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.
We went to this house on the way home after visiting a museum in the West Midlands. We arrived around 2:30pm and the last entrance to the house was at 3:00pm. So we walked up the drive to the house. It was an impressive house.
Wightwick Manor
Victorian half-timbered Manor House which was home of the Mander family, with a world-class art collection and Morris and Co. interiors.
Current saving £5.20
One adult £9.10
One Child £5.05
Parking free
Total saving £14.15
Cumulative saving £153.15
Membership cost £133.80
Net cumulative saving £19.35
As there was a partial house closure, the entrance fees were lower than normal.
The mock Tudor panelling gave the house an older look.
We went into the house through the entrance. I loved how the entrance hall was at an angle to the rest of the house. The rear view also showed the different styles of the house.
The initial rooms we went into were really nice and cosy. the ceilings were quite low for an older home.
The architect had designed the house to be asymmetrical, with small inglenooks and spaces for private conversations and quiet reading.
The library actually looked like a library that someone actually used, the shelves were a little untidy and the books appeared to have been removed and possibly read at some point.
The breakfast room was light and airy.
It was almost as though breakfast was about to be served.
Unfortunately the first floor was closed for conversation, so the closest we got was looking up the staircase.
The house so far appeared to be cosy and consisting of normal sized rooms, so it was a bit of a surprise when we entered the huge entertaining space.
It was massive compared to the rooms we had just being in.
There was a balcony and an alcove for private conversations.
The dining room could cater for eighteen guests.
There was a servery, where food from the kitchen was taken, before being served to the guests.
As this point we were the last people in the house and we were almost escorted (well guided) through the remaining rooms, which were mainly the ancillary rooms, the kitchens. As a result I didn’t take many photographs of these rooms.
We then walked around the outside of the building.
I would have liked to explore more of the house, the upper floors, the unfinished rooms. I guess as well as the conservation work, the availability of the rooms is dependent on the number of volunteers to staff them.
We then headed into the gardens and grounds.
It was a lovely day.
The gardens and grounds were not as big as I thought they would be. They were also quite overlooked by newer housing developments around the manor house and grounds.
Snowdrops were growing amongst the trees.
After walking around the grounds we headed to the cafe for a coffee. I ordered a flat white, but wasn’t tempted by the cakes. The coffee was expertly made, and it was really nice. I enjoyed it. I was pleased it came in a proper china cup.
We popped into the shop, was tempted by a William Morris tea towel, but in the end left empty handed.
A final stroll around the front of the house finished our visit to Wightwick Manor.
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