Tag Archives: estate

Welford Park

If you are a fan of a certain British cooking program, this post maybe more relevant to you.  I have never watched Bake Off but Nancy has and she knew of Welford Park, the location where it has been shot.  The grounds are not normally open to the public – only paying TV crews – but once a year they open up for the snowdrops which I previously posted about.  After walking through the woods and seeing the flowers, we came back to the main house where they had a café since a spot of lunch was in order.

Having not watched the show, I am not familiar with the layout of the grounds.  However, I am told that the steps down to the lawn from the house are a feature of some of the TV footage.  The house itself appears in shots and the lawn area, which was clear while we were there, is where they have the tents in which the contestants undertaken their challenges.  If you have seen the show, hopefully these shots will be recognizable to you.

Start Of Fall Colors At Stourhead

A previous vacation to the UK had included a visit to Stourhead and, we liked it so much, we decided to go back on the latest trip.  We went with a load of the family for lunch and then a walk around the grounds.  The weather was lovely and there was a hint of the onset of fall in the foliage.  The place is just gorgeous and wandering through the grounds on a sunny day with your family is hard to beat.

Holkham Hall Estate Buildings

The north Norfolk coast is the location for Holkham Hall.  We had been to the beach up there many years ago (if you have watched Shakespeare in Love, the final seen of her walking ashore on a Caribbean beach is actually Holkham) but we hadn’t visited the estate.  The Hall looked like it would have been worth a bit more exploration of the estate but we only had a short time to be there.  We stopped off at the entry to the estate and visited some of the buildings there.  They were rather interesting looking buildings and we will go back if the opportunity arises.

Disused Water Mill

C59F3137.jpgAs we left the house at Chatsworth, we walked along the river that led back to where we had started our walk from. It is a pretty large river and has a strong flow including a cool weir. Shortly before we got back to the car, we came across an old mill house. I am not sure whether the river has realigned over time or whether there was a strong flow down from above that is no longer in place but there was once a working mill in this location.

C59F3141.jpgThe stone walls of the building are still in good shape. The roof and any other wooden elements have pretty much gone at this point. Inside the building you can still see some of the iron work and the remnants of the axle of the waterwheel. There are gaps in the walls that show where other parts of the building were once located. The entrances are closed off so it isn’t possible to get in to the building. The wildlife obviously finds a way in. A sheep was quietly using the walls as shelter while we were there.

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Rock Garden

C59F3060.jpgPlenty of people have rock gardens. When you have a country estate, the scale of your thinking can change. A rock garden now turns in to something that is a little more grand than average with rocks that should really be classified as boulders. We were actually beginning to wrap up our visit to the gardens at Chatsworth when we came through the rock garden. This place would be phenomenal if you are a kid. So many places to climb on and jump across. The opportunities for bumps and bruises would be many but it would be so worth it.

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Grotto Pond

C59F3022.jpgExploring the grounds of Chatsworth House took us to places we had not seen on previous visits. Even if you exclude the majority of the estate and just focus on the organized garden areas, there are so many parts to see that it is easy to overlook them. This is why, despite having been to Chatsworth on a number of occasions, this time I saw areas that I had not seen before. One of these was the Grotto Pond.

C59F3005.jpgBecause this area is one of the furthest away from the main house, the number of people making their way that far out is pretty small. It is not deserted by any means but it is pretty quiet. This is ideal given how tranquil the setting is. It was very easy to just stand and look. Given how far out in the country you are, there isn’t much background noise so you can let your mind wander…

Kitchen Garden

C59F2878.jpgIf you have a big country house, you will be housing a lot of people. No doubt, there will also be times when you will host a large gathering. You need to be able to feed everyone. The estate produces a lot so it will cover many needs but the kitchen also has to have its own garden. Located a short distance from the main house and slightly up the hill, Chatsworth’s kitchen garden is very extensive. It has a lot of space and many different types of food in production.

C59F2897.jpgAs with everything else about a place like Chatsworth, function does not override form. The gardens are laid out beautifully and with structure. They are functioning still yet they are a place worthy of visit just for the appearance. Some areas are restricted to keep the visitors from inconveniencing everything too much but much of the space is fully open to wander through. The staff is busy but were willing to talk if you had questions.

Lyme Park

C59F2655-Pano.jpgThe drive from the Lake District to Derbyshire provided an opportunity to check out a place that Nancy was interesting in visiting. Lyme Park is a country house not far from Stockport. It is a lovely looking estate but the reason is it well known is that it was used in the filming of Pride and Prejudice. The lake from which a damp Colin Firth emerged in the production is now even named on their map as Darcy’s Lake!

C59F2620.jpgThe area around the house has some beautifully landscaped areas and an impressive glasshouse. There is a lake in front of the house and a structured garden area to boot. Outside the house area is a far larger estate that covers much of the local area. Deer roam through much of this part of the property. We did our usual thing of checking out the outside area but skipping the interiors. Our National Trust membership got us wherever we want to go but the interiors usually leave me less inspired than the exteriors. We also had to keep an eye on the time.

C59F2576.jpgIt was a slightly overcast day – maybe not a huge surprise for the outskirts of Manchester – which made the stone of the buildings look a little subdued. Stone buildings with grey skies are a touch trickier to work with. However, sometimes excluding the sky is the way to go to try and make the building stand out more. Nice looking place and worth a visit if you are in the area.