For Christmas I got a National Trust membership. It’s being a few years since I was last a member, but now looking forward to visiting new places and going back to places we have been to before.
Back in 2016 I did start to keep a note of how much we saved with the membership, but looking back over the blog, I never kept up to date with that, but with this membership I am intending to blog about the visits we do this year and the savings we made.
I actually went to Baddesley Clinton Hall, for two reasons, in the main to get a drink from the cafe as I was heading down the M5, and the other was to see what it was like, for a potential future visit. Though I had to take a little detour down the M42 and the M40 to get there.
Baddesley Clinton Hall
Moated manor house with late medieval, Tudor and 20th-century histories. Home to the Ferrers family for 500 years.
Current saving -£7.80
One adult £13.00
Parking free
Total saving £13.00
Cumulative saving £139.00
Membership cost £133.80
Net cumulative saving £5.20
So after this visit the membership has paid for itself and we still have eleven months left. Obviously without a membership I probably would have either not visited Baddesley Clinton Hall, or I would have spent much longer than I did to get my money’s worth from the visit. However for this visit, which was more of a journey break, for this kind of quick trip, a National Trust membership is really useful and makes sense.
Having parked the car, I made my way to the entrance to have my membership card scanned. Entry to the house is by a timed visit, but as I was off-peak out of season, there was plenty of availability so I could visit the house straightaway. The route to the house was through the various outbuildings. Like Hanbury Hall there was some building work going on, here to replace the toilets.
Walking through a gateway you find yourself approaching the front of the house. It is surrounded by a moat, and you need to cross a bridge to get into the house.
After walking across the bridge and through the gateway, you find yourself in a garden courtyard. You start to appreciate the different architectural styles that are used across the house.
It wasn’t entirely clear where the entrance was, usually it’s the main door, but in this case, it was a door to the side, indicated by a little sign standing outside.
The house is entered by the what I would call a scullery or boot room. You then walk along to the kitchen. In there is the priest hole, where Catholic priests would be hidden.
After the kitchen is the main entrance hall, where in the past, (important) visitors would have entered the house.
In the great hall of the house was a real roaring log fire. If you wanted to, you could sit down in one of the chairs or the sofa and enjoy the fire. If I had more time I was tempted to just sit down for a while and warm up from the cold outside. There is a magnificent fireplace.
Off the great hall is the drawing room.
And the dining room.
It was then back into the great hall and climb the staircase to the first floor. I loved the staircase, which went to different levels, was slightly uneven and had a lot of character.
Across the first floor there are various wood panelled bedrooms, a restored private chapel and a 1970s study.
Also on the first floor is what is best described as an artist studio, a space which was used for painting.
I stopped for a snack and a drink. Afterwards I walked a little more around the moat and the house.
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