Months ago friends and I agreed to meet at Basildon Park for a girls day of pottering and tea drinking! Normally such planning will lead to a wet weekend so it was an absolute delight to have the early feel of summer return this morning!
Basildon Park is between Newbury and Reading, so easy to get to from London via the M4. It is recently more famous for having been used for the Downton Abbey Christmas special in 2013, but I think it has been used in Jane Austen period dramas too.
Entry
The house is in lovely grounds which offer plenty of walking opportunities. Entrance is through a courtyard that is littered with present ideas and plants to buy – and is also a lovely little sun trap for the early morning rays!
60 things to do…
There are plenty of tips for the 11 3/4 year old which is part of the National Trusts campaign.
Favourite flowers
Daffodils are my favourite flower and there are plenty of them to see here – and lovely deer like structures in amongst them too!
Impressive
The house is very impressive, and the stone is so clean. I think I read that it is an 18th century house – it has stunning views over the grounds from front and back!
Tea in the sunshine
My friends and I enjoyed afternoon tea on the grass. There is also a little cafe where we had lunch – good food as ever at a National Trust cafe, but service was a little slow – the unseasonably warm weather no doubt caught them out a little
Deck chairs
A genius idea – deck chairs that are free to use. We spent a few hours just sitting in the sunshine in our chairs in front of the house – surprisingly comfortable! Lovely views every which way!
Linked up to #sundaytraveler via A Southern Traveler and Chasing the Donkey
#SundayTraveler
An afternoon tea on the grass, free deck chairs, and girls day out – sounds like a perfect place to visit to me. Thanks for linking up to the #SundayTraveler!
Daffodils, a beautiful English Country house and afternoon tea – I can’t think of anything not to like…
Ahh, afternoon tea – you can’t go wrong! Especially outside, with sunshine and daffodils – perfect 🙂
What a jolly day, I wouldn’t mind this tea in the sunshine! 🙂
That afternoon tea on the grass is so cute! How lovely to spend a spring day!
How wonderful having tea on the lawn in the sun. I could almost imagine pretending to be one of the ladies in Downton Abbey. Thanks for linking up to #SundayTraveler!
This places seriously looks like the perfect place to spend a girls day – love it! I haven’t watched Downton Abbey but I really want to start. Thanks for linking up to the #SundayTraveler 🙂
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The only issue was no rosé – no one told them the season had started!!