My family spent a delightful weekend in the company of long-term friends Roger and Brenda Farley, at their home in Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire. On Saturday we visited Waddesdon Manor, a country house which was built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild between 1874 and 1885 to display his collection of arts and to entertain the fashionable world.
Opened to the public in 1959, Waddesdon Manor is managed by the Rothschild Foundation on behalf of the National Trust, who took over ownership in 1957. It is home to the Rothschild Collections of paintings, sculpture and decorative arts.
In the grounds at present is Colourscape, a fascinating series of spaces and sounds, which challenges the natural perception of colours and how they relate in 56 interlinked chambers. Each day there are different music and dance performances with resident musician Michael Ormiston creating workshops for all on weekdays and at weekends featuring hurdy-gurdy, panpipes, dance, flutes and a spectacular theatre-piece with dance and acoustic costumes.
