Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the surrounding gardens houses exotic birds. On the premises are a restaurant and a
gift shop, both featuring a vast assortment of Rothschild wines.
High St. (A41), Waddesdon.
&
01296/653226.
www.waddesdon.org.uk. Admission to house and
grounds £14-£15 adults, £10-£12 children 5-16, free for children 4 and under; grounds only £6-£7 adults,
£3-£4 children 5-16, £15-£19 family ticket, free for children 4 and younger. House Apr-Oct Wed-Fri
noon-4pm, Sat-Sun 11am-4pm, closed Nov-Mar; grounds and aviary Jan-mid-Mar Sat-Sun 10am-5pm,
mid-Mar-Dec Wed-Sun 10am-5pm. Audio guide can be rented at the entrance for £2 (free for chil-
dren). Waddesdon is 12 miles from Aylesbury via the A41. Take Arriva bus no. 16 or 17.
CHALFONT ST. GILES
Just 25 miles from London, perched on the eastern edge of the Chilterns, Chalfont
St. Giles has been relatively successful in preserving its traditional center despite the
rapid urbanization all around, with local shops, pubs, and cafes clustered around the
rustic green and village pond. It's best known as the place where poet
John Milton
lived during the Great Plague in 1665. To reach the village, take the A355 north from
the M40 (junction 2), until you come to the signposted turn for Chalfont St. Giles to
the east. Carousel bus A30 runs to the village from Heathrow Airport and from Amer-
sham (London Tube station).
Chiltern Open Air Museum
MUSEUM This absorbing 18-hectare (45-acre)
museum has been restoring aging Chiltern buildings and relocating them here since
the 1970s, and now more than 30 are on view (you can go inside most of them).
Among the rustic wooden barns and farm buildings are a reconstruction of an Iron
Age round-house, a Victorian prefab chapel, an 1860 forge, and an 18th-century
thatched barn converted into two simple cottages. In between is parkland grazed by
sheep and rolling woods.
Newland Park, Gorelands Lane.
&
01494/872163.
www.coam.org.uk. Admission £8 adults, £5 children
5-16, £23 family ticket. Daily 10am-5pm. The museum is signposted from the A413 at Chalfont St. Giles.
Walking from the village should take around 30 min.
John Milton's Cottage
HISTORIC HOME John Milton finished off his epic
poem
Paradise Lost
in this humble 16th-century cottage in 1665, during his refuge from
the plague
.
It's the only one of his homes still standing, evocative of his generally frugal,
hardworking life. The great poet had been working on the poem for 7 years and was
already blind by the time he stayed here. Its four rooms contain many relics and exhib-
its devoted to Milton, including a precious collection of 17th-century first editions.
21 Deanway, at School Lane.
&
01494/872313.
www.miltonscottage.org. Admission £5 adults, £3
children 14 and under. Mar-Oct, Tues-Sun 10am-1pm and 2-6pm.
GREAT MISSENDEN
Tucked away in the heart of the Chilterns, the large village of Great Missenden is
best known for the former
home of
Roald Dahl,
the internationally famous chil-
dren's author. Though the village center retains some Victorian row (terraced) houses,
it's not especially attractive and it is the Dahl connection that provides the real allure.
His home,
Gipsy House
(on Whitefield Lane, just outside the village),
is still pri-
vately owned by his widow, Felicity, but you can visit the garden on select open days
throughout the year (entry £4). See www.ngs.org.uk for details. You can also view
Dahl's simple tomb at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church (often strewn with toys and
flowers), and visit his excellent museum.
Roald Dahl Museum & Story Centre
MUSEUM This fabulous tribute
to Roald Dahl chronicles the life of the beloved author and includes a replica of the
hut where he created his most popular characters. Kids will love the hands-on
Story
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