Our February location simply has to be Valentines Mansion and Gardens in Redbridge.

The stunning Georgian house and gardens host the mouth watering fun of The Great British Bake Off. Or you might recognise it from tasty Kevin Bacon’s EE commercial on TV.

It’s reopening to the public for Valentine’s weekend, on Sunday, after closing over the winter for a spruce up.

The house was built in 1696, and renovated in 1760. The council took ownership in 1912, after which it became a refugee centre, a hospital and then a council housing department. Still later, after standing empty for 15 years, Valentines was renovated beautifully, thanks to funding and the efforts of the local community, and re-opened as a public park and venue.

These days, aside from its enormous attraction to the film industry, Valentines is popular with locals for both weddings and marriage proposals.

There’s more information here on our website, and here on the Valentines’ Mansion website.