Hughenden is the red brick manor in the Chiltern Hills that Benjamin Disraeli, the most unlikely of Victorian prime ministers, called home from 1848 until his death in 1881; Queen Victoria visited him here, and the rooms still hold his memorabilia and the portrait-lined staircase he called his Gallery of Affection. In the Second World War the house became a secret map-making base codenamed Hillside, a story told in the cellars and ice house bunker. Outside are Italianate gardens with a Victorian parterre, a walled garden and an orchard of old apple varieties, then over 600 acres of parkland and woodland with red kites overhead and Disraeli's grave in the parish church. Dogs on leads are welcome in the gardens, parkland and Stableyard Cafe, but not the house. Reviewers single out the volunteer talks on Disraeli and the wartime years, and the quiet walks by the stream. Tips from regulars: the drive up is steep and narrow, waymarking is sparse, and the cafe is busiest at lunchtime.
