Not looking my best

Think I might have given the impression about to leave and then sit down again saying perhaps another coffee would be lovely. Then take of my coat and spread myself around a bit.
How dare they treat you like that!!

Ha ha! I would have done exactly the same, childish as it may be.

Hit enter too quickly...

Enjoy your walking and don't care what the snobs think. You are probably happier and healthy than them.

As a keen walker I frequently end up in coffee shops looking bedraggled and muddy.
One time a friend phoned to ask me to meet her after my walk for a coffee in the Harvey Nichols cafe...perhaps a different venue I suggested as I already had mud up to my knees and several miles still to go. We met in Cafe Nero and her first words were..oh my, you weren't joking about the mud!

This reminds me of when DH and I reserved tickets for seats on a train to Scotland where we were having a week's rambling holiday. We were dressed in our rambling gear when we boarded the train as it was easier to wear the thick jackets and walking boots than to pack them

When we reached the seats we'd reserved a well-dressed couple were already sitting there as we had been held up because of a mix-up over our tickets. The reserved labels were clearly displayed tucked in the pockets at the top of the seats.

When we approached them politely and said "These are our seats" they looked at us and said "They can't be - they're reserved." We said "Yes, they were reserved by us" and showed them our tickets.

They reluctantly gave up the seats before we sumoned the guard!

Yes, you did the right thing.

What a sense of entitlement some people have! Good for you - and I believe the aristocracy often look like tramps as they regard dressing up as irrelevant - probably very 'middle class'.

What a cheek. Doesn't matter how you look you have every right to be there. I would have done exactly the same.

Unless a table is reserved then it is first come first served - well done for standing (sitting?) your ground. Did they expect you to give up the table and stand!!

Yes, Tippy your husband should have sat down with you and told them two seats were free if they wanted them. More training needed as SpringyChicken says.

Should have moved quicker then shouldn't they!

I'd have done the same as you, Tippy and knowing my husband, he'd have sat down too. Your husband foregoing his seat was the chink in your armour, really. They wouldn't have stayed at the table if he'd sat too. He needs more training.

They may
have been dressed up but their manners were the pits. Sounds as if their clothes gave them a strong sense of entitlement.

What do they say - possession is 9/10ths of the law!

Well done Tippy, and I agree with all the comments gone before, but sorry that they made you feel a bit uncomfortable. What a bloomin cheek.

I have done naughty stuff too along the same lines.
Went out shopping with my sister and parked in a big car park.
We shopped and bought a sandwich for lunch. Got back to the car park which was full. A woman in a big flashy range Rover was eyeing us up as we walked back loaded with shopping. We got into the car and she begins tooting and flashing us to move so she could slip into our space. She was really impatient. Me and sis got out our sarnies and started eating. I could see the woman was getting really impatient. More honking. Eventually she gets out and taps on the window. Wants to know when we are moving. I told her we wouldn't be moving for quite a while as we were going back out shopping after our sarnie.. She stamps off and drives away. A little old couple drove and we give them the space... ?

Exactly what you did plus ordered bar food!!

Oh that made me laughwould have done exactly as you did,cheeky mares!!!!

There weren't many tables and I dont think any of them were reserved there certainly wasn't anything on the table when we sat down. We were all having our own conversations so we weren't sat there in silence but I was determined to sit it out much to my husband's annoyance. They eventually went for their lunch after about 30 minutes.

Tippy If it was a Weatherspoons pub you could have got free top ups of your coffee all afternoon that would have served them right.lol.

I can be so bloody minded that I'd have stopped put for the rest of the afternoon, just to prove a point. What you were wearing, or what they were wearing, doesn't give them first dibs at a table of their choice (unless they'd reserved it beforehand); it's a simple matter of who got there first. How long did you stay for Tippy?

I too would have stayed put cheeky mares

you did completely the right thing. why did they have any more right than you and you got there first. cheeky

I would have done exactly what you did.

Was yours the only free table? I’m glad you didn’t give it up but what an odd response from them! And awkward all round.