Celebrating 10 Years of Brigit's Bakery Afternoon Tea Bus Tours
Spring 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Brigit's Bakery Afternoon Tea Bus Tours. That's 10 years of birthdays, anniversaries, hen and stag do's, Royal weddings, brand partnerships, and lots of other amazing experiences and celebrations. The last decade has been all about finding new and exciting ways for our iconic vintage buses to grace the streets of London while serving spectacular food, delivering the best entertainment, and guaranteeing our guests a great time.
So let's take a quick trip down memory lane and revisit the success of our bus tours year after year, starting from 2014.
The first few years - 2014 to 2016
2014
In 2014, with the purchase of their first classic Routemaster bus, founder Cedric and his family struck upon the brilliant idea of serving afternoon tea while offering guests the opportunity to enjoy the sights of Central London on a 90-minute tour. Their goal was to create a new and innovative afternoon tea experience that merged a well-known British custom with their French heritage. They wanted something unique and quirky where tradition was paired with fun and frivolity. And that's how L'Afternoon Tea was born.
With their bus tours, the Brigit's Bakery founders wanted an experience that would be enjoyed by locals and tourists alike - something destined to be around for years to come. And they've been more than successful with their vision. Bringing the heritage of London and the popular British pastime together was a stroke of genius! The first bus tour launched in Spring 2014, and it was such an immediate success that the family knew they were onto a winner.
2015
A year later, in 2015, the tours were going from strength to strength. So the Brigit's Bakery team responded to the growing demand by purchasing additional buses and adding new daily routes. To complement the experience, we also launched the Thames Afternoon Tea Boat Party and our Picnic and Delivery services.
2016
In 2016, Brigit's Bakery created a variety of themed Afternoon Tea Bus Tours, each with fully decorated buses and bespoke afternoon tea menus. These tours created unique experiences for special events, such as Christmas, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Cinco de Mayo, Chinese New Year, Pride, and even the iconic Wimbledon Tennis. Believe it or not, these are just a few of the themed tours we've run over the years!
Growing stronger and serving more customers - 2017 to 2019
2017
In 2017, after the success of the themed afternoon tea tours, we signed our first brand partnership. That's when Hayman's Gin Lovers Afternoon Tea Bus Tour was born. Unique in its kind, this fantastic London sightseeing experience included three complimentary Hayman's Gin Cocktails. And that's not all, as G&Ts were served alongside a carefully curated Afternoon Tea with gin-infused cakes and treats.
2018
In 2018, we launched our Vegan Afternoon Tea alongside the existing Traditional, Vegetarian, Halal, and Gluten-free Afternoon Tea dietary options. You can read more about our Vegan afternoon tea menu here.
In May 2018, we also celebrated the Royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan. For one month, in partnership with Debrett’s (the authority on modern British etiquette), we ran a tour designed for royal enthusiasts and fans of all things British. An expert guide onboard our tour talked our guests through the history of royal weddings and the traditions and rituals of formal afternoon tea.
By 2018, our growing fleet of 10 buses was used not only for tours, but for product launches, events, and media campaigns too.
2019
In 2019, we started our partnership with Slingsby and launched the Slingsby Gin Lovers Afternoon Tea Bus Tour. This renewed gin-infused experience replaced the previous bus tour with a fresh and exciting gin brand. This tour continued to run regularly until 2023 and was particularly popular during the Christmas season. That's when our buses drive a unique route along Regent's Street to take in the delightfully festive Christmas Lights. It's one not to be missed!
In 2019, we even launched our Chef's Bus - a Routemaster bus with a fully-equipped kitchen on the lower deck and a dining experience on the top deck.
The next 5 years - 2020 to 2024
2020
As we all know, in 2020 the pandemic hit. But that didn't stop us from thinking of innovative ways to deliver more fun experiences to our guests and their families.
So in collaboration with Entertainment One's Peppa Pig, in 2020, we created the first Peppa Pig Afternoon Tea Bus Tour. Primarily aimed at pre-school children aged 2+, this amazing tour was an instant success. Still going strong, the Peppa Pig Afternoon Tea Bus Tour includes a delicious child-friendly Peppa-themed afternoon tea. Families also get to enjoy a Peppa Pig guided animation of the London tour along with sing-along-songs and entertainment. We even hand out a fun activity book for all children to keep.
2022
2022 was packed with fun events and celebrations. Between May and July, we transformed our Classic Afternoon Tea experience into a true Platinum Jubilee Celebration to mark the late Queen Elizabeth's jubilee earlier that year. Our tours became embellished with flags, crowns, and platinum jubilee decorations. As always, we created a dedicated menu and added Tour Guides onboard our buses.
In September, one of our beautiful Routemaster buses hosted a private party by Godiva Chocolatier. This was just an example of the many private corporate events our buses were hired for. Using premium Belgian chocolate and gorgeous ingredients, the chefs created a multi-layered chocolate experience. To die for!
Determined to invite more and more children to enjoy afternoon tea onboard our buses, in October 2022, we launched the Paddington Afternoon Tea Bus Tour. The highlights of this tour? Our beautifully decorated bus, the most excellent Paddington-themed afternoon tea (handmade by our chefs and featuring marmalade sandwiches), and an on-screen animation of the London tour narrated by Paddington and the lovely Mrs. Bird.
Christmas 2022 brought an exciting and very Grinchy surprise too. We partnered with Dr Seuss to create the fabulously green Grinchmas Afternoon Tea Bus Tour. With a carefully crafted, fully green afternoon tea menu and oodles of green fur (complete with a fun onboard entertainer), this tour has been a raging success every Christmas. That's why we're proud to have it return annually during the festive season with two tours a day that go past the Christmas lights along Regent Street.
2023
During April and May 2023, to mark the coronation of King Charles III, we launched and ran the King's Coronation Afternoon Tea Bus Tour. With one tour a day, our royal Routemaster bus travelled through the streets of the capital for a total of 38 days. A staggering 3,521 adults and 524 children were lucky enough to be on board this unique tour, marking one of the biggest historic events of our generation.
During the summer, we partnered with Beano to celebrate their 85th anniversary year with a Blamtastic Beano Afternoon Tea Bus Tour. An onboard entertainer provided guests with unknown facts about Beano and the London landmarks visited throughout the tour. Our chefs created a unique Beano-inspired menu featuring the Bangers & Mash-up Chocolate Cupcake, a Bananamania Custard Tart, a Dennis’s Red & Black Dunker Macaron, and much more!
Most recently, in September 2023, we unveiled yet another exciting partnership. This time, it's with Bombay Sapphire Gin, which allows us to bring you the Bombay Sapphire Gin Afternoon Tea Sightseeing Bus Tour. With two tours a day every Friday and Saturday (and on occasional Thursdays) departing from Victoria Coach Station or Trafalgar Square, this unique afternoon tea experience features three Bombay Sapphire G&Ts and beautiful gin-infused cakes and tarts. One to check out if you're over 18 and a gin enthusiast!
2024
As we enter 2024 and reflect on the success of the last decade, we want to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who's made this possible. And that's you - our lovely guests. You continue to trust us and choose us for the best London afternoon tea experience onboard our vintage buses.
For the latest information on our Afternoon Tea Bus Tours and to book your place, head over to this page. Simply select the month you're interested in, and you can see what's on. And if you want to know more about our private hire service, you can find more information here.
10 YEARS IN NUMBERS....
If you're a past customer, thank you for being part of this fantastic journey with us. And if you haven't tried one of our afternoon tea bus tours yet, what are you waiting for?
