The Painswick is an undeniably pretty boutique hotel. From the beautiful building it stands in, to the stylish restaurant, lounges and bars.

And we were lucky enough to get the best seats in the house on the wisteria-clad balcony.

My friend Anna and I were there for a catch up after months apart over lockdown. We had lots to learn about each other’s lives and decided the perfect way to reconnect was over afternoon tea.

It’s £18 per person, which is pretty good value in the first place. But with £9 off the bill (thanks Rishi) it became outstanding. So much so, we decided to go for the prosecco afternoon tea which adds an extra £5 to the bill.

Looking out over the gloriously green Stroud valley, we regaled tales of solitude, a new-found love of plants and baking. With an eye on potential new career opportunities for her and my hopes for health and happiness for friends and family, we decided afternoon tea is definitely the finest way of putting the world to rights.

The casually smart staff, in shirts, jeans and face masks, brought our glasses of fizz tout suite. Then, a simple wooden chopping board arrived that was packed with finger sandwiches, a halved golden pork pie, a sizeable scotch egg cut in two, squares of carrot cake and icing sugar dusted scones.

Afternoon tea at The Painswick is a delicious, informal affair

We dived straight in, sarnies first. The thickly sliced ham was wonderfully flavoursome, with whole gain mustard adding a delightful tang. Soft smoked salmon was plentiful and silky smooth, while the thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches in white fingers were refreshing and light.

Next up was the still warm and oozing golden yolked scotch eggs dusted with cracked black pepper. A thin crispy breadcrumb exterior was wrapped around pink succulent meat that we both agreed was absolutely outstanding.

The pork pie was also an absolute masterpiece with not too much pastry (as so often can be the case). The filling was perfectly cooked and not in any way too salty, in fact, it was perfection and rounded off the savoury selection beautifully.

With the first part of the afternoon tea being so delicious, we wondered if the sweet selection would hold its own. We needn’t have worried as the melt-in-the-mouth carrot cake was utterly heavenly and as light as a feather and a plain scone with thick clotted cream and strawberry jam rounded off a real treat of an afternoon out.

The views, service and food, combined to make it an outstandingly good experience and one we would most definitely like to repeat.

It’s a place with such fun and character that it invites you to relax and have a laugh. There’s no hint of stuffy formality here.

I even loved the loos with their pink pineapple print wallpaper and Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor words of wisdom framed around the space.

After a rather bumpy old time on the pandemic pathway - Ms Taylor’s wise words urging us to pour a drink, put on some make-up and pull ourselves together, never seemed more resonant.

For more information visit www.thepainswick.co.uk