Last month, after a visit at a nearby pub for food, I suggested to friends that we should go to Cliveden House to see the bluebells. I visited the Ashridge Estate (Bluebell Forest Walk at Ashridge Estate (Hertfordshire, England)) last year and this year on the previous weekend to see the beautiful bluebells, and I know that Cliveden House is also another great place to go to see them. Unfortunately, we were told that there were not any bluebells by the staff at the entrance, but there actually were (there are two places to visit them) as we found out later the day, so I was disappointed we were told the opposite. We actually did not have very long here at all before the place shut.
So, we checked out the main garden near the house (now a hotel) first. The house cannot be entered by anyone who is not a guest of the hotel. So, we just wandered around the gardens here. The history of this property is that it belonged to the wealthy American Astor family. There were three houses on the site, but today's dates to the mid-1800s. Because of the popularity and influence of the family, the house attracted many politicians. Nancy Astor was the first female MP in the 1920s, and the house was given to the National Trust in the 1940s. Many celebrities have stayed at the house, including Meghan Markle and her mother who stayed on the evening before the wedding to Prince Harry.
The gardens at the back of the hotel are beautiful with views across the countryside, and the Thames can also be seen below.
One room was open at the bottom of the hotel, showing a small circular room (through the closed gates).
A walk down to the Thames also leaves from the top of the estate where there is a beautifully-decorated Astor Chapel, which is also the burial place for Nancy Astor and a couple of other members of the family. From here, there were many steps to walk down to get to the river. Once down at the river, boat journeys could be purchased here, and the cottages are also rented out to guests. This is where the famous 1960s Profumo Affair happened. Because the grounds were always popular with politicians, two of the callgirls here ended up with the State of War, Profumo. But one of the callgirls was also entertaining a known Russian spy. With this knowledge, people were worried that Russia was getting secrets. It was a huge scandal because of the Cold War.
The walk back up those steps was not fun, but I had a wander around the gardens.
Then, we went for afternoon tea in the tearooms in the cafe, which were not the cleanest and which were a little too busy.
After this, we walked around the water gardens, but we couldn't see much or go into it closer because they were closed.
I also completed the hedge maze, which was a little bit tricky. This marks the middle of the maze.
I am hoping to get back to Clivden House next April or early May to see the bluebells since I purchased National Trust membership this month. Also, we did not get to see much as we arrived so late in the day, so this was a very short visit. So keep checking back for more updates.
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