Just off the A41 to the North of Aylesbury, a fifty minute drive from Chorleywood, lies Waddesdon Manor. Built by the Rothschilds in the latter half of the 19th Century this is a gorgeous confection of a house, a Victorian Gothic French Chateau with extensive and varied grounds.
It combines 18th-century French decorative arts, magnificent English portraits and Dutch Old Master paintings with one of the finest Victorian gardens in Britain. The house was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1957 and is now managed by a family charitable trust, the Rothschild Foundation, under the chairmanship of Lord Rothschild.
To one side of the house is the formal rose garden and ornate working aviary, to the other, a very cleverly designed adventure playground, hidden amongst the trees, leads down to the former stables. At the stables the “something for everybody” theme continues with everything from an old fashioned toy and sweet shop to a very modern art gallery.
There are plenty of places to eat, plenty of places to sit, plenty of things to look at and a large amount of space for children to run about. This is a brilliant day out for those frequently tricky cross generational weekends.
http://www.waddesdon.org.uk/
Pictures © Dave Kilvert
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