Stately views and rural hues

A circular walk with a grand centre piece:

Mentmore Towers, historically known simply as "Mentmore", is a 19th-century English country house built between 1852 and 1854 for the Rothschild family in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. Sir Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George Henry Stokes, designed the building in the 19th-century revival of late 16th and early 17th-century Elizabethan and Jacobean styles called Jacobethan. The house was designed for the banker and collector of fine art Baron Mayer de Rothschild as a country home, and as a display case for his collection of fine art. The mansion has been described as one of the greatest houses of the Victorian era. Mentmore was inherited by Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery, née Rothschild, and owned by her descendants, the Earls of Rosebery.

Mentmore was the first of what were to become virtual Rothschild enclaves in the Vale of Aylesbury. Baron Mayer de Rothschild began purchasing land in the area in 1846. Later, other members of the family built houses at Tring in Hertfordshire, Ascott, Aston Clinton, Waddesdon and Halton.

The Grand Hall at Mentmore. Aged just six months, Hannah de Rothschild laid the foundation stone for the great mansion on 31 December 1851.

Much of the parkland was sold in 1944, but Mentmore remained with the family until 1977. At that point, unable to come to an arrangement with the nation to preserve the building and contents intact as a Heritage property, the contents were auctioned, and it was sold to the Maharishi Foundation. In 1999, it was sold to investor Simon Halabi, who planned to build additional hotel and conference facilities. In 1992 the Mentmore Golf and Country Club opened, with two 18-hole courses.

Mentmore Towers is a Grade I listed building, with its park and gardens listed Grade II*.

After passing by the towers we will head through the countryside, arriving at the village of Wingrave. Here we will stop for a relaxed laid back lunch. (There is a pub option here for food and drink if you wish or a village shop and green park)

From here we route round the back of the Towers and into the village of Mentmore which has a nice green for a rest stop and another pub option for those who wish.

This walk is suitable for dogs. I love having dogs on walks and actively encourage people to bring them.

IMPORTANT! – Participation Statement:

You MUST complete a Participation Statement, in addition to booking your event space before attending an OutdoorLads event. You only need to complete this Participation Statement once, not for each event you attend.

Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, even if they are extremely mild, or who has recently tested positive for Covid-19, is asked not to attend.

Photos below are all taken by myself during the recon walk.