Exploring Hanbury Hall

Exploring Hanbury Hall

Last weekend we decided to spend some time in Worcestershire, exploring Hanbury Hall, and getting another stamp for my son’s second National Trust passport.  As well as the William and Mary style house, we were looking forward to exploring the formal gardens and the wider parkland.

 

Exploring Hanbury Hall

We arrived not long after opening time last Sunday, picked up two maps, one of the main gardens and another with three different walks through the parkland ranging from 1-2.2 miles in length.

Exploring Hanbury Hall

As it had been pouring with rain on the drive over to Hanbury Hall, which is near Droitwich Spa, we decided to explore the gardens and parkland whilst it was dry there.  There had been a notice on the website advising visitors that the ground was quite wet underfoot and we’d, therefore, ensured we’d all got our walking boots on, before heading out. I’m so thankful we did as otherwise, we would have come a little unstuck (or stuck in the mud in reality!).

Exploring Hanbury Hall

Obviously January isn’t the best month of the year to see gardens in all their glory, but our time spent exploring Hanbury Hall gave us a taste of things to come and we enjoyed wandering around, imagining the splashes of colour that will emerge in the months ahead.

Exploring Hanbury Hall

I didn’t take any photos, but there were lots of trees full of mistletoe, not something we see much of where we live, and although the berries were long gone, it was fascinating to see the clumps throughout the trees.

Exploring Hanbury Hall

The gardens at Hanbury Hall include a Sunken Parterre and Fruit Garden, which looks out past a small duck pond, to the parkland beyond.

There was a little time for a game of hide and seek as my son had a quick run around the bowling green and found a covered area.  The face says it all.

Exploring Hanbury Hall

Even at this time of year, we could see veggies growing in the vegetable garden.

Exploring Hanbury Hall

My son, as always, likes to take the lead, and we spend most of our time playing catch up, but I do love his enthusiasm.  The days when he wouldn’t leave my side seem so long ago now.

There’s a large Orangerie, although you can’t go inside and a Mushroom House where they now store apples in the dark.

Hanbury Hall Orangerie

Exploring Hanbury Hall

We decided to take the Orange route around the parkland, a 2.2-mile walk which includes a detour up to the local church which stands on a nearby hill.

Exploring Hanbury Hall

It was very muddy indeed and we had so much fun squelching our way through the mud.

Exploring Hanbury Hall

Exploring Hanbury Hall

My son nearly slipped over at one point which had us all in a fit of giggles.  It was one of those times when I was so glad I have an outdoors-loving son.  He was in his element, working out the best route forward and just enjoying every minute.  One of those days where there was no moaning at all.  Bliss.

We even discovered a few unexpected things of interest along the way.  The first being an abandoned cart of some sort.

Exploring Hanbury Hall

And then a favourite for my son, as we found the Hanbury Hall Ice House.  My son always loves exploring a new one.

We could see the church in the distance as we walked around the perimeter of the parkland, squelching as we went.

Exploring Hanbury Hall

We didn’t spot any deer on our walk but we did see some sheep in the next field as we continued our walk.

Exploring Hanbury Hall

Of course, there was no chance that we’d spend time exploring Hanbury Hall without my son finding a stick to join him on his adventures.

We also found a hollowed-out tree that was the perfect size for my son to explore close up.

Exploring Hanbury Hall

And a rather large puddle that thankfully my son realised might just be a little too deep to jump in but his stick made a good depth gauge.

Exploring Hanbury Hall

We continued across the final feed, up a country road to the top of the hill.

Exploring Hanbury Hall

There was a church service taking place when we got to the top of the hill, and we didn’t want to intrude, so instead, we took a moment to enjoy the views and take a break before heading back to Hanbury Hall.

Exploring Hanbury Hall

As we walked back through the parkland to Hanbury Hall we got a glimpse of the end of a rainbow, no pot of gold in sight sadly though!

Exploring Hanbury Hall

We’d had a fun-filled time exploring Hanbury Hall and we hadn’t even ventured inside the house itself at this point.  There are a few rooms on show inside, as well as the impressive painting covering the walls and ceiling as you take the staircase to the first floor.

We all agreed that Hanbury Hall is on our list of places to revisit, and we’ll be back again later in the year.  It’s not far from Croome Court, and as we didn’t have our National Trust passport when we last visited, we headed on there for a further hour of outdoors adventures before heading home.

Now to decided where to head next …….

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4 thoughts on “Exploring Hanbury Hall

  1. Hanbury Hall looks like a great place to explore, even on a damp January day. I love the photo of your son playing hide and seek. Squelching through mud is lots of fun (when you’ve got the right footwear!) and I love that your son enjoyed it so much. The abandoned cart looks intriguing and hollowed-out trees are always interesting to explore. I’m not sure Sophie could have resisted that puddle though! Lovely to see a rainbow on your way back too. Thanks for sharing with #CountryKids

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