I don't know what it is, but grand old buildings just fascinate me, I can't help but think of all of the history that has happened inside the walls and of all people that would have visited or lived in such buildings. I recently visited Hampton Court Palace and it was amazing, it had been on my list of places to visit for a while and it didn't disappoint.
I feel very lucky to have in-laws who encourage Adam and I to spend time together and who are happy to look after the boys for us so that we get to go and explore the inside of places like Claydon House and other National Trust properties. We love taking the boys to the gardens and grounds to explore, but I'm not sure that they're quite ready to go inside of large expensive houses just yet! ;)
A couple of weeks back, the boys' grandparents offered to have the boys overnight and suggested we visit Claydon House in Buckingham the next morning. We'd never been before and we didn't quite realize just how close it was to us and because we have National Trust memberships so we thought it would be the perfect way to spend the morning.
Just as you'd expect from the good old British weather, it really tipped it down and we even had thunder too, but it actually just made the experience of exploring somewhere historic like that even better and a little bit more romantic too. ;)
We weren't able to film or take photographs in the house itself unfortunately, but inside it was just as beautiful as you'd expect. With a stunning library and the best looking (very large) interior doors you've ever seen. I was actually a little bit obsessed with the doors and couldn't stop talking about them!
The grounds of Claydon House are really pretty too! You have to pay extra to walk around the gardens because they are privately owned by the family, but we didn't get a chance to do this as we were meeting up with the boy's grandparents and the boys for lunch. But we still managed to find some really pretty spots just around by the house itself. I loved this little spot that we found, it was so pretty and the perfect spot to get a nice photo of my new watch that I was very kindly sent from Daniel Wellington - I love it so much because to be quite honest, it's just really 'me'.
It's the Classic Petite and I have it in Sterling but it also comes in an equally beautiful rose-gold color called Melrose. It's so easy to get on and off and I love the design - it's stylish and modern and great for wearing every day with any outfit.
Before heading home we had a last little explore around and took a few more photos, it was lovely watching the sheep in the field and also so exciting to find an old church to explore. It was empty asides from Adam and I and we could hear the thunder outside, it was spooky and romantic all at the same time!
We even came across what would have been a very old fire engine for the house. It's funny to see how much fire engines have changed isn't it?!
It was a really lovely morning and I'm so glad that we got to go and explore another really interesting place. I love having our National Trust memberships!
Daniel Wellington Discount Code
If you have been looking for a new watch for yourself or for someone you know I can't recommend Daniel Wellington enough, they have such a good range of watches to choose from for both men and women. They offer free shipping too as well as free returns and they also have a special offer on at the moment over on their website where they are offering a free strap from the 15th August. They've also very kindly offered to give my blog readers 15% off using the code GLADWIN15. :) You can take a look at their watches over at danielwellington.com/uk/.Do you have National Trust memberships? Where is your favorite place to visit and explore?
Thank you for reading. Alex xo
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