From Willy Wonka to Wimbledon tennis, Tea-tox to the Roaring Twenties - afternoon tea with a twist is fast becoming the choice for summer-themed inside picnics, writes Lesley Bellew

Tea for a fiver

You can tuck in to a strawberry afternoon tea for £5 at the Mercure Great Danes Hotel, Maidstone, to raise funds for Breast Cancer Care.

Tickets must be booked in advance for the tea, on Thursday, June 27, from 2pm-4pm.

The hotel’s Exquisite Beauty spa team is organising the event and raffle prizes include spa treaments, one month’s gym membership, tennis sessions and beauty products.

Book through wendymullings@btinternet.com. All proceeds will go to Breast Cancer Care, the hotel’s charity of the year.

Time to Tea-tox

Tea-tox at Brown’s is sugar-free, low-fat, low-carb afternoon tea option which can be served alongside a traditional tea.

Spelt and rye breads, lettuce and chicory leaves make open sandwiches, fruit skewers with a honeyed yoghurt dip replace scones and cakes with replacement sugar and low-fat creme fraiche are as tempting and beautiful as the full-fat equivalents.

Fruit or herbal infusions replace tea alongside 10 black and seven herbal blends.

Five-star Brown’s was the first hotel to open in London in 1837 and is an oasis of calm in ‘Boho’ between Bond Street and Piccadilly. Cost £39.50 or £49.50 with a glass of Champagne plus service. Call 020 7518 4155

Political brew

Take a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament and combine 1,000 years of history with modern day politics, art and architecture - all washed down with a very British tea in the Pugin Room, overlooking the River Thames.

The afternoon tea option is an add-on to selected guided tours until August 24. Sittings at 2pm, 3.45pm and 5.15pm. Cost £19.95 plus guided tour ticket. Call five days in advance on 0844 847 1672.

Anyone for tennis?

Wimbledon, the greatest tennis tournament on earth, is the match-winner at the Dorchester Hotel, in Park Lane, London.

Here you can indulge in a quintessential tennis tea in the flower-decked Promenade and enter into the spirit of the sporting occasion with champagne, tennis-inspired cakes in the shape of a grass court and even a tennis ball, plus classic strawberries and cream. Cost £55 plus service. Call 0207 629 888 or email restaurants.TDL@dorchestercollection.com

The real Earl Grey

If you are heading North, there can’t be anywhere more tea-tastic than to take tea than at Howick Hall, in Northumberland, the home of former Prime Minister Charles, the 2nd Earl Grey.

The Earl Grey Tea House, in the original ballroom, serves generous teas while you wallow in the atmosphere of this historic home and award-winning gardens.

In the 1830s, tea was blended by a Chinese mandarin for Charles, to suit the water at Howick, using bergamot to offset the taste of the lime. Lady Grey, as a political hostess, served it to guests in London and it proved so popular she was asked if it could be sold elsewhere.

Twinings marketed the tea but the Greys did not to register the trademark so never received earnings from the now world-famous name. Cost £7.70 admission to gardens plus £12.60 for tea or £18 with a glass of Champagne. Call 01665 572232.

Drink to Royal baby’s health

Celebrate the birth of a royal child at The Athenaeum Hotel, overlooking Green Park to Buckingham Palace, with a Royal Summer afternoon tea and view the Royal Child photographic exhibition.

There are more than 40 rarely seen photos of Royal children from Victorian times to the present day, curated in partnership with royal photographers, Ian Pelham-Turner and Helena Chard.

Highlights include an unseen image of The Queen, as a child, making sandcastles in West Sussex.

Tea includes a selection of traditional British cakes and pastries, including Victoria sponge with royal icing, Battenberg cake and strawberry tartlets. Cost £60. Two sittings per day at weekends from 1.30pm and 4pm. Call 0207 640 3364 or email royalsummer@athenaeumhotel.com or visit www.athenaeumhotel.com/royal-summer

Roaring Twenties tea

The Great Gatsby meets the 5th floor of London’s Harvey Nichols for tea and prohibition cocktails.

Decadence and glamour inspire the cake selection, served on an Art Deco cake-stand with delights including coconut and white chocolate macaroons sprayed with pearl shimmer and bootlegger rum chocolate and coffee cake.

The tea is served daily from 3pm to 5pm. Cost £30 or £40 if with champagne or a cocktail. Call 0207 2355250.

Fan-tastic value

Take afternoon tea after a wander around the Fan Museum, in Greenwich, home to 3,500 fans dating from the 11th century.

Tea is served in the Orangery on Tuesdays and Sundays with homemade cakes and scones from £6 plus £4 museum admission – booking is essential with details on 0208 3051441 or visit www.thefanmuseum.org.uk

Charlie & The Chesterfield

The friendly staff at the Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel in Charles Street, London, welcome chocoholics to tuck into treats including an Oompa Loompa cupcake, a golden egg, a Wonka Bar, fizzy lifting cake and chocolate scones - to be washed down with a choice of 18 loose teas, including a chocolate infused tea.

There are no ‘sittings’ so you can stay as long as you like but when you do drag yourself away take home sweets and a golden ticket which guarantees prizes including complimentary champagne on a return visit to a free two-night stay. Cost £32.50 plus service. Details at www.chesterfieldmayfair.com

Scrumdiddlyumptious

Another magical take on the musical Charlie & the Chocolate Factory is One Aldwych Hotel’s scrumdiddlyumptious afternoon tea including chocolate caramel milk, blueberry brioche, golden eggs and candyfloss to reflect the wit and wisdom of Roald Dahl’s classic tale.

One Aldwych combines 21st century chic with timeless ambience so you can take tea in the lobby bar and delight in the original artwork and stylish décor. Cost £29.50 or £38 with a glass of Champagne or smoking Cocktail Charlie.

The hotel is round the corner from Drury Lane and is an official Charlie & the Chocolate Factory partner so you can take tea and see the musical with a top price ticket from £105. Call 0207 300 1070, visit www.onealdwych.com or email lobbybar@onealdwych.com

Designer delights

At the Connaught Hotel, Mayfair, world-famous designers have worked with Hélène Darroze to create a menu featuring favourite childhood cakes including Christian Louboutin’s Black Forest ga teau, Jenny Packham’s vanilla slice, Stephen Webster’s Battenburg cake and Nicholas Kirkwood’s Devil’s food cake. Price £38 or £45 with a glass of Champagne. Call 020 7107 8861 or email dining@the-connaught.co.uk

Chefs from The Berkeley Hotel, Knightsbridge, have watched catwalk shows to create a Prêt-à-Portea for fashionistas.

Delectable delights include Jason Wu’s coconut hatbox-shaped cake bag sandwiched in retro leopard print chocolate and Prada’s Geisha-like white chocolate and Grand Marnier coat embellished with red poppies.

Generating a real “buzz” this season is Alexander McQueen’s whimsical yellow honeycomb cream dress topped with a marzipan bee.

On trend, too, is Balenciaga’s monochrome dark and white chocolate mousse dress set on a pine nut brownie topped with flamenco ruffles. Prêt-à-Portea is served in The Caramel from 1-6pm every day. Call 0207 235 6000/ Price £39 per person or £49 including a glass of Laurent Perrier champagne.