Hughenden Manor (14/08/16)

We’re a big fan of day trips and Hughenden Manor is an acceptable distance drive (roughly 45 minutes from Watford on a good day) so we decided to visit it one Sunday in August. It’s the home of the Victorian Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, and although it’s quite expensive to get in (in my opinion; we’re not members), it was a great day out.

The first stop, once in, was the Stableyard café where we sat outside and had some sandwiches and coffees. It was a little on the pricey side and I thought to myself we should have definitely made a picnic. There are baby changing facilities in the disabled loo and we both thought the nappy bin could do with emptying as it was very smelly!

Next stop were the beautiful lawns where our son enjoyed rolling down the banks and generally running around. The surroundings were really beautiful and the views were fantastic (the house and grounds are perched on the side of a hill).

We ventured inside but quickly decided to go in separately as it was too much stress repeatedly telling our son not to touch anything! So one of us looked after our son whilst the other explored the house. Luckily there was lots to explore outside too, or so our son thought, as he happily walked around the grounds and then spent some time in the kitchen garden where they had children’s wheelbarrows and one of his favourite ever things at the moment – watering cans.

After we had both looked round the house, we stopped again for a slice of cake and some drinks before wandering slowly back to the car. We meandered through the picnic orchard which seemed a very pleasant space. They had thoughtfully provided some giant garden games (like coits and chess) which looked a lot of fun and best of all, a wooden playground that followed the hill path back to the car. Our son LOVED this and it made the uphill walk back to the car park very easy.

We would definitely recommend spending some time at Hughenden, especially on a sunny summer’s day.