National Trust Trips in Spring
In our opinion, one of life’s little pleasures is visiting a National Trust site for either a meander around their grounds or gardens; a mooch around their incredible corpus of properties or simply for a spot of lunch and a cream tea. There is certainly nothing better than visiting in springtime when the leaves are returning to trees and the gardens are awash with colour. We love spring days that are full of glorious gardens, impressive properties, copious cups of tea and lashings of jam and cream on fruit scones. We got our spring fix at Osterley Park, Cliveden, Morden Hall Park and Dapdune Wharf.
We have visited a number of gardens at various National Trust properties over the years but the formal garden at Osterley House is one of our new favourites. Tulips, forget-me-nots and bluebells filled the garden with colour and the iconic eighteenth-century Garden House was full of beautiful potted plants. The house was also fantastic. Osterley House is an incredible example of an eighteenth-century neo-classical Georgian country escape, although the original house dates back to the 1570s. It is opulent and full of wonderful architectural details, glorious paintings of Venice, grandiose rooms and rich tapestries. There is even an eight-poster bed in the state bedchamber.
The entrance hall will have impressed back in its heyday when it welcomed guests for lavish parties and the impact is certainly still felt today. However, possibly the most impressive room is the Etruscan dressing room. Inspired by the amazing sights the house’s architect - Robert Adam - saw on his four-year Grand Tour of Europe, the room is full of hand-painted motifs of classicism. It is quite a spectacular sight.
After exploring the house we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the expansive gardens. The bluebells put on quite a show, it was a literal blanket of purple across the woodland floor. The grazing geese also put a smile on our face. Another blanket of blue was provided by the forget-me-nots that were providing a feast for a number of pollinators.
The following weekend we returned to Osterley for a walk around the greater grounds. Buttercups, blue skies and sun blotches made it the perfect day. You would hardly believe that Osterley’s parkland is in London, it is such a peaceful place. Two lakes, woodlands and open parkland mean you can enjoy a number of different landscapes on just one visit. And, of course, you must top your walk off with coffee and cake at the Stables Café.
Next on our own National Trust Grand Spring Tour was Cliveden. Cliveden is a gem. Whilst the main house is now a luxury hotel, the expansive grounds and gardens are truly magnificent. On certain days you can visit the house on a guided tour, which you can sign-up for on the day of your visit. This is something we will be back to do soon. It was the perfect day to take your classic car for a spin and enjoy a leisurely lunch at the converted conservatory.
We tried to take in as much as we could of the eighty acres of parkland. You can walk down to the river and in warmer months take a boat out on the water. The Parterre is a dramatic feature of the garden, and its manicured lawns and perfectly preened hedges complement the ornate architecture of Cliveden House splendidly. The oriental-inspired Water Garden full of wisteria, koi fish and a beautiful pagoda was one of our favourite areas.
Morden Hall Park was the following week’s destination. On the National Trust website the tagline for the Park reads ‘a green oasis in the city at the heart of the community’, our photographs will definitely not tell you otherwise. Luscious, verdant, leafy canopies frame the romantic white wrought iron bridges and the open grasslands were peppered with meadow flowers.
The body of water that Morden Hall Park is home to is the River Wandle, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the perfect place for pooches to have a paddle and also to see a host of wildlife, particularly in the Park’s wetland habitat.
After a lovely walk, we visited one of the park’s two cafés for a spot of lunch. We would highly recommend the curried cauliflower pasty.
After a day of feeling so inspired by nature, you cannot help but fill a basket (or trolley) full of plants at the National Trust’s only garden centre. A coral coloured geranium, ballerina pink begonia and two strawberry plants later we said farewell to Morden Hall Park, promising to be back soon to see the Rose Garden in bloom.
In the final days of May we explored the River Wey Navigation from Dapdune Wharf. We began the day at a delightful little café on-route to the river where an oat milk flat white and a homemade white chocolate and raspberry cookie set us up for the day.
The walk from Dapdune Wharf as your starting point can go one of two ways. We chose the route that promised some of the most remote and interesting parts of the Wey Navigation. We followed the towpath towards Cartbridge Wharf (although we did not make it this far). Our first landmark was a former nineteenth-century corn mill, Stoke Mill and a little further on you arrive at Stoke Lock, the first lock to be built on the Wey Navigation, and one of the first pound locks in the country. We continued along the river, passing Bowers Lock and then the boundary of a Tudor mansion house, Sutton Place. This is as far as we went as the full trail from Dapdune to Cartbridge is eleven miles. Now we know how lovely the route is, we will make an effort to do the whole towpath trail. Comfortable walking shoes, a hat, sunscreen, water and snacks are a must if you do this walk, but there are plenty of areas of shade. Part of this shade is provided by a gorgeous row of very old pollarded willows just after the Stoke Lock footbridge. Rumour has it that these willows were used in the production of gunpowder at the Chilworth Gunpowder Mills during the First World War.
The route is also full of nature. Swans and geese were enjoying the gentle flow of water and we saw a gorgeous red admiral and a number of banded demoiselle damselflies. It was such a peaceful stretch of river punctuated by a number of picturesque locks that we were lucky enough to see in action as barge owners were making the most of the beautiful weather.
After a spring full of delightful day trips to local National Trust locations, we know our summer calendar will similarly be peppered with such day outs.
