It's difficult to get a stale scone or a cup of tea from a sub-standard pot past Margaret Thornby. An extremely vigilant inspector of tea rooms up and down the country, this third edition of her guide includes entries for no less than 259 establishments. Her eye for detail is cast over the 'unusual teapots, including some designed by Clarice Cliff' at Betty's in York and the staff in traditional black and white uniforms in Chuzzlewits in Louth, Lincolnshire. It's clearly a labour of love for Thornby and she goes to great lengths in the introduction to describe the stringent criteria a tea room must meet to make it into her handbag-sized guide. She asks: 'Would I, or any other discerning tea room visitor, go that extra mile to take tea there?'

Brief Encounter, at Langwathby railway station in Penrith, with its servings of paradise cake in the restored waiting-room is certainly one to go the extra mile for, as is Glasgow's Rennie Mackintosh-designed Willow Tea Rooms.

This little book is a quirky trip back in time and will delight those who know their Darjeeling from their Broken Orange Pekoe.