As well as travelling around Europe, I do love to explore the English countryside on little day trips and to be honest I don’t actually blog about it for some reason. So I have decided to make a little series called “Days Out in England” where I’m going to share my day trips to stately homes, castles, churches and another else that tickles my fancy. My first post is going to be about the English Heritage property; Wrest Park in Bedfordshire and I didn’t have to travel far as I live in Bedfordshire.
Wrest Park has become the golden child in the English Heritage’s portfolio due to its impressive gardens which have been restored in a 20 year long restoration project.
This was my second visit to the property; my first in the winter months when it was newly reopened left me disappointed however it’s summer (well kinda of – mind the grey clouds!) and gardens do look a lot nicer in the summer months.
Inside the house there isn’t too much to see; there aren’t copious amounts of rooms to visit however there is a small exhibition about the de Grey family whom the house once belonged too.
The stair case is stunning and is my favourite part of the house
The library is rather pretty
and the very dashing blue Drawing Room
Once I had finished exploring the house, it was time to get outside and breathe in some fresh air and blow away the old cobwebs due to the cranky weather that England has been suffering from for the past week or so.
Wherever I went there seemed to be a number of eyes on me; just watching…there was a lot of bosom and plump bottom action going on in the gardens
I kept strolling towards the magnificent Pavilion that was slowly coming into view, step inside and you get a lovely surprise!
While strolling the gardens I met the man of my dreams; he was charming, had a beautiful smile, made me laugh, confident and was totally besotted with me but there were two problems…
…he was a tad too young and the real deal breaker, he was wearing crocs!
I took a breather and just relaxed by the pavilion and looked back towards the house; congratulating myself on making the correct shoe choice for exploring Wrest Park.
After relaxing for a bit and people watching by the pavilion, I wandered in the direction of the cafe and gift shop but first I had to pass the beautiful Bowling Green House
and the Italian Garden which was filled with fragrant roses.
There is a gift shop on site selling numerous items including preserves and wines produced under the English Heritage label – a jar of Ginger Curd may have jumped into my handbag (yes I did pay for it first!).
As I left home without having breakfast, I decided a cup of tea was required and hopefully there was something gluten free on offer. I have to congratulate English Heritage as they had a number of gluten free options available at Wrest Park including a Gluten Free Brownie, Ginger Snaps and they sold a few Mrs Crimbles items. I went for the Ginger Snaps and wasn’t disappointed – a hearty English Heritage breakfast of champions!
So I’ve become an English Heritage member; it costs £49 for one person so I’m hoping that I will be able to recoup the cost back by visiting a number of properties during the membership year. The cost of entering Wrest Park is £9 pp so I’ve only got £40 to go!
If you are a nectar card holder and struggle to spend your points or forget that you have them then think about redeeming them on an English Heritage pass.
What other great English Heritage properties do you recommend visiting? What do you recommend as your favourite days out in England?
xx
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