This is a diary post about one of our many trips to England. While it took place many years ago, the things that we did and enjoyed are timeless. This post is as relevant today as it was the week we took it.
Our wanderings through the countryside took us from the Fens of Lincolnshire through Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, and Buckinghamshire on the way to Oxfordshire. If you think the only thing to see in Oxfordshire is Oxford, think again!
From our rental cottage in Great Milton, 10 miles south of Oxford, we were able to drive not only to that most venerable of college towns, but the Cotswolds, Stratford on Avon, and by the train to Bath. ALL of central England was within our reach.
This is a diverse area that includes the quiet of the rolling countryside and the speed of the motorway which can take you from Great Milton to Stratford in under an hour. For a more leisurely pace, you can drive along the A-roads through villages and towns. A farm market can be found every day of the week, it's just a matter of finding out which day for which town. We enjoyed a morning in Thame, which I will discuss later and still had time for sightseeing in the afternoon.
A multitude of ways are available to entertain yourself in the Heart of England. The area has a rich heritage and many lovely "great houses" dot the countryside. Waddesdon Manor, Blenheim, and Woburn are an easy drive from Great Milton. Many lovely homes of a smaller scale give another glimpse into the English Life of Privilege. This is an area steeped in history and I hope to be able to share a bit of what we found. Again, you really need a car to get to most of the places we visited.
Minster Lovell and Rollright Stones, in particular, are deep in the countryside, quite a way off the beaten track. That is not to say that you can't visit this area if you don't drive. Nothing could be farther from the truth. You can take the train from London to one of the cities and from there take the bus even into the villages. A local driver is also a possibility, check with the local tourism office or research online ahead of time.
Ascott House is a hard place to categorize. Technically it isn't an art museum, it is a family home, but the quality of the art and furniture collection certainly ranks it with many art museums.
The original farmhouse was purchased by Mayer de Rothschild in 1873. In 1874 Leopold de Rothschild took it over as a hunting box and converted it from a Jacobean farmhouse into a mock Tutor mansion. Extensive formal gardens offer a place to wander but for me, the main draw was the lovely art collection.
I fell in love with the portrait of a dreamy looking woman. She has a faraway ethereal look also in the Hall are a Gainsborough, a Reynolds and a Stubbs.
In the Dining Room is an outstanding Dutch painting by Cuyp "Dordrect on the Maas". The whole dining room is filled with Dutch paintings. One small one is very nice, Itinerant Musicians by Jan Steen. To complement the art collections is classic French and Chippendale furniture. The Library is dominated by a full-length portrait of the Duchess of Richmond by Gainsborough which it turns out isn't really the Duchess of Richmond.
For the lover of Chinese porcelain, shelves in the Porcelain Room which resemble bamboo are filled with pieces from the Ming and K'ang Hsi dynasty in China. Anthony de Rothschild’s collection of over 400 pieces was given to the National Trust in 1949. A wonderful painting of the Virgin and Child with St John by Andrea del Sarto is also in the Porcelain Room.
All of this is placed in only 5 or 6 rooms mixed with comfortable sofas, bright cushions, and family pictures. Ascott House is the best of both worlds; part decorative arts museum, part family home. We were lucky to have been able to visit here. They are open from late March until mid-September Tuesday -Sunday and bank holiday Mondays. Visits are in the afternoons only 2-5 p.m. They didn't have a guidebook. when we visited. That is very frustrating for visitors.
The gardens are quite lovely and can be visited for a lower rate than the house if you want to just enjoy them. A variety of different types of gardens some formal and some allowed to grow more naturally are offered. The views are quite superb and the gardens are very highly regarded.
It is quite a long walk from the parking lot to the house. If you are either a garden or an art lover, this is a great house to visit. Managed by the National Trust, Ascott House has recently added a tea room at the Cricket Pavilion. Entrance is £10 for the house and garden and must be paid in cash.
