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As the weather improves, what could be better than a day out with
friends or family? How about picnicing on a beautiful beach, soaking
up some history in a stunning building or relaxing in a blooming
garden?
If any (or all) of these ideas appeal then check out the National
Trust. The Trust is a charity, independent of government, which was
set up over a hundred years ago to conserve places of historic
interest or natural beauty in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
and make them accessible to the public.
In 2003, more than 12.6 million visitors came to the pay-for-entry
sites, and a further 50 million enjoyed the open-air properties.
Hence, in theory each person in the British Isles visited a National
Trust site at least once last year!
As you might expect, the National Trust looks after some of the
nation’s finest historical properties, but you’d be wrong if you
thought it was all forbidding castles and steely stately homes.
The Workhouse in Nottinghamshire is a million miles away from the
usual sort of property the National Trust protects. None of the
finery and privileges of life were available here. Victorian
workhouse families were split up and lived separate lives in
segregated rooms. You can use the audio guide to hear their stories
and interactive displays to explore how poverty has affected people
through the years. This is the least-altered workhouse in existence
and offers the disturbing experience of what it was really like to
be a pauper.
Knole in Kent, on the other hand, is a house fit for a king. At
least that’s what Henry VIII thought. In 1538 he “encouraged” the
Archbishop of Canterbury to give it to him as a present. Today Knole
is one of the great treasure houses of England, set in a magnificent
deer park. The original fifteenth-century house was enlarged in 1603
by the first Earl of Dorset, one of Queen Elizabeth I’s favourites,
and has remained largely unaltered. The contents include
seventeenth-century silver furniture, tapestries and portraits by
Van Dyck, Gainsborough and Reynolds.
Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire also proves that money (and power)
can buy you almost everything. In the 1940s it was bought by the
thirty year-old multi-millionaire Lord Fairhaven. He needed a house
near the racecourse with enough space for weekend parties and
grounds large enough for shooting parties. From the ruins of a
medieval priory, he created a treasure-filled country house – which
still holds his unique collection of paintings, furniture, silver,
tapestries and clocks – and turned 98 acres of farmland into a
garden.
For a more modern (and slightly more down-to-earth) experience, try
the childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney in Liverpool
and see how the Beatles lived before they were famous.
Or for a quirky day out how about the Dolaucothi Gold Mines in
Carmarthenshire? They were last worked in 1938, but the Romans first
exploited them some two thousand years earlier. Set amid wooded
hillsides overlooking the stunning Cothi Valley, the mine workings
remain in good condition. There is a gold exhibition, with video and
bilingual interpretation, and you can even experience the
frustrations of gold-panning.
If you prefer the outdoors, you’ll be spoilt for choice as the
National Trust offers access to land across the length and breadth
of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The gorgeous unspoilt
beaches of Devon and Cornwall couldn’t be more different to the
spectacular coastline of the north-east, which includes the dramatic
Souter Lighthouse.
Inland, the rolling chalk downland of Dorset offers a pleasant
contrast to the challenges of England’s highest mountain Scafell
Pike in the Lake District.
Even the Trust’s woodlands have their idiosyncrasies. On the one
hand there is Hatfield Forest in Essex. A rare surviving example of
a medieval royal hunting forest, and now of great historical and
ecological importance, supporting a wide variety of wildlife, and
offering plenty of space for anybody who wants to get out and about.
On the other is to the Whipsnade Tree Cathedral, a place of
reflection and calm, where trees and hedges were planted in the form
of a medieval cathedral as a sign of “faith, hope and
reconciliation” after the First World War.
If the wilds of the great outdoors sound that bit too much, you’ve
got 300 gardens to choose from. Come and be inspired by the scale,
grandeur and beauty of Stowe’s landscape gardens as many prominent
writers, thinkers, artists and politicians have done from the
eighteenth century to the present day. For a rather more intimate
setting, head to the Arts and Crafts-style garden of Snowshill in
the Costwolds.
Every National Trust property contains the stories of the people who
once lived and worked there. Outrageous stories, funny tales, myths
and legends. Stories of love, death, intrigue and revenge. The sheer
scale and variety of properties ensures that wherever you go, you’ll
be surprised and uplifted.
Everybody’s welcome at Trust properties and there’s a full programme
of lively events throughout the year to suit a variety of tastes.
For the younger ones there are Easter egg hunts, bug safaris and
arts and crafts days, while those wanting a more sedate form of
entertainment can enjoy live concerts, firework displays and outdoor
drama productions.
For a full details of opening hours and specific events at National
Trust places, check the website on
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
/places to visit, or phone 0870 458 4000 and ask for information on
the properties near you and a free copy of the map-guide. Telling
tales has never been so much fun.
Photos courtesy of The National Trust Photo Library.---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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