オードリーエンドハウス＆ガーデンズ入場券

This is a review of the quality of so called “ clotted cream” in the tea room, served with the scones etc. It is surely against trades descriptions to call a UHT cream- like product in a glass jar “clotted cream” Given that many tourists expect a place like Audley End to offer an authentic tea experience, it is a true disgrace. Please go back to the correct product and also think about giving your customers a plate to use. “Cream” jam and a scone in a bag is just not good enough. The staff were under a lot of pressure and it was very hot in the tea room. They did very well under the circumstances. Overall AE is a very enjoyable place to visit and we have been many times as we only live up the road.

I came here with a 7, 9, 11 and 13 year old, all of which gasped when they saw the size of the house. For the younger ones there was a little sheet of things to look out for which they enjoyed. They all loved the fact there was someone in everyone room and they could ask A LOT of questions!! The volunteers were all really engaged and friendly. We were there 1 1/2 hours and that was enough for the kids, but all of them wanted to come back another time and explore the rest of the gardens etc. It definitely isn't wheelchair accessible. I had to carry my son who uses walking sticks up quite a few stairs. However there is accessible parking closer than the main car park, which was useful. We didn't use the cafe, but it is in a lovely setting, so I might do next time

Everything was amazing. Beautiful way to spend the day. Family and dog friendly food. Would recommend

Pleasant house but virtually no information on it (unless you buy a guidebook) and a refusal from any of the staff to share anything beyond the most basic of information. Got told I could wait 40 minutes for a talk if I wanted to know anything about it. Given that it had taken an hour to find the house from the car park, I didn’t bother. Almost no signs anywhere so you’re just wandering around hoping for the best. Dangerous lack of awareness of food allergens in the cafe. The car park is genuinely at least 1km from the house, with no sign posts and no prior warning of that when you book. Glad I didn’t go with elderly relatives as it would have been a disaster. I didn’t see the stables, bookshop or gardens because it was unclear where they were and all seemed to be in opposite direction to the distant car park, meaning an even longer walk back and high likelihood of getting lost, given EHs aversion to signs or information in general. I’m a National Trust member and glad that I’m not an EH member. I was considering joining but absolutely would not recommend to anyone, NT is a much more pleasant, and better value, kinder experience all round.

Lovely day out. Had a tour of the servants quarters. Very knowledgeable and informative guides. Ice cream and coffee were good. Toured the house and gardens. Walked to the kitchen garden. Was SO disappointed that there were NO signs for the secondhand bookshop. So we totally missed that!! Better signage for car parking would great.

As members of English Heritage this is included in your membership. On driving towards we did find entrance a little bit confusing. However large grass parking area. Then walk down a slop to entrance. There was a large golf buggy assisting people, not just ones needing assistance but open to all. Walk down ok walk up about 300 m. This is a beautiful site with open picnic area and tables outside. Going into the buildings that are well maintained and lots of information about history. We took about 2 hrs and adjoining gardens about 1 hr and face filling ( picnic) which we bought another 1 hr. So a full day out. With picnic be aware long walk back to car! Would recommend and the ice cream really nice too

We are not members of English Heritage so purchased full adult admission tickets. Membership was explained but not pushed. I would recommend that you check times of tours if you have a particular interest. We took the kitchen garden tour which was 45 minutes long and very informative. The glass house with peaches smelt amazing. You do not need to pay for tours, just put your name down at the visitor centre area. The house was interesting and the volunteers knowledgeable. If you have a question please ask, the history of the house was fascinating, including stealing from the King’s treasury. We had lunch at the cafe which was reasonably priced. There were gluten free options, however if you only wanted a sandwich then you may wish to bring a picnic as sandwich options were not extensive. Children - I wouldn’t recommend for young children (up to age 11) as I’m not sure the garden or house would interest them that much. The grounds did have a small free mini golf area so if you wanted to visit as a family you could take it in turns to play while others visit the house. Parking (free) was on the hill with a buggy to take those down who would find the slope difficult. An excellent day out, we stayed 4 hours.

We visited Audley House and gardens yesterday afternoon. As soon as we arrived at the house there was a friendly man who told us a brief history of the house and directed us into The Great Hall where a talk was about to begin by a volunteer guide. The guide was very knowledgeable and obviously loved history and told us lots of interesting facts about the history of the house and the families who had lived there. Each room had a very knowledgeable guide who was keen to impart information about the various rooms. We walked around in a couple of hours and only viewed the gardens through the window as time was tight. Thoroughly recommend visiting Audley House and the guides are a credit to English Heritage.

This experience for families in the summer holidays is billed as: “Celebrate a classic Great British Summer at Audley End, inspired by timeless holiday traditions and a fun day out for the whole family. Knock down the tin can alley at the fairground games, pick up new tricks at the circus skills station and dive into some puppet antics. Kick back in a deck chair with a delicious ice cream, then get putting for a round of mini golf or pick up a space hopper at the fun and friendly sports day! Kids can grab a Great British Summer activity passport and collect special stamps to complete their summer adventure.” Never was a day so misrepresented. The lack of involvement shown by the organisers of this event was astonishing. We arrived to a field with a few activities set up poorly. Half a dozen spacehoppers and a bit of bunting around them. Some broken up sections of a mini golf set - I think it was five individual pieces - including sets of clubs and balls. Some upturned flower pots that could be walked on. Some frisbees, balls and bean bags. My daughter paid a lot of money for the tickets for me, my husband, herself and three children in ages ranging from 12 to 3. We arrived at 12:30 and went to blue badge parking- the guy who admitted us showed us where to park, when told that we were attending the summer festival said - what festival? He turned out to be very prescient. Our poor daughter and family, meanwhile had to walk half a mile down from the other car park down the hill in order to be met with the view of the shoddy set of rubbish on display masquerading as a classic British Summer. There were meant to be puppet antics. We found a small playtheatre with a heap of puppets thrown on the floor beside them hidden in a small grassy area. No puppet antics to be had there. Our 10 year old granddaughter attempted to do a show and people wandered in eagerly looking as bewildered as we were. Is that all there is their faces said. There was one giant publicity deck chair and approximately 9 striped deck chairs. There was an ice cream van and 4 ice creams cost £16. We had no idea where to go to learn the circus skills but didn’t expect very much anymore. There was a blue and white striped dressing up tall tent with a heap of clothes thrown inside for children to dress up themselves. The tea room was being run by two teenagers who didn’t have a clue and it took 45 mins to queue up and get 2 cups of tea. Visiting inside the house was almost unbelievably a greater disappointment than the outside. I think it’s very old-fashioned having stuffed animals some being shown in the throes of death with blood stains on them in cabinets. Most children were quite horrified by that display. We couldn’t go upstairs and see the nursery as advertised because apparently it was too hot. Additionally, we couldn’t go up some of stairs because they were too dangerous. For the effort of walking from one end of the grand hall to the other the reward was a display of photographs of the disastrous state of the upstairs decay of the building. What a total waste of money - a real rip off.

Stunning house and grounds, very informative staff well wirth a visit. Long walk from the car park uphill on the way back.