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.
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.
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!).
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.
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.
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.
Even at this time of year, we could see veggies growing in the vegetable garden.
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.
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.
It was very muddy indeed and we had so much fun squelching our way through the mud.
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.
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.
We didn’t spot any deer on our walk but we did see some sheep in the next field as we continued our walk.
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.
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.
We continued across the final feed, up a country road to the top of the hill.
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.
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!
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 …….
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
I’m sure a few years ago he’d have been straight in the puddle too!