Description: Waddesdon Manor is a country house in the village of Waddesdon, near Aylesbury. They say it is England's most perfect French style country house - certainly from the outside, it looks just like a French chateau. It was built between 1874 and 1889 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild. This hilltop mansion really makes you feel as if you are in the Loire Valley with all the magnificent chateaux you find there.

There are huge, imposing and grand iron gates at the entrance. You drive through these, then on past beautiful countryside until you come to the mansion itself.

The Manor was built using the most modern methods of the day. These included a stell frame. It had some very luxurious features for the time, including hot and cold running water, central heating and electricity. Queen Victoria visited Waddesdon Manor in 1890 and was impressed, not by the great house or wonderful gardens, but by an invention she had never seen before - the electric light.

Once his chateau was complete, Baron Ferdinand installed his collections of French 18th century tapestries, furniture, ceramics, paintings and works of art.

The last member of the Rothschild family to own Waddesdon was James de Rothschild. He bequeathed the house and its contents to the National Trust in 1957. Today the Manor is a National Trust property, but it is still administered by a Rothschild Family Trust. This has contributed to a major restoration, developed new attractions and further enhanced the collections.

The Renaissance works of art have been added to by other generations fo the family. The result of this is that the interior of the house is like a treasure trove of beautiful things.

There are 45 rooms on view. They are all very grand, with huge chandeliers and stuffed with precious objects. It is a little dark and gloomy inside - obviously with all these priceless objects, they have to be protected from sunlight, so the blinds inside the house are all drawn and it is quite dark everywhere. You can buy a trail sheet for children at the entrance. It costs 50 pence and kept our son's attention for a little while, but inside the house is probably not really suitable for most children.

The landscaped gardens are wonderful. There are some lovely pavilions, amazing statues and fountains. The Prosperino Fountain is here - it was once in the Palace of the Dukes of Parma in northern Italy. At the heart of the gardens is the aviary, stocked with species once part of the Baron's collection. We very much enjoyed exploring the gardens, unfortunately none of the fountains had water in them during our visit.

There is a wonderful woodland adventure playground for children. It is built on a hillside and is tiered - you could easily spend an hour here with your children and there is something for all ages. The Stables shop has also lots of interesting bits and pieces and they have a lovely old-fashioned sweet shop.

Waddesdon Manor is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but open every other day between 10am and 5pm. Entrance is £17 but free to National Trust members. Tickets to go inside the house are limited and apparently can sell out on busy days, so they advise booking in advance.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day here - the house is beautiful and the grounds are amazing. If you have children, I would recommend skipping the interior of the house and just spending the time outdoors. Also if you can, bring your own food. They have a lovely restaurant and the food there is very nice, but the service is absolutely terrible. We waited 1.5 hours for 3 bowls of soup - we heard so many other people complain as well about the wait, so bring your own picnic!Close