Living the highlife ad waddesdon manor

Waddesdon Manor is a former home of the mega-rich Rothschild family. They could afford to build a French style chateau in Oxfordshire with a huge estate. It's now run by the National Trust and open to the public.

They bought vineyards to get into the wine business and this is one of a pair of giant candlesticks made from wine bottles to symbolise this trade.

The house is huge and must have cost a fortune. Each room probably cost as much as a regular house. Note the funky ivy pattern on the right.

The mega-rich can indulge in whatever they like. One of them liked exotic birds and built this huge aviary.

They have a breeding programme as some of the birds are very rare due to habitat depletion and the trade in birds.

We didn't go in the house this time. We had a family celebration and so went there for afternoon tea. The service was a little slow, but the food was excellent. After a savoury selection we had a variety of cakes. Yes, I did manage to eat them all, plus some left-overs from the family. It's a treat, but not bad value, especially compared with what you can pay at some London venues.