We only had a 17-minute drive from the hotel to our first stop – Imperial War Museum Duxford. This museum is primarily an air museum and is gigantic, covering most of what used to be an RAF base (both WWI and WWII). Because it was more than a mile from hanger 1 to the final hangar (one way), we only saw about 1/2 of the exhibits. But, after a while all the planes look the same, even to Peter, so we don’t think we missed anything.
The last hangar we visited (there was still one more but it was too far to walk) was the American Hangar filled with U.S. planes. We’ve seen so many of those before that we only did a quick walkthrough.
From the American Hangar, we made the long trek back to the Visitor Center where our car was parked. We ate our ham/cheese sandwiches in the car and drove another 20 minutes to Audley End House. It turns out they had picnic tables so we could have had our lunch there but who knew??
Audley End House was originally a monastery which was dissolved and granted to Lord Chancellor (very high ranking in government) Sir Robert Audley by Henry VIII. The original house was demolished and this grand manor was built.
We weren’t able to take pictures inside the manor
It is a gorgeous house now owned by the 11th Baron of Braybrooke. The title was created in 1788 so it’s fairly old. The 10th Baron died after having had 8 children…all of them girls!! Luckily for the Baroness, she wasn’t married to Henry VIII or it could have gone very badly for her. Because of the British male preference primogeniture, none of the girls could inherit the title so they had to search for a male. They found one in the Baron’s 3rd cousin twice removed. He is the great-great-great grandson of the 3rd son of the second Baron. This sounds like my family….very few boys. The 11th Baron’s only child is a boy but is only 7 years old. So, if something happens to him before he has kids, next up for the title is the 78 year old uncle of the current Baron. Hopefully he has boys because if everyone dies before another male heir is born, they have to go searching for someone else. Who knows how far they’ll have to go to find one.
Anyway, back to the house. Here are a few pics of the formal gardens and the back of the manor.
We had almost a 90-minute drive to our new Airbnb flat in Clacton-on-Sea but it was a pretty easy trip. We in an adorable cottage with 2 bedrooms and a nice backyard. I took a chance on this one as it is new on Airbnb with only one review, which could have been written by the host’s mother. But, it perfect so we’re pleased to be here for our last few nights in southern England.