Nostell Priory

One very wintry day a friend and I decided to take our little ones and search for some snow. I had visited Nostell Priory once before and hadn't made it much further than the cafe so felt I should visit again and see the grounds. Given that we really didn't plan our visit, we just turned up, it was of little surprise to find it absolutely deserted apart from people doing building and restoration work! Despite this, we paid our £2.50 to park (free to National Trust Members) and followed the tarmac path to the house. The house is impressive and imposing and there is a real sense of peace in the grounds that I like. Sadly the gardens were all locked so we were limited in our roaming. Instead we followed the path around to the right of the house and over a bridge. At this point, the path splits. To the left it curves back to the house around the side of the lake. We chose to leave the path and join a muddy track out into a field and headed towards a folly on the horizon. The folly turned out to be a gate house of sorts and marked the edge of the estate. We turned back here and retraced our steps. We managed it all with pushchairs, which given the mud was not bad at all! Also given that the temperature was definitely below zero we had a good brisk trek! It took us about an hour to do this walk. Sadly the cafe was closed this time so we couldn't have a warming cup of tea. With the cafe and the house all closed there weren't any facilities available. Not a problem for us this time, just something to bear in mind. Prices vary too - parking costs, costs to access the gardens (including the cafe) and then a separate cost to visit the house as well. Full details are on the National Trust's website. Maybe next time I'll make it into the house itself!
www.nationaltrust.org.uk