It’s a wet Saturday, so I have been sorting out my photos from earlier in the summer and reliving the opportunities we had to get out and explore. We managed to visit a few estates managed by the National Trust, English Heritage or Historic Houses. I thought I’d do a little blog about each one, to remember some drier days.
But first, the bigger picture.
None of the houses was open, except Waddesdon Manor about which I posted a blog recently. However, elsewhere the estate grounds were open by pre-booking. The good news is that many of them still are open during lockdown 2 (as we seem to be calling it).
The three main organisations looking after our country houses, estates and heritage, like many businesses in the hospitality and visitor economy, have suffered greatly during our restricted 2020. So it has been good that they have been able to open many estates and gardens.
I think many people have now got used to pre-booking systems. Yes, it takes a bit of thinking ahead, but that’s the bit I love. Where to go? When to go? What to see and do? Do we have an estate map from a previous visit? Actually we probably all download a map or an app these days, and we can plan so much online. I hope that this website will give you a few ideas too, and tempt you to book a guided tour somewhere with us.
The last thing to do, perhaps even on the day, is to check the weather forecast and plan for it (or ignore it). Rain? Pah! Let’s hope we can soon get out and explore.
