While at Wallingford, we took the opportunity to travel to Waddesdon Manor, another beautiful National Trust property. Kiwi friends were in the area and we agreed this would be a great place to meet up. Waddesdon was built in the late 1800’s to impress, used on summer weekends to entertain Baron Ferdinand Rothchild’s friends and family. The Rothschild’s were one of the richest families in Britain at the time, and no expense was spared in creating this stunning property. Our first glimpse of the house once we had travelled up the long driveway certainly had the desired effect. It was quite beautiful and we enjoyed wandering the beautiful gardens before entering the house itself.

A few days later we said goodbye to our feline companions and headed south, hoping for beach weather and beautiful beaches… first stop was Milford on Sea, a small coastal town with an expansive pebbly beach and views to the Isle of Wight. Not beach weather yet, there was a brisk breeze and despite a few hardy people out on the stones, it was not appealing for this chicken! Our adventure the following day involved a ferry ride to the Isle of Wight and hiring bicycles to explore. We started off enjoying a lovely rail trail through tree avenues and views across to the mainland, before heading to the westernmost tip – “The Needles” and vistas over the English Channel. The wind had picked up and we watched several boat joyriders bouncing around on the swell. Riding back via a different route we got to see some of the western side of the island before dropping our cycles back at the depot and then a ferry back home.

Now we were headed to Brighton on another blustery day. The British summer was living up to expectations … but maybe we are just spoilt by our NZ summers – we spotted a number of hardy holidaymakers hiding from the wind out on the pebbly beach trying to get some vitamin D. The promenade at Brighton was wide and very long, one could walk for miles if so inclined. We headed to the Royal Pavilion, that was built for the Prince of Wales, Prince Regent, in the early 1800’s converting a modest “holiday home” into something he thought befitting of a future king. The outside has distinctly Indian themes with the towers and domes, but inside the decor is very oriental. It has been restored to its former glory after being used as a hospital during and after WWI. It is quite breathtakingly ornate and a glimpse into the decadence and luxury George IV deemed suitable for himself.

From here we headed north to visit Petworth House, with its ancient royal connections. I recognised the line of ownership as being the very powerful and influential Percy and Seymour families during Tudor times. The house itself was quite different to anything we had seen previously – it was less about the ornateness of the architecture and decor, more about the art on display. some of it was just lovely, and the wooden carved walls in one room offset the magnificent portrait of Henry VIII that seemed to be almost 3D. The stairwell had painted walls depicting Greek myths and the whole house gave a completely different vibe to the ostentatious wealth of the previous places we had seen this week.

We had one more destination to tick off as we entered the Greater London area, stopping off at Kew Gardens to wander the huge variety of landscapes. There were plenty of school groups exploring and picnicking as well. The weather held and we enjoyed our time here as we prepared to leave British shores for short adventure in France and Spain.