Statesman Benjamin Disraeli and his wife Mary Anne had a significant influence on the styling of the country manor you see today. Disraeli hired architect Edward Buckton-Lamb to complete the transformation of Hughenden from a Georgian white stuccoed building into a Victorian country retreat. As you move through the rooms you will see the personalities of both husband and wife reflected in their tastes, and their status as rising members of Victorian high society.

Disraeli purchased Hughenden in 1848, shortly after becoming leader of the Conservative Party. Securing the manor was vital to the realisation of his political ambitions and his personal aspirations, and elevated him to the status of landed country gentleman.

In the main house the rooms are recreated as Disraeli would have known them, with the library full of his beloved books and the dining room set for Queen Victoria’s visit in 1877.

On the first floor is his study, bedroom and Mary Anne’s boudoir along with the black silk robe worn by Disraeli as Chancellor of the Exchequer, which he notoriously refused to give up. A special display ‘Treasured’ celebrates 125 years of National Trust care, through pieces from the Hughenden collection with a story to tell.

On the top floor is a timeline of Disraeli’s history and a special exhibition, The Royal Gifts of Hughenden, based on Disraeli’s close friendship with Queen Victoria.

The rooms in the west wing tell the story of Hughenden’s requisition by the Air Ministry in 1941 when the manor became home to a secret map-making operation, code-named Hillside.

Some special moments and memories from 2022, one from each month of the year. The photographs are taken from a calendar that I created for myself and due to the printing deadline, December’s photograph is also from November.

1. The Inclined Plane, Coalport, 2. Lichfield Cathedral, 3. Local Pathway, 4. Llangollen Canal Nr Chirk Aqueduct, 5. violet’s Tea Room Bridgnorth, 6. Waddesden Manor, 7. Tewkesbury, 8. Sandringham Church, 9. Attingham Park, 10. The Long Walk, Windsor, 11. The Guild Chapel, Stratford-upon-Avon, 12. Stratford-upon-Avon

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel, taking the opportunity to mention that we had been locked out of the hotel the previous evening. The receptionist seemed unconcerned about our experience and I wasn’t convinced that the problem would be escalated to make sure it didn’t happen to anyone else. I was persistent on the matter, the receptionist then checked out the intercom button…

It didn’t work for her on the first pressing of the button but when she pressed a second time we heard the friendly ringing of a phone in the reception area. We were not convinced that the issue would be addressed and I left with the intention of writing a letter to highlight the problem, I would have felt panicky if I had been travelling alone.

Our destination for the day was Bletchley Park which had been on both of our ‘Too Visit’ wish lists for some time. There is so much to see at Bletchley that we had to prioritise what we wanted to see. We decided to visit the buildings that Bletchley itself had highlighted as the best places to see on a short visit.

This approach to us to the intelligence factory, the D Day exhibition and film, the mansion, code breaking huts including Alan Turing’s office and along the way we learned how, with maths and technology, the secret codes were cracked. We ran out of time to visit more but our tickets allow return visits for 12 months. We will be back to visit the things we missed and also revisit some of our favourite buildings.

Whilst there, we had lunch in the rather chaotic café. I found a seat in an area, that turned out to be unexpectedly noisy. An employee was pushing a trolley with a squeaky wheel was strolling to and from the dining area, collecting dirty pots.

We left Bletchley later than we intended leading us to pick up something (quick and easy) for dinner on our way home.

Bekonscot in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, is the oldest original model village in the world.^[1][2][3] It portrays aspects of England mostly dating from the 1930s.

Bekonscot was first created in the 1920s by a Beaconsfield resident, Roland Callingham (1881–1961). Callingham, an accountant, developed the master plan for his miniature empire as an addition to his large back garden, drawing in help from his staff: the gardener, cook, maid and chauffeur. Together they developed the model landscape portraying rural England at the time. The swimming pool became the first “sea” and the undulating rockeries were built up as hills. Bassett-Lowke, the large-scale model railway manufacturers, were commissioned to build an extensive Gauge 1 railway network for the project.^[4] Callingham named the village Bekonscot after Beaconsfield and Ascot, where he had lived previously.

Bekonscot was not conceived as a commercial visitor attraction but as a plaything to entertain Callingham and his guests. It was only after 1930 that its existence became widely known, catching the imagination of the press and public alike. Frequent newsreels, such as Pathé, and international and national newspaper coverage, ensured a steady stream of visitors, all of whom were invited to make a donation to the Railway Benevolent Institution.