Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5 days in June. To attend you must buy tickets for one of three distinctly different obser-
vation areas. These include the Royal Enclosure (members only); the Grandstand, larg-
est of the three; and the Silver Ring, which does not enjoy direct access to the paddocks
and has traditionally been the site of most of Ascot's budget seating. At other times you
can buy cheaper tickets in all areas (when the Royal Enclosure is known simply as “Pre-
mier Admission”). Book online at www.ascot.co.uk from early November.
Ascot, 28 miles west of London.
&
0870/722-7227.
www.ascot.co.uk. Admission £17-£29 for Silver Ring,
£49-£69 for the Grandstand; free for children 15 and under (except to the Royal Enclosure). Car parking
£17. Trains make the 50-minute trip between London's Waterloo and Ascot Station every 20-40 minutes
during the day (£11.70 off-peak round-trip). Ascot Station is about 10 minutes from the racecourse.
Cliveden
GARDEN Once the home of the formidable Astor family, the lav-
ish Italianate mansion of Cliveden stands on a constructed terrace of mature gardens
high above the Thames. The estate's original house and sweeping lawns were created
by William Winde in 1666 for the second duke of Buckingham. After a fire destroyed
the old house, Sir Charles Barry, the architect of the Houses of Parliament, built the
current gracefully symmetrical structure in the 1850s. In 1893 the American billion-
aire William Waldorf Astor purchased the estate. After William's son Waldorf (the
second Viscount Astor) and wife Nancy (who became the first female English MP)
took over in 1906, the mansion became the center of an extravagant, if somewhat
right-wing, social scene; in the 1930s the “Cliveden Set” were heavily criticized for
supporting appeasement vis-à-vis Germany. The house remained part of the Astor
legacy, a repository of a notable collection of paintings and antiques, until 1968,
shortly after the Profumo affair had implicated the third Viscount Astor. The National
Trust now owns Cliveden, but leases the property as a private hotel. Non-guests are
permitted only limited access to the house.
The surrounding
gardens
are open to the public year-round, and are far more
enjoyable for casual visitors. They feature a distinguished variety of plantings, ranging
from Renaissance-style topiary to meandering forest paths, and vistas of statuary and
flowering shrubs. Highlights include a glade garden, a magnificent parterre, and an
amphitheatre where “Rule Britannia” was played for the first time.
Cliveden Rd., Taplow, 10 miles northwest of Windsor.
&
01628/605069.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk.
Admission to grounds Feb-Oct £8.15 adults, £4.50 children 5-15, free for children 4 and under, family
ticket £20; Nov-Dec £5.45 adults, £2.70 children, family ticket £14. Admission to house (extra £1.50
adults, 75p children) is limited and by timed ticket only from the information kiosk: Apr-Oct Thurs and
Sun 3-5:30pm (3 rooms of the mansion are open to the public, as is the Octagon Temple, with its rich
mosaic interior). Grounds open mid-Feb-Mar daily 11am-5pm, Apr-Oct daily 11am-5:30pm, Nov-Dec
daily 11am-4pm. From Windsor, follow the M4 toward Reading to Junction 7 (in the direction of Slough
West). At the roundabout, turn left onto the A4, signposted
MAIDENHEAD
. At the next roundabout, turn
right, signposted
BURNHAM
. Follow the road for 2
1
⁄
2
miles to a T-junction with the B476. The main gates
to Cliveden are directly opposite.
WHERE TO EAT & STAY
Cliveden House
The Astor's former estate is one of the most beautiful and
luxurious hotels in England. Rooms—named after famous guests who've stayed here,
including T. E. Lawrence and Charlie Chaplin—are sumptuous, each furnished in
impeccable taste. The bathrooms with deep marble tubs are among the country's finest.
Less preferred rooms are those recently added in the Clutton Wing. Nothing (except
perhaps renting Lady Astor's bedroom itself) is more elegant here than walking down to
the river and boarding a hotel boat for a champagne cruise before dinner. In the morning,
you can go horseback riding on the 152-hectare (376-acre) estate along the riverbank.
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