Late summer outdoor entertainment lined up at Waddesdon Manor near Aylesbury

Waddesdon Manor has a summer of outdoor entertainment lined up, with open-air cinema screenings, picnic theatre and a food festival all planned.

The 19th-century chateau will serve as a picturesque backdrop to four blockbuster films when The Luna Cinema pitches up in the grounds. After arriving via a path lit with festoon lighting, visitors can enjoy the full service of the onsite Luna bar for refreshments and food.

Champagne may be the apt choice on the first night with Baz Luhrman’s spectacular take on The Great Gatsby (Wed 13 Sept) starring Leonardo Di Caprio. While the director’s latest, the Oscar-nominated biopic Elvis (Thurs 14 Sept), follows the next day to fill the garden setting with Presley’s signature rock ’n’ roll.

Then a modern classic, as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Fri 15 Sept), the film that kicked off one of the biggest film series of all time, will make Friday evening a nostalgic start to the weekend. The final screening will be the smash hit of last year, Top Gun: Maverick (Sat 16 Sept), starring Tom Cruise and widely cited as a saviour of big-screen cinema.

At the end of August, visitors will be transported back to Elizabethan times with the open-air production of Romeo and Juliet (Thurs 24 Aug) by the internationally acclaimed The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, the UK’s premier all-male company.

It will be a unique opportunity to watch the traditional performance in the atmospheric grounds of one the UK’s most beautiful settings. Alongside Elizabethan dress, music and dances, and with the all-male cast, guests can watch the tragedy in a similar manner to how Shakespeare’s original tale would’ve been viewed by the public, except with the extra comfort of enjoying your own picnic in the garden.

The Unbound Theatre company return for another free performance of their original play Gertrude & Dorothy (Sun 20 Aug), a crime caper throwing together the noted horticulturalist and garden designer Gertrude Jekyll and Britain’s first racing driver Dorothy Levitt, for three separate showings throughout the day.

Adding to the summer heat will be Chilli Fest (Fri 1 – Sun 3 Sept), a weekend festival featuring hand-picked exhibitors, all passionate about chilli, bringing the best of local artisan condiments, sauces, and chutneys to the Manor grounds.

Around 70 stalls will offer up the taste of some of the most delicious chilli food from the UK, so you can pitch up with a picnic to enjoy a day in the sunny grounds, then choose your favourite condiments to take home. There will also be a range of bars and distilleries, offering everything from local wines to flavoursome cocktails, along with live music and activities for young ones, and with a special late-night opening on Saturday.

If you want to escape the sun for a while, Waddesdon Manor’s impressive permanent collection will be available inside, with treasures including the newly restored musical elephant automaton, the rare Sèvres pot-pourri vase, and works by Guardi, Reynolds, Gainsborough and Watteau.

There are limited places available for the summer events mentioned. To find out more and to book, visit the summer holidays webpage