Woburn Abbey and Gardens

Rain had been predicted but it was lovely and sunny all day long and I walked around on the soft grass with no shoes on, which you really can’t do everywhere! The gardens were so beautiful with lots of weird and wonderful flowers, plants and trees from all over the world. There were various gardens like the Kitchen Garden, the Bog Garden, the Children's Garden as well as the Rockery and Pavilion and the Chinese Dairy. There was a gorgeous little Pottery and a Deer Park too.

Then it was time for herbal tea and cake in The Duchess’ Tea Room which was so tasty and relaxing, followed by a tour of the Abbey and grounds. There are some brilliant exhibitions and outstanding collections of art works including the Armada portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. There were 22 rooms to discover including the state apartments with original 18th century architecture, the Holland Library which is one of the largest private libraries with an extensive collection of natural history books, underground vaults housing the family's gold and silver collection and the Chinese Room with its decorative wallpaper.

I particularly loved Queen Victoria’s bedroom. It was stunning but the public are not allowed to take photos anywhere inside the Abbey so I don’t have a picture of this! One of the things that fascinated me, were all the old books! Hundreds and hundreds of them, small ones and huge ones, all with amazing covers! I really wanted to open one and have a look inside but of course, you weren’t allowed to touch any of them. They were exquisite!

So yes, I would definitely recommend visiting Woburn Abbey and Gardens. It’s a great day out and there’s also Woburn Safari Park near by too but I think you need two days to really get around both.

Enjoy looking at some of my pictures here…

♥ Anna-Christina