Way back in 1666 they built a fine house for us to come to and have an afternoon tea. That was some incredible advanced planning and this estate is certainly an incredible house. It is a Tier 1 property in the National Trust. That is the highest level that a property can obtain and denotes great historical significance. This house is the second most visited property that the National Trust owns. We certainly agree with the other visitors as this place and its history is amazing. The original builder George Villers, the 2nd Duke of Buckingham, was a notorious rake, schemer and wit. He was a big socialite until he killed his lover's husband in a duel. His reputation took a nose dive after that. The house has been host to virtually every British Monarch since George I and has been the home of three Dukes, one earl and Frederick, Prince of Whales. Queen Victoria visited it 8 different times and she was not happy when it was bought by America's richest man William Waldorf Astor. Other notables that visited include Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and George Bernard Shaw. More recently, portions of the movie "Help" was filmed here and Sir Paul McCartney had tea at the same table that we sat at for our tea. Our tea was great and the tour of the grounds was delightful. The weather was rolling in so we headed back to Windsor.
A grand clock tower
A long long driveway
What time is it? Soon to be tea time.
Beautiful decorative items on the roof
The tulips are busting out
They have gotten lots of rain lately
The gardens spread out, way out
The west wing
Standing on the steps
The actual banister is not safe so this is a photograph of the banister spread out in front
Leslie is more beautiful than the tulips
The East wing
Golden boy
My Juliet up on the parapet
I love this picture
The stairs to nowhere
A fine tower next to a garden and a glassed in event area
The bouquet at the entrance
The stairs leading up
A nice waiting area
Iron clad
What a cod piece and an outie for a belly button
No fire today
Eight folks on the stairs
Our dining area
Time for tea
The sandwiches egg salad, cucumber, ham and roast beef
Savory items tomato and mozzarella, smoked salmon on rye bread, an éclair with bechamel and honey, potato and onion croquette
The sweets, lavender and nasturtium flowerpot, poppy seed cake, white chocolate bavarois, honey cake with magnolia cream
Clotted cream and jam
A birthday celebration, it is still May after all
A close up of the sweets
The hall of sculptures
Egyptian revival statues
What a gate!
Pyramid shaped topiaries
One serious lawn
We are having a great time
An odd mistletoe sphere
The Thames off in the distance
A eerie statue in the trees
A grand house indeed
A tiny butterfly
It is called the Common Blue
A blast of flowers
This vintage car was parked outside. The owner let a visiting Japanese tourist drive it around the parking lot
Not sure what these elegant stone blocks are
A huge fountain
They gave us a birthday card
