surrounding cobbled streets. Cream teas can be enjoyed inside the two-floored café, complete with quirky décor and stunning window views, or outside by the Cathedral Green. Home-made scones, clotted cream, a selection of jams, loose leaf tea and people-watching! What’s not to like?
Find out more: 2 Cathedral Close, Exeter EX1 1EZ; eatonthegreenexeter.com
Where to stay nearby: Our East Devon cottages are perfect for exploring the delights of Exeter.

5 Hele Corn Mill and Tea Room, North Devon

Above: © Hele Corn Mill; below: Woodland Cottage

Three times winner of Devon Life’s ‘Best Tearoom’ Award, Hele Corn Mill is a unique working watermill dating back to 1525. Just 300m from stunning Hele Bay beach on the scenic North Devon coast, it’s a truly wonderful location for a traditional treat. Discover some different variations on the traditional cream tea in the mill’s tea room including the traditional, the Devonshire Split and the Thunder and Lightning, where golden syrup replaces strawberry jam.
Find out more: Corn Mill Close, Hele EX34 9QY; helecornmill.com
Where to stay nearby: Stay at Woodland Cottage. 

6 Oak Barn Coffee Shop, East Devon

Above: Hunters Moon; below: © Oak Barn Furnishings

For a cream tea with a difference, why not try a large, home-made Cherry Bakewell scone, swelling with almond and cherry flavour? Head to Oak Barn coffee lounge and furniture shop situated in the countryside on the outskirts of the beautiful East Devon seaside town of Budleigh Salterton. The mild clotted cream, strawberry jam and loose leaf teas add to the experience. Accompanied by a three-phase tea timer (weak, moderate or strong) you can be sure when to lift out the leaves! No ‘scone’ is left unturned here.
Find out more: Knowle Hill, Budleigh Salterton EX9 7AL; oakbarnfurnishings.com
Where to stay nearby: Our East Devon cottages are within a 20-30 minute drive.

7 Otterton Mill Tearoom, East Devon

Above: © Otterton Mill; below: Apple Mill 

Indulge in the delights of Otterton Mill, an award winning café, bakery and food shop set in the ancient mill on the banks of the peaceful River Otter. With the mill stream babbling quietly alongside, it’s a glorious setting to sit down and relax with a cream tea or two! They produce fine organic scones made fresh every day using their finest mill-produced flour, with the all-important accompaniments locally sourced. Widely acclaimed as one of the best cream teas in Devon, it’s pooch-friendly too. So treat your pet to a lovely walk following the river to the coastal town of Budleigh Salterton afterwards!
Find out more: Otterton, near Budleigh Salterton EX9 7HG; ottertonmill.com
Where to stay nearby: Our East Devon cottages are within a 14-25 minute drive.

8 Salty Monk Restaurant, East Devon

Above:Apple Mill; below: © Salty Monk

The Salty Monk Restaurant, situated in the Sid Valley, just one mile from Sidmouth in East Devon, is a former salt house used by the Benedictine monks who traded salt at Exeter Cathedral. Their cream teas are served with made-to-order scones, a selection of delicious home-made preserves and a choice of over 22 loose leaf teas, with fresh clotted cream coming from the nearby Yarty Valley.
Find out more: Church Street, Sidford, Sidmouth EX10 9QP; saltymonk.co.uk
Where to stay nearby: Just 10-20 minutes’ drive from our East Devon cottages.

9 Seaton Tramway Café, Colyton Station

Above left: Burrows hot tub; Above right and below: © Seaton Tramway

Join the heritage tram at Seaton and take a ride along the Axe Estuary through two nature reserves to Colyton Station. While here, it’s undoubtedly worth stopping at The Garden Room Café where you can indulge in many delights including fresh homemade scones with local farm clotted cream. A brilliant pit-stop for everyone, there is also parking at Colyton Station if you are not taking the tram.
Find out more: Colyton Station, Cownhayne Lane, Kingsdon, Colyton EX24 6HA; www.tram.co.uk/tramstop-cafe
Where to stay nearby: Our East Devon cottages are within a 30 minute drive of Seaton and Colyton Station.

10 Southern Cross Tea Rooms, East Devon

Above and left: © Southern Cross Tea Rooms; below: Burrows

The Southern Cross Tea Rooms in the tiny town of Newton Poppleford, near Sidmouth, are a favourite cream tea spot in East Devon’s heartland. Serving traditional Devonshire cream teas within the quirky 18th century thatched cottage or charming walled country garden, Southern Cross is rated as one of the Top 10 places for cream teas in Devon and Cornwall. Their cream teas come with warm large home-made scones served with ‘mountains’ of local clotted cream, the trademark of the tea rooms’ founder, an eccentric Irish actress called Eileen McKenna in the 1950s.
Find out more: Newton Poppleford, Near Sidmouth EX10 ODU; southerncrossdevon.co.uk
Where to stay nearby: Our East Devon cottages are within a 7-20 minute drive.