Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
place on Friday mornings at the back of the town hall. The two nationally important
attractions just outside town are
Audley End,
one of the grandest stately homes in
England, and the
Imperial War Museum Duxford,
which has many vintage air-
craft including World War II planes and a Concorde.
Many of Saffron Walden's old buildings are plastered with fine examples of parget-
ting, a decorative effect that is unique to parts of East Anglia. You'll see more at the
nearby village of
Thaxted,
where
St. John the Baptist Church
is one of the most
impressive in Essex. Gustav Holst lived in the village from 1914 to 1925 and worked
on
The Planets
here. He also started a music festival that was resurrected in 1980 and
takes place in the summer.
Finchingfield
is another pretty Essex village worth call-
ing at for a stroll around the antiques shops or to feed the ducks on the village green.
Essentials
GETTING THERE
NXEA Trains take about an hour from London's Liverpool
Street Station to Audley End (about £17), 2 miles away. If you're driving from Lon-
don, it's just off the M11 at junction 8.
VISITOR INFORMATION
The
Tourist Information Centre,
1 Market Place
(
&
01799/524002;
www.visitsaffronwalden.gov.uk), should have free copies of
“The Saffron Walden Town Trail.”
Exploring the Area
Audley End
HISTORIC SITE Charles II is one of the former owners of this
house, originally built in 1538 on the grounds of Walden Abbey after the Reforma-
tion. Architects Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Adam were involved in redesigns
through the centuries, and landscape legend Capability Brown remodeled the
grounds. The highlights these days are the kitchen, dairy, larder, and laundry in the
recently refurbished service wing, as well as the gardens and parkland and the
restored stable block. The house is on the B1383.
Insider tip:
Entrance is free to English Heritage members; 1-week or 2-week
Overseas Visitors Passes are available from £20. Buy online for collection at any
English Heritage property.
Audley End, Saffron Walden.
&
01638/667333.
www.english-heritage.org.uk. Admission £13 adults,
£7.50 children 5-15, £33 family ticket. Wed-Sun Apr-Sept 11am-5pm (grounds until 6pm), Oct until
4pm (grounds 5pm); closed Nov-Mar. Grounds only weekends Nov-Christmas and early Feb, then
Wed-Sun until end Mar mostly 10am-4pm. House sometimes open only for guided tours; see website
for details.
Bridge End Garden
GARDEN This award-winning Victorian garden was voted
East Anglia's best picnic spot. The grade II listed garden was laid out by the Gibson
family in the 19th
century as a series of garden rooms including a kitchen garden.
Bridge St. and Castle St.
&
01799/524002.
www.visitessex.com. Free admission anytime.
Imperial War Museum Duxford
MUSEUM This is Britain's leading air
museum, vast hangars at a real airfield (it was a World War I airfield and one of
the earliest Air Force stations). Arrive early because there's lots to see. Duxford
Airfield played its part in both World Wars, as you'll see in the 1940s' Operations
Room and the permanent Battle of Britain exhibition, which has a Spitfire and
Hurricane on display. There are more than 30 historic aircraft in the AirSpace
hangar, including a Concorde which you can tour, while the American Air
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