Waddesdon Manor

Surrounded by views of Oxfordshire, the Chilterns and the vale of Aylesbury sits the French Renaissance chateau of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild.

Arriving at the house you are greeted by a huge fountain and a long sweeping drive to the entrance of the chateau.

The chateau was built in 1874 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild to entertain lavishly the fashionable world and show off his immense wealth.

The gardens are set in the Victorian times and the flower beds are flamboyant colours which change with the seasons.  At the moment the dominating colour is bright yellow, amid ornate fountains and many statues dotted around.

There is also a roccoco style aviary housing rare and exotic birds from all over the world and a breeding program is in place to breed the endangered species.

Dining Room

 Note the size of the floral arrangements on the dining table below.  The arrangements were so large as to obscure the view of people across the table from you as this reminded you that in polite society you only ever spoke to guests on the right or left side of you, never across the table as this was too noisy.

Me in the cafe which was formally the kitchens

the Riccoco style Aviary

Buckinghamshire - Waddesdon Manor

After leaving the Surrey countryside we drove not all that far to Buckinghamshire and the very small village of Waddesdon.

We were there to visit Waddesdon Manor another National Trust property.  I would even go so far and say its the best National Trust property I have been to.  

Our accomodation for 2 nights was the Five Arrows Hotel, a Grade II listed building at the gates of Waddeson Manor built on the site of an old coaching inn.  Its name is derived from the Rothschild family emblem of a sheld surmounted by five arrows, pointing upward and tied with a ribbon.

Built in 1887 as part of Waddesdon Estate by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild it was originally used to accommodate the architects, craftsmen and artisans working on the Manor itself.

Five Arrows Hotel


It is a beautiful hotel tastefully modernised while keeping all the Grade II features of the property and the gardens on the edge of the estate.

Surrey Polesden Lacey

Every year when we come over we join the National Trust and then visit castles, houses, gardens and landscapes owned and managed by the Trust.

While we were in the Surrey area we visited Polesden Lacey, an Edwardian country retreat.

The retreat is only four miles from Dorking and has glorious views across the rolling Surrey Hills and acres of countryside to explore.  It was the weekend party home of the famous Edwardian hostess Mrs Greville, who entertained royalty and the celebrities of her time.  The Queen Mother honeymooned at Polesden Lacey and declared it "a delicious house".

It is a sumptious house of huge proportions set in acres of countryside and it is easy to forget it was just a weekend home for Mrs Greville.

Polesden Lacey

surrey

There are lots of lovely villages and woodlands around Surrey.  We went for a drive along some very narrow country lanes shaded by overhanging trees and through picturesque villages such as Albury with it's amazing chimmney stacks.  Over the Shere mountains and and down through several small quaint villages.

Narrow country lanes through the Shere mountains

Beautiful Chimney stacks in the village of Albury

Chimney stacks of the old Post Office Albury

Surrey

We stayed in a pub in the village of East Horsley while we visited friends and took a train trip up to London to see the RAF flyover.

We didnt know anything about it until a friend mentioned it.  We were told there was going to be a flyover of 100 planes over Buckingham Palace to commemorate 100 years of the RAF.

There was a vast array of aircraft thundering across the London sky and over Buckingham Palace in a spectacular flypast that marked the 100th anniversary of the RAF.

Quite a large crowd had gathered and we thought we wouldnt get to see much.  Then a security person spoke to us and told us to follow her and she led us to this area labelled as Accessible and there was hardly anyone there, so I was able to get right up to the barrier and had a good view of the palace and the balcony where members of the royal family were due to come out to watch the flyover.

It was a great day out and we nearly missed it.  It was only by chance that we found out about it.

 Puma and Chinook helicopters kicked things off just after 1pm, followed by aircraft including a Lancaster, Spitfires, Hurricanes, the A400M Atlas, Tornados and three F-35 stealth fighter jets.

The planes formed the number 100

 During the flypast, 22 Typhoon jets spelt out the number 100 in the sky, their biggest ever formation which came as a surprise to all those watching below.

The red Arrows

 Drawing the spectacle to a close was the Red Arrows, who in traditional aerobatic style streamed red, white and blue smoke down the length of the Mall.

Me in pole position to see everything

After a short wait members of the Royal family came to the Palace from Westminister Cathedral where they had been attending a service.  The Queen was first to arrive in a Rolls Royce.

About 6 or 8 cars in total arrived at the palace gates and were escorted into the ground by motorcyle police.  Then shortly after that the RAF began to arrive marching in and accompanied by various RAF bands.  They filled the forecourt of the palace.  There was a presentation by the Queen who we could hear but not see.  The bands played God Save the Queen.  Then shortly after the end of the presentation the flyover began and the royal family came out on to the balcony.  I had a really good view of them and took some photos.

Bath

For the next 3 months Bath is full of Owl scupltures, over 100 of them, decorated by local artists.  There are also some smaller owlets.  It's all for charity.  I photographed some of the owls as we walked around the streets.  Quirky, colourful and cute.

I would say that Bath is probably Englands most beautiful city with it's beautiful honey coloured grand Georgian buildings.  From the Roman Baths to the life and times of one-time resident Jane Austen. Its state-of-the-art Thermae Bath Spa complex, which opened in 2006, allows visitors to wallow  in the hot, mineral-rich spring-waters in much the same way the Romans did 2,000 years ago.

Seeing the grand mansions of The Crescent and The Circus is a must and imagining what life would have been like in Jane Austen's time.  

I went with my brother-in-law and cousins to The Pump Room where we enjoyed High Tea and listened to a piano recital.

We took a bus trip to Bradford On Avon which is about 1/2 hour from Bath and we explored the village and visited the Saxon Church which dates back to the 11th century and possibly earlier.  It is still used for church services today.

11th century Saxon Church

Bradford on Avon was being judged by Britain in Bloom the day we went so the hanging baskets were looking beautiful along the Shambles.

Bath

Bath has been a wellbeing destination since Roman times. 

The waters are still a big draw, both at the ancient Roman Baths and the thoroughly modern Thermae Bath Spa, which houses the only natural thermal hot springs in Britain you can bathe in.

We spent 8 days there.  Originally we were only going to stay for 4 nights but we extended that to spend more time with Colin's cousins who were also in Bath with us.

We spent a leisurely Sunday taking a boat trip to Bathampton along the Avon river and taking a short walk to the George Hotel where we had a lovely Sunday roast lunch and then we walked back to Bath along the canal admiring the very pretty narrow boats moored along the way.

Couldnt resist a photo next to a boat named Judy !!

The end of the canal near Sydney Gardens