Waddesdon Manor - tour

Your horse-drawn carriage would sweep you through the grand entrance gates in the village of Waddesdon near Aylesbury and up the mile-long drive through the estate towards the house. The drive would be lined with impressive flower beds the work of 200 gardeners.

Sweep past a beautiful fountain that that would be perfectly fitting in a grand Italian palace, turn the corner, and there ahead lies the manor. You'd think you were in 18th century France, approaching a magnificent turreted chateau.

The French impression is deliberate. When Baron Ferdinand built Waddesdon, from 1874 to 1889, he said he sought "to revive the decoration of the 18th century in its purity, reconstructing the rooms out of old material, reproducing them as they had been during the reigns of the Louis'."

It's not just the fairytale castle style of the manor which is entrancing. He filled the house with a collection of art treasures which has rarely been equalled.

All these are displayed for your pleasure as guests are welcomed and shown to the East Gallery. Here marvellous 18th-century paintings, sculptures, tapestries and furniture are set off by magnificently carved oak panelling. It was lucky for the baron that many old houses in Paris were being pulled down at that time to create new boulevards, and he was able to get a wealth of panelling and architectural ornamentation to build into his new manor, creating a setting of unparalleled elegance for his art treasures.

Members of the Rothschild banking family were renowned throughout Europe for their good taste, and as you continued through to the elegant drawing room, the drawing rooms, the library and if you were lucky the state bedroom, there would be art treasures on the walls, the floors, the furniture, the dining table and indeed the ceiling to keep you marvelling all weekend. That's before you ventured out into the garden which was equally remarkable for its taste and extravagance.

The manor was only used on about 24 weekends a year, when the baron would leave his London home to hold houseparties. A staff of 30 kept it running the rest of the time besides the 200 gardeners, who managed the largest greenhouses in England and kept the family's other homes supplied with fresh fruit and vegetables.

Only the great and the good would be your fellow guests, of course. The Baron's table was famous as the place where the best minds, the top politicians, and pinnacles of high society would gather in their finery to be entertained in lavish style.

But today anyone can pay a visit to this stateliest of home, thanks to the bequest of Waddesdon Manor to the National trust in 19?? and the continued patronage of the present Lord Rothschild, who lives nearby at Eythrope.

The treasures within Waddesdon have not been dispersed, as happened with so many stately homes. And Miss Alice, Baron Ferdinand's sister who cared for the house after his death in 1898, took great pains to protect it and its contents.

Philippa Glanville, academic director at the Manor, says: "Miss Alice had a very strict household regime which has been wonderful in preserving the manor's works of art and textiles. When Baron Ferdinand died she put blinds up to keep out the light. In most historical houses the textiles have gone or faded and the furniture been ruined." Their condition at Waddesdon is amazingly good and National Trust staff ensure these treasures get expert care to keep them that way.

Today visitors can walk through the manor's 45 rooms and feast on the work of some of the world's best painters, such as Gainsborough and Reynolds and Dutch Old Masters.

Or if antique furniture of the highest standard is your interest, there's a jewel at every turn. There are also superb collections of porcelain, historic buttons, manuscripts, sculptures, tapestries, and the famous Waddesdon Wine Cellars housing a collection of 15,000 bottles.

Philippa says: "People visiting Waddesdon for the first time often say: 'I had no idea I thought it was an ordinary National Trust house.'

"In fact it's an art gallery, a museum, an archive, a historic building and a beautiful garden all rolled into one. We're considered the jewel in the crown of the National Trust."

The garden is renowned, with an interesting aviary and a magnificent parterre.

His year Waddesdon Manor has a theme of Art in Fashion. In the garden, the fashion designer Oscar de la Renta will design the parterre bedding, to be unveiled in June.

And aspects of the theme are being highlighted throughout the house. Three historic dresses are on display in the bedrooms, while an Art in Fashion trail points out the fashions depicted on portraits, porcelain figures, accessories such as buttons, fans and lace, and old manuscripts.

Waddesdon manor, north-west of Aylesbury, (01296) 653226, house open until November 4, Wednesday to Sunday 11am to 4pm. Entry to house and grounds £10. There are guides in every room to answer questions, or hire an audio machine for a very helpful guided tour.JUST as Alastair McGowan's Big Impression is full of memorable moments and surreal situations, one of its writers has his own fast-growing album of mementos.

He walks into the BFP building wearing shades and looking like a million dollars but Julian Dutton isn't trying to look super cool or snazzy, he's actually just had surgery after his son poked him in the eye when the two of them were wielding swords in the garden.

Julian says: "Jack is eight years old and belongs to a fencing club in Wycombe. Since he was a small lad, I fenced with him in the garden and pretended to lose to him for years.

"But he's been getting too good for me lately and I find it difficult to defend myself against him. I was just trying to parry him off but he just got through and jabbed me in the eye.

"I had to go for eye surgery at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Luckily my sight is alright."

If that's not surreal enough then rewind back to when Julian was eight years old and he had a mishap with a boiled sweet and Steve Redgrave came to his rescue.

Both boys were pupils at Great Marlow School.

Julian, who now lives in Penn with his wife Laura and their son Jack, says: "He probably doesn't remember this but Steve Redgrave saved my life when I was eight years old. I was on my way to cubs with him in Marlow Bottom and I was choking on a big boiled sweet.

"I sank on my knees to the floor and it was getting pretty serious but he just came up behind me and whacked me in the back. The sweet came hurtling out and it's the only reason I'm alive today.

"He just seem to know what to do. He must have only been seven years old but he was very mature. Even then he showed heroic potential."

Thirty-two years later, writer and performer Julian has hit the big time with Alastair McGowan's Big Impression which has brought a new dimension to the lives of the rich and famous.

"The reason why I think it's been a success is because since Mike Yarwood there hasn't been a comparative show on the BBC.

"There is Rory Bremner who incorporates the element of satire but Alastair hardly does any politicians and I think there was a need for a new type of impressionist show.

"Working with Alastair taught me how hard you have to work in comedy. He is a very hard worker. He watches hours of videos and is very scientific about his approach. I learnt a lot from him.

"But when it comes to an impression he's a natural, he can drop in and out of impressions very quickly. When he's on set, I really believe he is that person."

The show usually lays into any celebrity who's hot but it seems David Beckham is trying to stay one step ahead.

"A week before the first series went out, David Beckham changed his hairstyle and shaved his head," says Julian. "So we had to rush back into the studio and find a way of getting round it.

"We'd filmed lots of stuff with him having long hair and we had to use it. So the way we got round it was to have Alastair playing the new Becks watching the long-haired Becks on TV and acting relieved that he wasn't going to be ridiculed for having long hair."

Now that the England football captain has had a mohican, McGowan may have to make more trips to the barbers.

The series is written by four writers with Ronnie Ancona and Alan Francis making up the team alongside Julian and Alastair.

"We start writing a series about six months before it goes out. We start working out which celebrities are in the public eye at that particular time.

"For instance in this series Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones are taking over a bit from Posh and Becks who were prominent in the last series."

Julian grew up in Marlow and began his career doing the stand-up circuit touring with Harry Hill and Al Murray.

He was hired for Alastair McGowan's Big Impression after the success of the BBC Radio show The Harpoon which is where he initially worked with McGowan for three years.

Since launching himself on the comedy scene he has written and performed in more than 80 radio and TV shows including writing material for Smith and Jones, Roy Hudd and Harry Hill's Fruit Corner.

"I think the state of comedy is as healthy as it's always been. People are constantly complaining that there isn't any great comedy on TV but there never was a golden age. It's always been the same and there's always been a good show in amongst some bad ones."

He's also currently working on a script for his own show on BBC2 called Cinerama which will be screened next year.

"It's a spoof film magazine about old stars like Humphrey Bogart and James Stewart. These people haven't been impersonated for so long and I think it will be a new experience.

"It's what I've wanted to do for a long time and I'm really excited about it."

So the next time you watch one of Julian's scripted shows, just look for those big boiled sweets and eight-year-old fencing champions sorting their dads out.

Alastair McGowan's Big Impression is on BBC1 on Sunday at 8.30pm