Visit to Dudmaston Estate on Monday 20th July.
After having to postpone last month’s visit to Ickworth because of the extreme weather it was lovely to set off to visit Dudmaston in near perfect weather. After a smooth two hour journey we arrived safely at the venue. Membership cards were checked and a short talk on the bus by NT staff then saw us going on to the estate grounds to begin our day.
The venue had a lovely cafe area which included plenty of seating in an adjacent apple orchard. The school holidays had begun in the West Midlands and it meant that a larger number of families were visiting than would normally be the case.
The House was unusual in that the present owners still occupy parts of it today, while the exhibitions included a large display of modern artwork. Outside the gardens were quite spectacular and the walk around the lake area proved to be very popular. Unusually, there was no gift shop on the estate, it had closed during Covid times and never been reopened.
Members agreed that it was one of the best sites that we had ever visited.
The sun was still shining as we returned to the coach for our journey back to Hucknall to end a very enjoyable day.
Our August visit takes us across to Chirk Castle on one of our longer journeys for this year.
Barrie