After breakfast, we set off in glorious sunshine to visit Hughenden, the former home of Benjamin Disraeli. We took advantage of the weather and toured the gardens before entering the house.
As well as being the home of Disraeli, in 1941 the house was requisitioned by the Air Ministry and played a significant role in the outcome of WWII. Hughenden was the home of a secret map-making operation which only came to light 60 years later as a result of a chance encounter with someone who had worked there. We visited this WWII display where a knowledgeable room guide was on hand to explain the displays and stories to us in great detail. In other rooms of the house we learned about Disraeli’s life and his close friendship with Queen Victoria.
We enjoyed lunch sitting outside in glorious sunshine and watching the world go by. After lunch we visited the shop to pick up the guide book where we were treated to a personal talk about Disraeli by the lady who was serving us at the till. She mentioned some things for us to look out for when we visited the nearby St Michael’s Church to see Disraeli’s tomb and Queen Victoria’s dedication within the church. Inside the church there are many other historical treasures of interest.
We then drove to Boulters Lock in order to find the Grade II listed K1 telephone box. It is painted in green in sympathy with its surroundings. We crossed the bridge over the Thames onto Ray Mill island where we enjoyed an ice-cream, in my case ‘Wild Cherry’.
As Mr C lingered on the bench I set off exploring and found ducks, geese, an Egyptian goose, squirrels and an aviary, eventually arriving at Boutler’s Weir. Although I was keen to explore further I realised that Mr C might be wondering where I had got to. I retraced my steps and found him on his way to find me.
Back at the hotel we found that the outcome of our requested room service was not to the expected standard! The cups and glasses had not been replaced with new ones, but washed in the bathroom sink and there was a dirty spoon in the tea cupboard. Also in the tea cupboard, the tea, milk and sugar we had picked up at reception had been removed. In the bathroom we now had only one hand towel, the soap bar and half used toilet roll had also disappeared and the new toilet roll had not been replaced on its holder. On the plus side we received a new bottle of water that we were not expecting.
Later, we dined in a Lebanese restaurant where we found ourselves to be the only people in the restaurant. The menu options didn’t deliver what we were expecting but the food, Lebanese wine and service were all good
We had a nightcap in Wetherspoon’s before returning to the hotel. The barman was distracted whilst filling my wine glass so I ended up with extra (enjoyable) wine for free.
