Waddesdon Manor in Warm Sunshine

I had wanted to learn something more about this well-known ex-Rothschild pile and its gardens, because Lizzy had been living close by for some time and loved visiting the grounds and also eating out at the restaurant. The plan was to take both cars so she could drop hers into a garage to have two new tyres fitted, and then to use mine to go to the house and gardens.

I was most impressed with how well manicured were the lawns of the park, and how the drive led its winding way to the grand house. We were able to park in the shade, which was handy, and once the buggy was set up, we strolled up the hill and I took shots of the views over towards Westcott; the one which was most meaningful was close by a statue of Hercules.

As we passed the fountain and turned towards the front of the house, it struck me how the Rothschilds family had often built their houses with very similar architectural features, and paid a great deal of attention to detail – the extravagance of the craftsmanship in some of the stonework is quite astonishing.

Although close up, the flowers can be seen to be past their best, the colour and formal arrangement was stunning, and the amount of ironwork to keep sharp grass edges was impressive. Volunteers were to be seen cleaning statue plinths with brush and washing up liquid, and small shears to keep the grass tidy, whilst supported above on planking to avoid crushing the grass.

Joshua slept through much of the time, but when he did wake, he stayed calm, only becoming restless when we returned to collect the car from the garage with its new tyres. I sadly, had to return early to collect a copy of my old log book and take it to the garage from where I was buying my new car. It fortunately arrived with just a day to spare, to complete my part exchange deal.