SYON HOUSE & LONDON’S ARCADIA

Syon House, home to the Dukes of Northumberland, is the last ducal residence to survive in the Greater London area. This magnificent house full of great paintings and furniture is perhaps the finest Robert Adam interior in the country. For hundreds of years Richmond has been a favourite retreat of royalty, the rich and the famous. Combine our entertaining Blue Badge guided tour of Syon House and visit to Richmond with an exploration of a part of well heeled West London known in Georgian times as London’s Arcadia.

Meet the Blue Badge guide in Richmond at 10.30am to purchase morning refreshments. Richmond was named by Henry VII for his favourite Earldom in Yorkshire. A gateway of the Tudor Palace still remains on Richmond Green once the scene of tournaments and pageants and today surrounded by elegant period houses. Enjoy a gentle stroll to appreciate the timeless charm of this elegant Thames side town. It’s a great place for lunch and browsing too with plenty of pubs and cafés.

During the 18th century, an Arcadia or “idyllic pastoral landscape” was created along the Thames to the West of London. Magnificent Royal and aristocratic palaces, gardens and parks were linked by a series of avenues and all set within a framework of meadows and woodland. Our Arcadian coach tour includes the only view in the UK protected by an Act of Parliament and some beautiful houses including Noel Coward’s childhood home

At Syon House the grand scale and splendour of the interiors resembles the Imperial Rome of a Hollywood epic. The vivid Red Drawing Room displays Cipriani’s incredible painted ceiling of 239 medallions but Adam’s true genius is revealed in the 136ft Long Gallery where the original Jacobean wood panelling was replaced by delicate plasterwork and “finished in a style to afford variety and amusement especially for the ladies”. From the eleven windows there is a spectacular view over the last tidal water-meadow on the River Thames. Syon House is a popular film location so you may recognise rooms from the BBC drama “The Lost Prince” or the acclaimed film “Gosford Park”.

There’s a café next to the house for tea before heading home at 4.45pm.

Adults: £26 Seniors: £25

Available Wednesdays,

Thursdays, Sundays and May

Bank Holiday Mondays from

15 March to 29 October 2017.

10 miles

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