A Day At Dunham Massey Park

TAKING advantage of our recent fine weather we took a trip to Dunham Massey.

Formerly the home of the last Earl of Stamford and owned by the National Trust since 1976, the 300 arces surrounding the Georgian house are stunning gardens, woodlands and deer park.

Wandering through the gardens, which are pristinely kept, its easy to lose track of time. With chickens to feed, an edible garden to water, a working water mill, an orangery, a winter garden to explore, fountains, ponds with ducks and swans, its a child's wonderland.

The park, which is mostly woodland and has been since the Middle Ages, has oak trees which date back to the 17th century. It's the only place in the North West with such a concentration of old trees, and one of only a few remaining in England, making it a site of national importance. The hall stands proudly within the grounds. Deer prop themselves up against its walls like bookends.

Waybaloo PodNot prepared to risk putting a toddler amongst priceless antiques and furniture, we concentrated on the magnificent grounds and bought a garden only pass.

We were excited to see that Waybaloo Piplings Pod had landed in the garden and followed the knowing trail of parents, prams and toddlers to find it.

Unfortunatley there wasn't much to see. The pod was there, with a little slide and some silhouettes of the hit CBeebies show characters. That was it.

I checked the website later and it did say there were buidling blocks and musical chimes but didn't give an indication as to when the actvities were taking place. If I had come soley to see this exhibit I would have been disappointed, but when you have such beautiful surroundings it's hard to stay disgruntled for long.

Wandering through the gardens, which are pristinely kept, its easy to lose track of time. With chickens to feed, an edible garden to water, a working water mill, an orangery, a winter garden to explore, fountains, ponds with ducks and swans, its a child's wonderland.

Every member of staff we met were so cheerful and enthusiastic, perhaps it was the sun but I get the feeling that they seriously love being there, as did we.

Dunham DeerThe deer were so relaxed around the hordes of day trippers they almost blended in. A small group were standing in a circle studying the grounds map. It took a few seconds to realise the spotted coat in the centre wasn't an over-dressed elderly person but a rather proud deer, clearly not bothered by the baffled senior citizens boxing him in. The buck looked like he was helping out, pointing them in the direction of the tea rooms.

We met a man with a three-legged dog whilst we relaxed, enjoying our delicious ice cream we'd bought from the shop. Like us, he was admiring our idyllic location.

“Where else can you eat an ice cream with views like this and watch deer walk by in Manchester?” he said. The dog yawned.

Tranquil? Just a bit.

You can follow Kids Confidential on Twitter here @kdsconfidential

Dunham Massey
Altrincham
Cheshire
WA14 4SJ
Tel:0161 941 1025

Visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk