Gipsy House

As all Dahl fans know, Gipsy House is where Roald Dahl lived with his family in Buckinghamshire, England. This page has information on visiting the House, as well as pictures and commentary from those who've already visited.

MY Visit June 24, 2000 Axel Stein's Visit

Okay, so you wanna see Gipsy House. There's something you need to realize though: this isn't like Jane Austen's house or Charles Dickens' house. What I mean is, Felicity Dahl still lives there. It's not a tourist attraction; it's her HOME. Which means you don't show up unannounced, you don't steal flowers from the garden, and you definitely don't try to peek in the windows.

When you can visit:
The Open Garden days for 2004 are April 15, May 13, June 10, and July 8. You can get more information at the National Garden Scheme website.

How do we get there?
Getting to Great Missenden is actually pretty easy. From London you need to get to Marylebone Station, which is located on the Bakerloo line one stop west of Baker Street in Zone 1. At Marylebone you need to catch the train to Aylesbury, which leaves about every half hour. (There are two different routes, though, so make sure it's the one that stops in Great Missenden!) Tickets are easy enough to buy from the machines, and I believe it costs less than £10 for a return journey. The trip lasts 39 minutes.

(NOTE: This is also the way you get to Aylesbury to visit The Roald Dahl Children's Gallery.)

Once you get to Great Missenden, be sure to check out the Church of St. Peter and Paul and pay your respects to Roald's grave. You've got to climb up a huge hill to get there, but the view is well worth it. His grave is located in the lower (closest) part of the graveyard, but you'll have to walk around a bit to find it. It's about halfway down on the side farther from the Church. (If you're lucky, you may be able to spot it by the candy bars that well-wishers leave for him.)

But how to we get to the house?
Sorry, I'm not going to post this information. I respect Felicity's privacy too much to direct a crowd of people to her front door. If you are planning to attend one of the Garden Days, though, that's a different story. In that case, please e-mail me and I'll be glad to help you out.