Mr Darcy's splash

Our love affair with the National Trust started when we got married at Quarry Bank Mill, a National Trust property in Cheshire.  It's great to share that magic with your children.

We went to Lyme Park at the weekend, another National Trust property south of Manchester.  The magic started within minutes of leaving our car, we stumbled on acorns and mushrooms, and found an old tree stump big enough for the kids to call home.  

There's a Beatrix Potter exhibition on currently, and to celebrate there were lots of Potter themed activities.  Although I'm not a huge fan of reading the stories, I love the illustrations and the characters.  We met Mrs Tiggy-Winkle and her washing in the orangery. We hugged Peter Rabbit and saw Mr McGregor's tools and Squirrel Nutkin's sack of nuts hanging in the tree. 

Jeremy Fisher is now installed in the lake where Mr Darcy takes a dip in the film version of Pride and Prejudice. The park is a popular film location, recent release The Awakening was also filmed in Lyme Park.

The playground is fantastic. Huge, but very safe wooden rope bridge structures allowed even Mr G to adventure high up. The park is perched on a hillside above a duck pond and surrounded by beautiful hills and trees.

There's a wonderful wildness about the place, it's nestled by the peak district, but balanced with a spectacular country house and hearty, warming National Trust food.

The whole experience was beautifully thought out, right down to the food.  My Dad and Mr A ate gamekeepers stew made with venison. I had garden vegetable soup.  We loved the rabbit shaped cookies and cupcakes topped with chocolate rabbits. 

We even found the clothes Peter Rabbit left behind...

More info on Lyme Park

I'm approaching the halfway point on NaBloPoMo, a blog post a month in November.