Saturday 17th June 2017
A beautiful sunny hot day, so rare in the UK , too rare to waste so it was decided to dust off the National Trust membership cards and head off to a new property.
We selected Charlecote Park both for its interest and also speed of the outward journey, taking the M42, M40 to junction 15 and then a short journey down an A road. As is our wont we arrived early just as they were opening, the car park was relatively empty and we were able to park the car in the shade of a large oak tree.
After booking in we crossed the road and took the long driveway down to the house, on the left as you pass through the arched gateway is a room giving the history of the family who have lived on site since the arrival of the Normans, the family still live in a wing of the house but as many of these families do, gave the property to the NT to be looked after in perpuitity. Other details of the history of the house and family can easily be accessed by internet.
We enjoyed a leisurely walk around the lower floor of the house and it’s outbuildings (unfortunately due to lack of volunteer staff the upstairs wasn’t open) the grounds were beautiful and many families were enjoying picnics and quality time with their children. We had a drink and cake in one of the gardens.
After our visit we drove home through the Cotswolds via Moreton in The Marsh where we stopped for lunch, they were preparing the town for a music festival, it’s a pity we couldn’t have stopped.
taraabit 