Category: national trust

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Shute Barton #50places2026

Shute Barton was on my list of places to visit. However the house is only open to members of the public eight times a year for pre-booked guided tours. You aren’t able to book tickets until 2 weeks before these dates. I missed the June dates as I was working, but I was able to book a ticket for July.

It’s not too far from Weston, but half of the journey is on slower country roads. I arrived and parked the car, it was quite busy the car parking. Made my way to the house and a volunteer checked my booking. 

Shute Barton

A 14th century Medieval manor house with Tudor additions, with royal connections. A building of battlements and towers set in the rolling east Devon countryside,

Current saving £305.30
One adult £5.25
Parking n/a
Total saving £5.25
Cumulative saving £406.55
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £310.55

The tour was excellent, we learnt about the house, it’s history and the different owners and occupants. There are links to other properties in the area as well. The property is usually used as a holiday letting, hence the reason for the restricted opening times.

The final chapter was to enjoy the garden.

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Great Chalfield Manor and Garden #50places2026

After an enjoyable visit to Westwood Manor, it was a relatively short drive to the other property I wanted to visit which was Great Chalfield Manor in Wiltshire.

I arrived just before 3pm and parked on the verge as per the instructions on the website. I booked a house tour, which was at 4pm. 

I thought no worries, they have a refreshment place, I’ll get a tea. However, their refreshments were in a barn, it was cash only and make it yourself. I did have some water. I then headed out for a walk in the grounds and around the moat. At 4pm I headed to the front door for the tour. 

Great Chalfield Manor and Garden

This beautiful medieval manor sits in peaceful countryside. Cross the upper moat, passing barns, gatehouse and delightful parish church to enjoy fine oriel windows and the soldiers, griffins and monkey adorning the rooftops. Romantic gardens offer terraces, topiary houses, gazebo, lily pond, roses and views across the spring-fed fishpond.

Current saving £290.30
One adult £15
Parking n/a
Total saving £15
Cumulative saving £401.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £305.30

We weren’t allowed to take photographs indoors, as it is still used by the family and there were personal items on display. I quite like this kind of house, more of a home, than a museum. Though I do feel sometimes like I am intruding into a personal space.

I saw some lovely rooms. Many of the spaces have been used for filming, notable the BBC’s Wolf Hall.

After enjoying the grounds and the house, I headed back to the car for the journey home. 

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Westwood Manor #50places2026

Last July I planned to visit Westwood Manor, however when I arrived the car park was full and there was lots of cars parked on the verges. So, after waiting a while I headed home. I planned to attempt to visit again later in the year, but I didn’t manage it.

This time I planned to arrive just before it opened at 2pm. I arrived with ten minutes to spare; I explored the surrounding environs of the village. At 2pm I headed to the house.

Westwood Manor

This beautiful small manor house, built over three centuries, has late Gothic and Jacobean windows, decorative plasterwork and two important keyboard instruments. There is some fine period furniture, seventeenth and eighteenth century tapestries and a modern topiary garden. 

Current saving £277.30
One adult £13
Parking n/a
Total saving £13
Cumulative saving £386.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £290.30

After an introduction I was able to explore the house. Found it somewhat amusing that some visitors had not understood some instructions and went to explore some closed parts of the house beyond the dining room, which are used by the tenant.

It’s not a huge house and much is closed off to visitors. I was impressed with the plasterwork which was over four hundred years old. The rooms are lovely and there is lots other see in each of the rooms.

After enjoying myself exploring the house I headed into the garden.

I did think about getting a cup of tea and a slice of cake (from the village hall), but in the end headed off to see Great Chalfield Manor and Garden which is just a few miles away.

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Baddesley Clinton Hall #50places2026

I had been to Baddesley Clinton Hall before back in January 2023. I had planned to visit it again in 2023, but never did, nor did I visit last year, though I visited some other places close by.

So, after visiting Packwood House, it was an easy choice to make to head to Baddesley Clinton Hall which was just over two miles away. I drove up to the car park, parked and headed to reception. This is a lovely house surrounded by a moat.

There is a real sense of history as you walk through the house, starting with the medieval origins, walking through the Tudor rooms before seeing how the house was used in the 20th-century before being handed over to the National Trust. 

Baddesley Clinton Hall

Moated manor house with late medieval, Tudor and 20th-century histories. Home to the Ferrers family for 500 years.

Current saving £259.30
One adult £18
Parking n/a
Total saving £18
Cumulative saving £373.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £277.30

Unlike my visit in January 2023, this time I did take the opportunity to walk around the lake and the gardens.

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Packwood House #50places2026

I had Packwood House on my list of National Trust properties to visit for a while now.

I drove off to Packwood House, up in Warwickshire. Though the app didn’t say the property had EV chargers, the website did. I arrived with 12% charge left and there were EV chargers, and I plugged in the Funky Cat.

I headed to reception, got my membership card scanned, and got a timed ticket for the house. I headed to the house.

This was a wonderful house, I really enjoyed exploring all the different rooms. Though not authentically Tudor, the early 20th century restoration, which is being conserved, is delightful. The upper floors are lovely. I really enjoyed the long gallery and the great hall at the end was unexpected.

Packwood House

The culmination of a lifetime of dreams: salvaged objects and exotic pieces come together in a Jacobean meets Edwardian style. Beautiful, homely, warm and welcoming. The house was originally built in the 16th century, yet its interiors were extensively restored between the First and Second World Wars by Graham Baron Ash to create a fascinating 20th-century evocation of domestic Tudor architecture. Packwood House contains a fine collection of 16th-century textiles and furniture, and the gardens have renowned herbaceous borders and a famous collection of yews.

Current saving £241.30
One adult £18
Parking n/a
Total saving £18
Cumulative saving £355.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £259.30

After exploring the house, I headed back to the café and had the ploughman’s lunch, which was significantly better than the one I had at Stourhead. I got bread this time.

After eating my lunch and drinking my green tea, I headed back to the house, well the gardens. I enjoyed walking around the collection of Yews, and the spiral terrace at the end of the garden was an intriguing surprise.

I had a lovely time at the house and would go again in the future.

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Priest’s House, Muchelney #50places2026

Priest's House, Muchelney

There are some properties where you can spend the whole day exploring the house, the gardens and the grounds. However the National Trust is not just about big houses and mansions, they also have large areas of countryside and coastal areas. One aspect of their portfolio are smaller houses of interest. So, I had a plan I would three such properties in one day. The first of which was Coleridge Cottage, the second was the Treasurer’s House in Martock, the third and final house was the Priest’s House in Muchelney.

It’s only a short drive from Martock to Muchelney, I realised that I was double backing on myself, but it was in the right direction going home. 

As with the Treasurer’s House, this National Trust property is on a tenancy, which means that for someone, it is their home. They open the house to National Trust for two afternoons a week over the summer.

Priest’s House

Late medieval hall-house in a picturesque village. This medieval hall-house was built in 1308 for the parish priest of the church opposite, and has been little altered since the early 17th century. Interesting features include the Gothic doorway, magnificent double-height tracery windows and a massive 15th-century stone fireplace.

Current saving £236.30
One adult £5
Parking n/a
Total saving £5
Cumulative saving £337.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £241.30

The owner does short tours of the house, so I rang the doorbell and waited for a short while before being let in for the tour.

This is a lovely thatched cottage, with some lovely medieval features. The massive 15th-century stone fireplace was huge and made from one piece of stone. Makes you wonder how they managed to not only get that into the property, but also how they got it to the village as well.

The tour is quite short, just three rooms, but the owner gave a really lovely guide to the house, its history and many of the features. 

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Treasurer’s House, Martock #50places2026

There are some properties where you can spend the whole day exploring the house, the gardens and the grounds. However the National Trust is not just about big houses and mansions, they also have large areas of countryside and coastal areas. One aspect of their portfolio are smaller houses of interest. So, I had a plan I would three such properties in one day. The first of which was Coleridge Cottage, the second was the Treasurer’s House in Martock.

It’s a thirty mile drive from Nether Stowey to Martock and Waze took me to the back of the church rather than the property. Not sure why, but it did mean I didn’t need to contend with parking on the busy B3165. I walked through the churchyard towards the Treasurer’s House. This National Trust house is on a tenancy, which means that for someone, it is their home. They open the house to National Trust for two afternoons a week over the summer.

Treasurer’s House

Medieval house with Great Hall, completed 1293 – with kitchen added in the 15th century. Solar Block contains an unusual wall-painting.

Current saving £231.30
One adult £5
Parking n/a
Total saving £5
Cumulative saving £332.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £236.30

This is a lovely old building, one of the oldest buildings in Somerset (and the oldest building in Martock). The great hall is very impressive and you can also see the old Tudor kitchens as well. In the house itself there is the solar block which has an original medieval painting upon it which considering that this has been a private home, that it is still there.

A lovely property and a warm welcome from the tenants who provided an in-depth tour of the property with lots of insights.

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Coleridge Cottage #50places2026

There are some properties where you can spend the whole day exploring the house, the gardens and the grounds. Dyrham Park and Tyntesfield come to mind. However the National Trust is not just about big houses and mansions, they also have large areas of countryside and coastal areas. One aspect of their portfolio are smaller houses of interest. So, I had a plan I would three such properties in one day. The first of which was Coleridge Cottage.

I had been meaning to visit this property for a while, I always saw the signs for this when visiting Dunster Castle and Minehead, but never had the time, or it was closed as I came back from Dunster.

So, I planned this visit, the house opened at 11am and the others at 2pm, so it made sense to do this one first. I drove to Nether Stowey, which is on the way from Bridgwater to Minehead. I realised as I drove into the village I had been there before, when one of my children was doing a hike and needed picking up.

Expecting parking to be an issue I parked at one end of the village and walked the five minute walk to the cottage. 

Inside there was a roaring log fire, which was a little surprising as it was nearly thirty degrees outside.

Coleridge Cottage

This atmospheric cottage was home to Coleridge and his family from 1797. It was during his time here in Somerset that Coleridge wrote his finest works, including ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, ‘Kubla Khan’, ‘Frost at Midnight’, ‘Christabel’ and ‘This Lime Tree Bower my Prison’. Working with William Wordsworth on their collection of poetry Lyrical Ballads, it was here in the wild west Somerset landscape that the literary movement of Romanticism was born. Coleridge Cottage has a rich and fascinating history, from a humble Georgian home, to its transformation into ‘Moore’s Coleridge Cottage Inn’ during the Victorian era. Following a major redevelopment project in 2011, you can now explore the wildflower garden, and rooms of the cottage never previously open to the public, which have been recreated as though Coleridge and his young family had just stepped out of the door…

Current saving £221.80
One adult £9.50
Parking n/a
Total saving £9.50
Cumulative saving £327.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £231.30

I spent time exploring the rooms and finding out a lot more about Coleridge and the history of the house. After that I headed out into the small garden.

I did sit for a while, but it was very hot in the sun, so I headed into the tea room for a scone and a drink.

You don’t need long to visit this house, but all the information on Coleridge and the romantic poets was really interesting. The garden was lovely as well. I walked back to my car ready to drive to the next house on the list.

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Back to Stourhead

Back in February I visited Stourhead and did a behind closed doors tour, however the house’s state rooms weren’t open, since I had always planned a repeat visit to see these rooms.

After visiting King Alfred’s Tower I headed off to Stourhead. I parked the car and set it to charge. I then had lunch and had a disappointing ploughman’s lunch.

I went around the house twice. Lots of impressive paintings as well as incredible rooms. I am glad I made the effort to make a return visit.

Stourhead

One of the first grand Palladian-style villas to be built in England, with a carriage entrance leading to the piano nobile, or main floor. World-famous landscape garden with a lake set among lawns and classical temples, surrounded by trees and with sweeping views.

Current saving £194.30
One adult £23.00
Parking £4.50
Total saving £27.50
Cumulative saving £317.80
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £221.80

When the weather is better I might make a return visit to walk around the grounds and the lake.

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King Alfred’s Tower #50places2026

When I visited Stourhead back in February I saw that King Alfred’s Tower was close by, but was also closed. It is only open at weekends from April to October. I had always planned to revisit Stourhead, so it was a simple decision to also go and see King Alfred’s Tower as well.

I arrived just after 11am, the car park was very busy, but I think that’s more as people use the car park for walking in the woods.

The tower is a short walk from the car park. It is just a tower, one of the corners continuing the spiral staircase. There are 205 steps to get to the top of the 180ft high tower. There are no floors or rooms in the tower apart from the ground floor entrance.

The views from the tower are fantastic.

Walked slowly down the 205 steps. Made me slightly dizzy.

King Alfred’s Tower

This triangular tower, two miles north-west of Stourhead garden, was designed by Henry Flitcroft for Stourhead’s second owner, Sir Henry Hoare II. The Tower is named after King Alfred who raised his standard here in 878. The tower commemorates the accession of George III in 1760 and the end of the Seven Years’ War.

Current saving £187.30
One adult £7.00
Parking Free
Total saving £7.00
Cumulative saving £290.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £194.30

I would probably go again, but in the autumn when the leaves on the surrounding trees are red, orange and yellow.