Halloween at Waddesdon Manor

On the weekend we headed to Buckinghamshire to visit the Waddesdon Manor country house in the small village of Waddesdon.

Whenever we travel to Bicester Shopping Village, we pass Waddesdon Manor and vow to visit, so we were very excited to be invited to the Horrible Halloween event.

https://waddesdon.org.uk/whats-on/horrible-halloween/

This event kicked off on Saturday 26 October and runs until Sunday 3 November and includes activities like the Halloween trail, pumpkin carving, Spooky Afternoon Tea, storytelling and face painting.

The entry fees for the grounds is £11 per adult and £5.50 per child and children under 5 are free. For grounds and house, it is £21 per adult and £11.50 per child and children under 5 are free.

More information can be found here: 

https://waddesdon.org.uk/your-visit/tickets/

We thought the prices were reasonable, especially considering the size of Waddesdon and the amount of activities you can do.

We decided to do “The Dread Brook: A Terrifying Trail” (Halloween Trail) first which was an extra £3. Pumpkin carving was available also and this is priced at £5 per pumpkin.

We travelled around the trail looking for different check points where Ita was asked to stamp her check list.

The trail was magical, with each check point being decorated with anything from a giant spider to witches’ brooms and hats, etc and it took around 30 minutes, which is a perfect amount of time to keep the children entertained and engaged.

When the trail ended, we came to the final check point, where Ita was allowed to pick a Halloween headband.

After the trail, it was a short walk to the country house where we were invited to enter and look around.

This stately home was by far the most gorgeous we have seen, and this includes Windsor Palace. The rooms were beautifully decorated with portraits, and gifts from around the world. We were all taken aback with the dining rooms and how amazing they looked, it looked like a scene from Downton Abbey.

There are loads of places to eat and drink on the grounds, there is a restaurant in the stately home, a café at the Stables and pop up stands all over the grounds too where coffees, drinks and snacks can be purchased.

We really enjoyed our time at Waddesdon Manor, and would recommend making the visit as it is a really beautiful place and has a very interesting history.

We will be coming back for the Christmas event as it looks even more magical and we are sure Ita will love it.