Cliveden House - Picnic & Boating

My visit to Cliveden House

In April we took our first overnight trip in the UK since July! As someone who used to go away at least once a month, 2020/ 2021 has been quite the change of pace for me. At the start of the pandemic I still had my usual habits of spending hours scrolling sky scanner and hotel booking sites for good ideas and thinking all this would pass quickly. A year later and I can't imagine booking an overseas trip (other than home to Kenya) as it is just too stressful with the constant changes in regulation.

That said, I am eager to explore the UK and when self contained accommodation opened up in mid April I decided to go back to scrolling. I honestly spent days trying to decide where to go until I came across Cliveden House.

I had read about the house briefly when Meghan Markle stayed there the night before her wedding. I thought it looked wonderfully luxurious and then promptly forgot about it. The main house itself was not yet open at the time of our visit but the gardens of the estate were open and so was the boat hire company. We still wanted to visit even if we couldn't stay so we booked a place nearby and went for the day to Cliveden House.

Cliveden House was built in the mid 17th century by the Duke of Buckingham. Rumour has it that he intended the house to be for his mistress. He later wound up rather injured from a dual over said mistress but the house got built and it stayed as a home to various members of the aristocracy for several years.

In the 1960's it was again immersed in scandal as it was the backdrop to the Profumo affair - an affair between the conservative government's secretary of state Mr Profumo and an escort. The pair are said to have initially met at a party at Cliveden House.

In 1985 the house was transformed into a luxury hotel for the first time and has made numerous "best countryside hotel in the UK" lists.

It was really a shame that the hotel wasn't opened as I would have loved to see inside even just for a quick snoop around. Alas, I will save it for another time. The gardens however, are well worth a visit in their own right.

The easiest way to reach the estate is by car and it takes just under an hour from London. You can also get the train to Maidenhead and then a short uber. I'm sure if you were feeling rather energetic you could even cycle from London, maybe.

Once we reached the estate we walked through a woodland area carpeted with daffodils leading up to the house. Around the house the gardens become manicured and well presented. Behind the house there is a drop down to more manicured gardens with mazes! The perfect spot for a picnic.

After frolicking around the gardens for the afternoon we made our way down to the Boathouse. The Boathouse is still part of the Cliveden House Estate and lies on the banks of the River Thames, though it is not directly associated with the hotel.

The boat hire was honestly one of the best experiences I have had in a while, it was so relaxing, luxurious and fun. We rented the self-drive boat but you could also go on a tour, or rent rowing boats or canoes. To add to the occasion of our first weekend away we brought champagne and macrons to enjoy on the boat.

Boat hire rates start at £50 an hour for your own boat for the first hour then £45 an hour for subsequent hours. You can check out the full details here: https://boatingatcliveden.co.uk/index.php

The sun was starting to set as we finished our boat ride so with regret we made our way back to our accommodation, which was nowhere near as nice! More on that another time...