Top 7 Castles in Buckinghamshire

Be sure to visit the bookshop if you find yourself here! The cafe is nice as well.

Stunning, National Trust though so be aware when visiting you can't just walk in. Great cafe too.

The foundation for the original building was laid in 1280, where it was a Gatehouse for the northern approach to Ashridge and was used by Henry VIII as part of the hunting grounds. But following heavy damage by Cromwells armies, the lodge was rebuilt by the eminent architect Sir Jeffrey Wyattville in 1823. Little Gaddesden Lodge now functions extremely well as a private home.

Dinton is a charming little village situated in the south of the Aylesbury Vale on the ancient turnpike leading from Aylesbury to Thame. In the village you'll find an old folly, a converted castle, and a beautiful pub, Bottle & Glass.

Stowe House is a grade I listed country house in Stowe. The showpiece of the House is the south facade overlooking the gardens. This is one of the finest examples of neoclassical architecture in Britain. The main front stretches over 460 feet (140 m). Divided into five major sections, these are: the central block around 130 feet (40 m) in width, the lower linking sections 75 feet (23 m) wide that contain on the west the State Dining Room and on the east The Large Library, then at the ends the two pavilions the same height as the central block about 90 feet (27 m) in width. The central block and the end pavilions are articulated at piano nobile level with unfluted Corinthian pilasters over 35 feet (11 m) tall which becomes a hexastyle portico supporting a pediment in the middle of the facade, there is a minor order of 48 Ionic columns over 20 feet (6.1 m) high that runs the length of the facade. The portico fronts a loggia that contains the doorway to the Marble Saloon, this is flanked by large niches that used to contain ancient Roman statues, between the columns of the portico used to be the marble sculpture of Vertumnus and Pomona by Laurent Delvaux now in the V&A. Above the niches is a large frieze on a Bacchic theme, this is based on an engraving in James Stuart's and Nicholas Revett's Antiquities of Athens of the frieze on the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates. There is a flight of thirty three steps the full width of the portico which descends to the South Lawn. The staircase has solid parapets either side that end in sculptures of Medici lions standing and resting a paw on a ball. These are the original lions dating from the late 1700s. They were sold in 1921 to Blackpool Corporation and had been standing in Stanley Park in Blackpool but were reinstated in 2013 in a swap deal that saw copies going to Blackpool. Either side of the portico are two tripartite windows separated and flanked by Ionic columns. These are enclosed with an arch that contains a carved Portland stone tondo in the tympanum with carvings of The four seasons, and is in turn flanked by twin Corinthian pilasters the same size as the columns of the portico. The facade is surmounted by a balustraded parapet, in the centre of the parapet of the east pavilion is a sculpture of two reclining figures of Ceres and Flora the corresponding figures on the west pavilion are of Liberty and Religion. The end pavilions each have three tripartite windows matching those on the central block, the tondos of which are each carved with a sacrificial scene. Source: Wikipedia

also known as Hillside in world war 2

Enjoy the rich history of the beautiful Victorian Hughenden Manor. The mansion was once the country house of the Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, however, is now open to the public to explore between 11am - 4pm 7 days a week.

For the light festival the Parterre was changed into a light spectacular in keeping with the illuminated house. Waddesdon is famous for its Carpet Bedding and every spring and summer we change the design of the beds on the Parterre and on either side of the South Fountain. A French-inspired formal garden, a parterre is made up of a symmetrical pattern of beds set off by mown grass and contained by neat pathways and low clipped hedges. Usually designed to be seen from above, in our case from the raised terrace and the main reception rooms and bedrooms on the south side of the Manor. In the centre sits a magnificent fountain, originally made for an Italian palace in Colorno. The parterre was restored in 1994 to designs by Beth Rothschild. In 2000 Waddesdon won the Europa Nostra award for ‘the extraordinary re-creation with modern techniques of a major Victorian garden’.