Exploring Hardwick Hall

Last weekend we were invited to Hardwick Hall, one of many beautiful National Trust properties , whose occupants over the years have played a huge part in shaping the history of the area. We visited Hardwick many years ago pre-children and although the house itself hasn't changed, there are now some new stories to learn about.

From Bess's troubled granddaughter and once heir to the thrown, Arbella, to the last Lady of Hardwick, these two new exhibitions give us even more insight into Hardwick Hall's past.

First up though we stopped for lunch, the Great Barn Restaurant has a selection of light bites as well as hearty meals, there is also a fabulous menu for both adults and children.

I chose the cheese and leak scone with ham salad, it was fabulous, a full plate and packed to the brim with tasty salad and accompaniments.  My husband chose the full English breakfast which is served up until 12pm and my son had the cottage pie, all really tasty and big plates. My daughter chose one of the children's lunch boxes, for £4.50 it came with a nice big ham cob, crisps, a drink, some fruit and a chocolate bar as well as a box to colour in, some crayons and a booklet.

There were some wonderful cakes to chose from, so we had a couple of pieces to share, they offer cream teas too and plenty of drinks, both hot and cold. Once you've placed your order, you can take a seat and relax, there are plenty of tables and chairs available, inside or in the cobbled courtyard. The food was served quickly and we all had clean plates at the end.

After lunch we went over to the house, it was a warm day but inside the house was cool and so a welcome relief on the hot summer day. On entering we were welcomed by a member of the team who explained about the house and gave us a quiz sheet for the children to complete as they walked around the house, as well as a sheet of naughty history for the adults.

The new exhibit takes you through the life of Arbella and the history of how she didn't make it to become Queen of England after Elizabeth I died. The story is a sad one and ends with her lonely demise as a prisoner in the Tower of London.

It is a moving story and through the imagery and artefacts presented you really get a feel of what it must have been like for her, I felt extremely sorry for her and what she must of gone through.

The artefacts, beds and furniture in the house oozed sophistication and grandeur, as we moved through to the Last Lady of Hardwick exhibition, you could see tastes and styles change, however the opulence still remained.

Not only do they tell you about those that lived here, but they do also go on to tell you about what the National Trust do in order to look after the artefacts in the house, how they are cleaned, repaired etc. It is very interesting and the kids loved it too.

A final visit to one of the most important rooms in the house, the kitchen, here the children could get involved in some carpet weaving, napkin folding and see what was needed to keep the members of the house fed. All throughout the house in fact, there were things for the children to get involved in, gone are the stuffy days of not being able to touch anything and walking round like soldiers, the staff members got involved, engaged with you and for me this brought to life what the house was about for the children and adults alike.

After we'd visited the house we went outside into the beautiful rose gardens, the smell hit you before we even got close, it reminded me of my grandparents house growing up, they would make some excellent rose petal perfume.

The children amused themselves running around the garden, playing under the trees and looking in the pond. Had we had more time, it would have been a lovely place to sit and read a book as the sun shone down.

The rest of the gardens were equally as beautiful, running amongst the trees and looking at all of the vegetables and beautiful flowers was a great way to spend a sunny afternoon, with plenty of benches and spots to eat a picnic, Hardwick Hall is a wonderful place to spend the day.

We'd had so much fun and even when it got to leaving time, we still hadn't seen everything, there are so many areas to explore, you could really could make a full day of it, from opening until closing.

Our final stop was a trip down Lady Spencer's Walk, with some rope swings, an obstacle course, forest games and dens it was a delightful way to end the day. My daughter didn't want to leave she was enjoying it all so much.

Hardwick Hall is a fantastic way to spend a day out, perfect for the summer holidays too, it is easy to get to, being only 5 minutes off J28 of the M1. With plenty of space to run around, have a picnic and with a great choice of food, there really is something for everyone.

NB: We were given complimentary entry and food tickets for the day, however all words, photos and opinions are my own.

Outdoor Fun at Belton House

On Friday, we visited Belton House, it was possibly not the best day to choose as the traffic was queuing for miles to get in. However, the sun was shining and the daffodils were out in force, which made for a beautiful day out. Starting with a picnic, then heading to the adventure playground. we enjoyed the warm sun and the masses of grass, perfect for running about and letting off steam.

I remember visiting Belton House as a child, the adventure playground was as impressive to me back then as I am sure it was to the children now, one of my fondest memories was of the huge slide they used to have there, I remember sliding down it clutching my newly purchased Victoria Plum book.

Now they have so many wonderful slides, bridges, swings and zip slides it really is an adventure play and was obviously the place to be, as each corner was full of excited children and slightly bemused parents who weren't sure where to stand.

After the playground we headed to the gardens, for me this was another highlight, if you were a child of the 80s you may remember Moondial by Helen Cresswell, I loved the series and have fond memories of running down the path to see the the exact spot of the where the Moondial stood, it is definitely one of those childhood memories that never leave you. The children rolled down the same grassy banks I remember rolling down with my brother., it was perfect.

The beautiful gardens and church were great to walk around in the sunshine and the children loved running amongst the hedges and around the pond. The pond, although empty, was still beautiful and very much reminded me of the one on which we floated boats in Paris last summer.

Heading into the woods, we came across some breathtaking views and daffodils as far as the eye could see. It was a quieter place to be. Away from the hustle and bustle we found a stream where we did some exploring. The children and their dad collected some water from a stream to check for signs of life, they couldn't see anything but we found so many flowers, they more than made up for it.

Further round the woodland we found a wonderful boat house, painted bright yellow, it looked like a little cottage in the woods. I can only imagine what this would have looked like back in the day. So much space and wonderful places to sit and think.

The vast woodland was a great place to explore, we looked under bits of wood to find creatures, and we saw everything from centipedes to beetles and snails to woodlice. Under old logs is the perfect place to look for bugs and insects and searching underneath them together is a great way to get children into wildlife and exploring. Old trees are often a great place to see the tiny holes from woodworm. This old tree trunk was teaming with life and showed the effects of the weather where the rain had worn away the bark.

We had a great time walking around the lake and walking amongst the daffodils, which gave us time to reflect on the busy start to the day. We walked about 5 miles in total around these beautiful grounds, we didn't make it into the house this time but it seemed a shame to be inside when the sun was shining outside. We'll be back on hopefully a less busy day.

Have you been to Belton House? If so which was your favourite bit?

Exploring Clumber Park

At the weekend, we were invited to Clumber Park, to explore the grounds by bike and enjoy some of the facilities on offer.

When we have visited previously, we walked around the pleasure grounds near the chapel and played on the woodland play park, so the cycling was a first for us, not just here but I don't think I had even sat on a bike since I was about 12 or 13!

After parking the car, we headed first to the cycle hire centre, where the staff kitted us out with bikes, helmets, a lock and a map of the cycle routes, as well as offering advice on which route to start off with and where not to ride. 

As the children do not ride, my husband had my son on a tagalong bike and I had my daughter on a seat on the back of mine. It was a bit wobbly at first, but got easier as we went along. Traveling by bike meant that we got to see parts of the park that we had not seen before. Past the village of Hardwick, on the other side of the lake, there are fields, full of butterflies, insects and birds of prey, it was wonderful to be able to stop and look at these.

The view from the other side of the lake is amazing and I am quite sad we haven't seen it before, it is definitely a walk or ride we will be taking again. The cycle paths are flat and steep in equal measures, though if you don't mind dismounting, then you can follow the flat path along the edge of the lake.

With the kit Clumber Park gave us, we had binoculars and bug spotting kits so the children enjoyed being able to spot the wildlife across the lake and beyond.

After we'd been round once we stopped for lunch, there was a short wait for lunch from the restaurant itself so we opted for the BBQ outside. 

My daughter chose the child's lunch box which contained a freshly made sandwich, mini cheddars, cheese and crackers, yoghurt, biscuits and a drink, not bad for £4.50. I had the pork cob, hubby had the burger and my son had the sausage cob, with two portions of chips and a couple of beers it came to £31, it certainly filled us up for the rest of the day.

Afterwards we payed a visit to the second hand bookshop and the discovery centre, this is a great little spot to chill out with lots of space to explore, sit and read, learn and play.

After another cycle round the lake, we headed up to the walled garden, you have to pay to get into this area unless you are a National Trust member, it isn't much though, it's free for children and then £3.65 per adult without Gift Aid.

You could spend a good hour and a half  to two hours in the garden and they run talks and tours too, as it heads towards the summer holidays they also have lots of activities for children with the new Sunflower Alley opening this week.

There are so many beautiful flowers and areas to explore in the gardens, from the fruit and herb gardens to their many varieties of rhubarb. It was great to be able to get up close and personal with so many different plants, many of which we hadn't seen before. There was a bug house kit in the bag of goodies we were given so we took a look at the ones in the garden, which made the children excited about making this.

We really had an amazing time at Clumber Park, getting to see so much on the bikes was great and although my legs ached for days afterwards, it was by far the best way to see and explore. As a final treat before we left we headed over to the cricket pitch where there was a match on, we had an ice cream and then took it in turns to fly the pocket kite from the gift shop.

These things are normally something we might overlook in the shop, but actually they made our day out that little bit more special.

Clumber Park is a great place to visit this summer with so much to offer, see and do whether it is just to kick a ball around, go exploring in the woods or go biking round the lake.

NB: We were given free entry to the park, cycle hire and meal voucher to form this review. All opinions are my own.

The Beautiful Longshaw Estate in the Peak District

Monday was an inset day at my son's school, so we headed off to the beautiful Peak District for a day out, having adventures and making memories.

First stop was the Longshaw Estate, a beautiful National Trust site that was full of things to do and see for us and the children.

Used during the first world war as an auxiliary hospital, the main building is a beautiful property that is steeped in history, I can only imagine the peace and tranquillity this offered for those soldiers recovering from the trauma of the front line.

One of the main features of the estate are the bogs and the aptly named boggarts, small goblin-like creatures that live in the bogs, ok so we know they aren’t real but for my son this was an exciting prospect which lead to a few hours of fruitless searching!

With several trails around the estate we opted for the Hairy Wood Ant trail, on this trail you are in for a treat as you search for one of Britain’s biggest ants! It is about a mile walk, although with some serious detours for boggart hunting we probably did more like 2 miles.

The boggart trail is really great for kids, it gets their imagination racing and hopefully this will be a memory the children have when they grow older, first stop boggart view for a spot of balancing and boggart spotting.

Then onto boggart burrow, walking under the huge and stunning rhodendrons was a real treat for us all, the branches were just so beautiful, we didn’t spot a boggart but we did find some tracks and scratches.

The stunning lake and unbelievably lush green grass was beautiful, we walked across the fields to find some sheep and some big rocks to climb, making sure to spot the wildlife and pretty wildflowers.

Further round the trail we found boggart hole, a couple of falls and mucky bottoms later we finally spotted the ants, the size of them kinda made me squeal! Not really a huge ant fan but these were pretty impressive, we could see them climbing up the tree in a line and carrying leaves and bits of debris, I even managed to capture two ‘fighting’ as my son said, I prefer to think they are giving each other a kiss.

After this it was spot the ant hill, my son and husband went off in search of more rock and came across a few ant hills and then as we walked further round and knew what we were looking for we found more, all in all about 20. There is plenty of space to play games, hide and seek is our current favourite and the view from the side of the hill was stunning!

It really is a great estate, back at the house there is boggart rise with lots of little doors carved into some trees, I made the children knock before opening to see if there was anything there, we had taken little torches for the children so they could do some proper investigating, these came in handy on a few occasions.

Finally we went into the den building area, an area put aside for you to build dens, this is really big at the moment and we have been to a few places that have branches and an area you can build in.

We continued on into the Peak District and visited Peveril castle in Castleton, but as this post has gone on longer than I’d expected i'll talk more about that next time...

Linking up with Country Kids on Coombe Mill

Blowing Away the Cobwebs at Kedleston Hall

After a few days of Christmas excess and not having left the house for a couple of days we decided to head out into the wind and sunshine to blow away the cobwebs with a walk around Kedleston Hall, on a rather windy day it did exactly that.

Donning our boots and waterproofs for the children, we headed out into the mud and high winds, with the wind blowing through the trees with a lion like roar.

The grounds at Kedleston Hall are vast and the house is beautiful, although we didn't get to go in as it is closed for the winter, but you can see why they chose to film some of The Duchess there.

There was lots of running...

Lots of leaf and stick picking......

I love this sweeping staircase....

Rarrrrrr...

Very Downton Abbey, lots of rooms and bells to ring....

Looking at the animals....

 In the church their was a nativity and beautiful Christmas Tree.

Gorgeous architecture and shadows were everywhere...

I love this bridge it sweeps wonderfully over the river...

Sheep spotting....

Walking through lots of squidgy mud and sheep poo...

It was verrrry windy but it was just what we needed, lots of fresh air and it most definitely got rid of a few cobwebs and hopefully a few calories too.

During the winter it is only £1 to visit the hall which is well worth the money and I think that so we can come back here again in the spring and summer we will definitely be looking at a subscription to the National Trust.

Linking up to Country Kids over at Coombe Mill.