Are we in France?

A little while ago, I'd booked tickets for Sophie and me to go to a Winter Light Trail at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire. I'd been surprised and pleased that, after the festivities of Christmas, they were still having such an event, and we were looking forward to going very much.

The day dawned sunny and cold, which was a bonus! I'm not sure we would have been so keen if it had been raining hard! We set off, after a lovely relaxed morning, at 12pm and took Dad's car as it was about a ninety-minute journey to Waddesdon, near Aylesbury. Until we get this flywheel problem sorted, I think it's prudent to take Dad's car!

Waddesdon Manor opened at 2pm so we were among the first to arrive. We had to wait half an hour for the shuttle bus, but that was no hardship as we opened the sunroof in Dad's car and enjoyed the sunshine!

We took the shuttle bus, although you can walk up to the Manor if you want. I'd booked tickets to be on the safe side, but we agreed, that if we come in the summer, we'll do the walk through the grounds. As we got onto the bus we noticed a lot of women wearing what looked like princess dresses and they were wearing elaborate make-up. Both Sophie and I sat down next to two women and we were both itching to ask what was going on! The dressed-up women were with a lot of other people carrying big bags and we thought they were taking part in some kind of entertainment.

We were the first visitors of the day so we had the place to ourselves at first! We were bowled over by the beauty of the building, and both of us felt like we'd been transported to France for the day!

We discovered that, although the National Trust own the house, it's managed by the Rothschild Foundation and that Baron Ferdinand Rothschild built the manor in 1874, using a French architect. So that's why it looks like it belongs in the Loire Valley! It was lovely to have the place to ourselves for a while, and we wandered about, admiring the turrets and gorgeous architecture of the house - it looks like a fairy-tale castle.

We both wanted to have some lunch so we headed for the stables, down a steep winding path, through a woodland playground. Here, there were very few people so we were able to take a seat inside and order some food. The choices were limited to fish and chips, pasty and chips, chips and cheesy chips, so guess what we had? Yep, chips with a buttered roll each! It wasn't quite what we had in mind but the chips were hot and delicious and very filling! We also indulged in a cup of mulled wine to accompany our lunch.

In the stable block was a light exhibition by a man called Leo Villareal. He has installed lights on nine of London's bridges and works all over the world to create illuminated displays using LED lights. We spent a very pleasant half-hour looking at a video of the London bridge displays, and Sophie went and booked a tour later in the evening when we returned home!

We decided to return to the house by a steep path that wound up through woodland. Waddesdon Manor is situated on the top of a hill with outstanding views over the Buckinghamshire countryside. It has gardens to the front with a pond and fountains, but all the statuary was covered up to protect the stone against the winter frosts. As the light faded they became rather sinister!

We soon found the explanation for the dressed-up women... they were modelling the dresses and outfits against the backdrop of the house. It was quite annoying as they had bagged all the best spots for photos, and both Sophie and I wondered how they had got away with it without asking permission? We had noticed one of the staff quizzing them as they got off the bus, and she was saying they weren't allowed to film if they were a business.

We wandered about gazing at the beautiful building and wondering if you could go inside (yes, it opens in the Spring) as all the windows were shuttered up. The light was fading and we knew that sunset was about 4.20pm, so we decided to visit the shop to have a look around.

The Rothschilds own vineyards in France (most notably Chateau Lafite) and the shop was a wine lover's dream! Each of the three walls was stocked with wines from all over the world, and some of the bottles were very expensive indeed! There were Bordeaux vintages from 1961 which cost thousands of pounds! As well as the wine, they were selling delicious foods, greeting cards and decorations for the home including some Christmas baubles. I bought a box of tealights that were scented with the aroma of woodsmoke and a National Trust diary for Keith.

Back outside, and wishing I could buy loads of wine, we went around to the front of the house in search of hot chocolate. It was about 4pm and loads of people had arrived for the Winter Light Trail so it was a lot busier than earlier.

Models in the foreground...

We queued for a hot chocolate and a cookie and watched as the house was lit up at intervals, accompanied by classical music. We both felt a bit chilly by now so we decided to drink our hot chocolates and then go and do the light trail as it became darker.

The trail is on a winding path through the grounds and starts near the aviary houses, which contain exotic birds from all over the world. Most of the lights were in the trees and I have to say that Delapre Abbey's light show was better!

It took us about half an hour to complete the trail and it was very busy the whole way around. When we finished we stood for a little while looking at the lit-up house, and then we took the shuttle bus back to the car park.

By now, the car park was heaving with people arriving as the light show was on until about 8pm. We set the satnav for home and followed some very dark country roads to get back to Northamptonshire. It was heaven to get home, have a drink and sit and chat to Keith before our dinner of beef casserole. We watched a programme about the Vicar of Dibley, which was the perfect end to a perfect day!