Tatton Park - NT

Living in the Midlands we are extremely lucky with our location as most attractions are not too far from us.  This is the same for National Trust places.  Using the app we often look for new places near to us, and about 50 minutes away is Tatton Park.  Tatton park is deer park just on the outskirts of Manchester.

The drive into Tatton park is just what we expect from a National Trust place, open fields, large lakes, garden buildings and deer.  Although Tatton Park is owned by the National Trust it is managed by Cheshire Council and , therefore, there are additional charges for National Trust members for the farm and for parking.

We chose Tatton Park as there are plenty of things to do onsite including the gardens, a maze, the mansion, a park, grounds to walk around and farm.

Firstly, we visited the gardens and the maze, spending around an hour. The gardens like most National Trusts are beautifully maintained.  There are secret gardens behind walls, lakes and ponds to walk around, a Japanese styled garden area and a maze to explore.  Although the weather was warm but cloudy, the gardens were not busy and they were extremely peaceful considering it was in the school holidays.


After a walk around the gardens we decided to head over to the cafe for some lunch. As it was a last minute plan we hadn't packed a picnic so for a change we were going to eat on site.  The cafe was busy but we did not have to queue for long.  It offered a selection of sandwiches and hot food including jacket potatoes.  Most sandwiches were around £4 and the hot meals around the £8 mark which we though was a bit steep, but having no choice we order a Jacket Potato and Tuna, two portions of chicken strips with chips and beans and 3 soft drinks = £29. As we normally take our own lunch we didn't realise that these place charge so much for food.  However, we did think that the jacket potato and tuna was reasonable at £5 seen as it was quite large.

After Lunch the mansion was open so we decided to have a wander through the house. As always the staff are informative and keen to tell you all about the different rooms and artefacts inside them.  The husband was impressed by the house as he thought that it felt homely and I have to agree.  The rooms felt lived in and not like they were for show.

After all the 'adult' stuff Titch was keen to play on the park so that was where we headed.  The park was large and although it was busy, Titch managed to get on all the equipment he wanted.

If you are looking for a day out for all the family I would definitely recommend Tatton Park, I would just take your own food rather than buying from the Cafe.


Information:

Address
Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 6QN

Prices for gardens and house:
National Trust Members:  Free
Non Members: http://www.tattonpark.org.uk/visit/attraction-and-park-entry-prices.aspx