Waddesdon, the grand mansion. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Waddesdon Manor is owned by the National Trust and is one of their most visited properties, an hour from London in Buckinghamshire.
We went to Waddesdon Manor for black tie dinner with matching vintage Rothschild wines, a rare opportunity, at vast expense, as my husband is a wine specialist who organizes wine events. We went there early to tour the wine cellars, and tour the grounds, which were both included in the price.
I was delighted to learn about dormice. I had already known that the Romans used to eat dormice, considered a delicacy. The word dormice comes from the French word, dormir, meaning to sleep. The squirrel like animals are nocturnal and sleep 6 months of the year, so you don't see them much.
You don't see them today, neither the Romans nor the dormice on menus. I was amazed to learn that dormice are still around, alive, in England, found at Waddesdon.
We discovered this at the nature display in a cabin named Conservation Hub..
My husband Trevor visiting Waddesdon, outside the Conservation Hub.
The display showing a dormouse on the wall inside the Conservation Hub at Waddesdon Manor and grounds.
- A bit of a bushy tail of a dormouse found at Waddesdon. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
We spoke to the expert who is in the Conservation Hub at some weekends and school holidays. He has a vast knowledge and can show you the skulls of all kinds of animals such as badgers and birds. You can also see what looks like aquariums full of plants which are the heated homes for brightly coloured insects.
One of many pleasant surprises we found on our afternoon there.
Waddesdon has an exhibition called Standing With Giants, D-day . On from 21 Oct - 29 Nov 2026.
For pumpkin season they will have real pumpkins grown in their gardens and a treasure hunt for children for a small cost.
You can learn about the history of the building on the two large panel boards with pictures on the ground level of the renovations scaffolding.
Enjoy delicious home made lemon cake, as we did, at tea time, in the out door cafe in front of the shop.
The wine shop sells dog toys.
Empty presentation hamper boxes for Xmas gifts you buy from about five pounds.
Shelves of wine with information and offers of discounts, deliveries.
Among the wines are rose wines, low and no alcohol wines, decanters and decanter cleaning brushes and a wine journal to record your wine experiences.
Decanter and decanter brush in the wine shop at Waddeson. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Make sure you see the adjoining Gift Shop through an arch on the right of the cashier area inside the wine shop.
For more on dormice, see the next post.
More details from
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/tring
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