Day Trips from Manchester

 In Brief. Nostell Priory is a National Trust country house in rolling parkland near Wakefield. The house itself is substantial, occupying a raised position, though to my eyes the neo-classical exterior is ponderous from all angles. For Christmas, the interior is extensively decorated with trees and lights, and outside the parkland provides walks that are undiminished by the season.  Approaching the house from the carpark. What's Here? For the avoidance of doubt, Nostell Priory is not a priory! It is an 18th century country house on the site of a medieval priory. The house occupies an elevated position, overlooking rolling parkland to the front and an artificial lake to the rear.  There are few formal gardens (I wasn't tempted to visit the Rose Garden in December), and the Pleasure Grounds is a rather nondescript wooded area. However, the parkland is pleasant, particularly popular with dogs and their walkers, and the Obelisk Lodge is silly enough to provide a worthy destinatio

In Brief. The trees in the gardens at Erddig Hall and Gardens , which is run by the National Trust, are claimed to have given rise to 136 varieties of apple this year.  Erddig doesn't seem to be associated with much of historical significance, having largely been a family home, but has a large hall, an extensive area of parkland, and grand formal gardens with an emphasis on trees and topiary. The nearby Aqueduct at  Pontcysyllte takes a canal over the River Dee, with a narrow footpath and good views for pedestrians. Cider apples from the harvest. What's Here?  Though it has been extended over time, the original Erddig Hall was built in the late 17th Century, and was in the same family for 250 years until it was given to the National Trust in the 1970s, through seven generations of the Yorke family (all named Simon or Philip).  On my visit, only the below stairs areas were open, and these tend to seem pretty similar from stately home to stately home, though in this case there