Hall
It was a pretty early Autumn afternoon, and we had errands to run near Stansted, so decided to make a visit to National Trust’s Wimpole Estate. We have visited before (back in 2013) and while some of what we took in this weekend was “re-visited” much of what we saw this time were portions we had missed before.
Entrance to Stable Block
The Hall is the largest house in Cambridgeshire and is the former residence of the Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and later of Elise, the daughter of Rudyard Kipling.
Clock Tower Detail
There are hundreds of acres to the estate and paths, fields, and follies are all part of the experience. Parking is near the old stable block where the national Trust has its ticket office, a small takeaway cafe, and shop. A restaurant is a short distance away towards the formal gardens.
Garden Shop
On the recent visit there was a vendor selling locally produced honey and bees’ wax products in the stable block area. There was also a small garden centre, and a woman using a spinning wheel and selling woolen knit products.
Spinning
The gardens include areas by Capability Brown and other noted landscape artists and gardeners. I found the formal beds absolutely beautiful.
The house itself is huge, and extremely grand. At first glance I assumed it was Georgian, but it is cited as being 17th Century in its construction.
It has libraries, a lovely chapel, and many other “must see” features inside.
As is our custom we had a couple cups of tea and a scone at the cafe. In this case it was takeaway in paper cups, and a cheese scone which we had in the stables courtyard. Later we went to the restaurant where we had a Stilton soup which was thick and tasty and some very nice granary bread with butter.
This is a splendid place to visit, and well worth making a day of.
Padre
Padre's Ramblings 